A new style of Japanese dessert revolutionises convenience store sweets, but it comes with a safety warning.

You’ll find a lot of matcha lattes in Japan, but over at 7-Eleven you’ll find one that comes with a risk of choking. It’s a drink so hazardous it comes with a safety warning, and it’s all due to one ingredient and the way it’s designed to be consumed.

The latte is part of a new style of dessert called “Mazemaze Sweets“, which takes its name from the Japanese verb “mazeru”, meaning “to mix” or “to stir”. Despite being known as the “Matcha Latte Warabi Mochi Iri” (“Matcha Latte with Warabi Mochi“) in Japanese, the English name, “Matcha Bracken-Starch Jelly, Matcha Milk & Whipped Cream” makes no reference to it being a latte at all.

In one sense, it is a straight-up dessert, with a layer of matcha-flavoured warabi mochi (bracken-starch jelly) in the bottom, a smooth “matcha milk” in the middle, and a fluffy layer of whipped cream on top. However, these layers are designed to be mixed together and then sipped through the attached straw.

▼ This “mix-and-drink” concept lets you change the flavour and texture while you drink it.

The warabi mochi adds an exciting texture to the drink while also giving it a traditional Japanese feel. However, warabi mochi is usually consumed in bite-sized pieces with a spoon or fork, rather than with a straw, because sucking them up might create a choking hazard as the springy, slippery and slightly gummy pieces could become lodged in the throat. That’s why 7-Eleven has issued a warning with each product, which reads: “Warning: Choking hazard. Please chew thoroughly before swallowing.”

▼ The choking hazard is also present in the new “Ichigo Milk Warabi Mochi Iri” (“Strawberry Milk with Warabi Mochi”), or Strawberry Bracken-Starch Jelly, Milk & Whipped Cream, which is being released at the same time.

This dessert combines chewy strawberry-flavoured warabi mochi with rich milk cream, fluffy whipped cream, and a topping of strawberry sauce. The sweet-tart strawberry sauce contains pieces of real strawberry, adding a juicy texture that complements the chewy warabi mochi, and as the layers are mixed together, the flavours and textures evolve with every sip, creating a rich and satisfying dessert experience from start to finish.

▼ Due to be released on 16 June at 7-Eleven stores nationwide, excluding Okinawa, the new Mazemaze Sweets will retail for 430 yen (US$ 2.68).

While the new desserts sound like a fun new way to enjoy some familiar flavours, you might be asking: “If slurping warabi mochi with a straw presents a risk of choking, why even sell these at all?” Well, according to the development team, the desserts are designed to combine the convenience of an on-the-go treat with the satisfaction of a full dessert experience, and judging by what they’ve produced, there was no skimping on recreating the dessert experience.

The straw element puts these somewhere between a drink and dessert, but it’s important to heed the warnings and sip responsibly, taking care to chew the warabi mochi pieces. With people dying every year from choking on mochi, a similarly sticky traditional confection, these warnings are issued out of neccesity, so be careful when trying this matcha latte.

Source, images: Press release
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