We try Starbucks’ buzzworthy (and slightly gross) new cream pie to see how good it really is

https://ift.tt/elWiLBS Shannon

Hopefully they won’t hatch into snails in our stomachs.

Starbucks Japan’s new seasonal dessert, the Blueberry and Cocoa Cream Pie, recently trended in Japan due to its appearance that’s eerily similar to clusters of Japanese snail eggs. And while we didn’t notice any bad reviews about the taste, its looks alone have made many question their desire to eat it in the first place.

▼ Can you spot them in the display case?

So, we hopped down to our local Starbucks to put it to the test. When our Japanese-language reporter Tasuku Egawa went, there were only two left on the shelf. He grabbed both of the 300-yen (US$2.22) morsels and brought them home for a taste test.

▼ Here is his prize in all of its buzzworthy glory.

▼ And here’s a close-up of the pearly (or eggy?) part.

And for reference, here’s what actual snail eggs look like, commonly spotted in the Japanese countryside in summertime.

スクミリンゴガイ(ジャンボタニシ)の卵塊。
毒々しいピンク色で 実際に毒があります。 pic.twitter.com/k5tmsjBPEC

— takahiro (@tobineco) June 14, 2022

▼ But when you cover up the pink pearls, it doesn’t look so bad.

The chocolate pastry is filled with a light purple blueberry-flavored cream, and the pearls are actually chocolate mixed with strawberry powder.

When cut in half, you can see the blueberry cream is mixed with jam of the same fruit. The dark brown of the chocolate blends nicely with the light purple of the blueberries.

Tasuku took a taste and judged it to be excellent. The pie-like outer chocolate part was perfectly flavored, and the fluffy cream was filling and tasty. The strawberry pearls added a nice texture as well. As a pastry, he gives it a double thumbs up!

But there was still the issue of its appearance. Even though Starbucks normally makes high-end-looking snacks, there are many Japanese people who look at this pie and think of rice fields in the countryside.

▼ So why not intersperse the pearls in the cream? Egawa thought. He cut off a chunk of pearls.

▼ The end result looks much more like a pastry.

▼ The knife was a different story, though.

Now it looks even more like snail eggs! Oh well. If you’re one of the lucky ones that can look at this pastry without thinking of snail eggs, you’ll be in for a tasty seasonal Starbucks treat. If not, consider one of their limited-time Jimoto Frappuccinos that use regional-specialty ingredients!

Sources: Twitter
Images ©SoraNews24
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