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Sakura Lindor: A Lindt chocolate you can only buy in Japan

Oona McGee Jan 30, 2022
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We find out what it’s like to bite into a Lindor cherry blossom.

Customers in Japan really are spoilt when it comes to limited-edition products and flavours from well-known international brands.

From Pringles in dozens of flavours through to KitKats made with yoghurt sake, there are loads of great choices designed to appeal to local tastes, but as the weather gets warmer and spring appears on the horizon, nothing says “Japan” quite like the taste of cherry blossoms.

That’s why this spring, Swiss brand Lindt is doing something it’s never done before, in any of the 120 countries it does business in. It’s giving Japanese customers ”the world’s first Sakura Lindor”, and as soon as the chocolates were released on 20 January, we put in an online order for a pack of 10 for 993 yen (US$8.61)…

▼ …and an 8-piece assorted gift bag for 1,080 yen.

When our package arrived, we found there was one free Sakura Lindor included as well, which is kind of like the free Lindor they give customers who enter their brick-and-mortar stores.

Peering into the assorted gift bag, we spotted another special Lindor — the green Matcha Lindor, which was the brand’s first-ever Japanese flavour, released in 2018 and limited for sale in Asia and Australia.

Spilling the Lindt balls out of the bag revealed there were five pink sakura, along with one matcha, one milk, and one dark chocolate variety.

It was nice to have a variety of Lindor to feast on, but today, our taste buds had their receptors set on only one flavour — Sakura.

Unravelling the pretty pink packaging revealed a white chocolate ball that had flecks of red and pink strewn across it.

Its speckled appearance made it look like a mysterious planet from another galaxy, and at one pole there appeared to be a crater, where a river of cream poked out from beneath the surface.

Splitting the orb into two hemispheres revealed a very large, pink core, which was a nice surprise. Biting into it was even more surprising, as the first taste filled the nose with intense floral aromas reminiscent of sakura petals, before hitting the tongue with an equally intense cherry flavour.

The cherry was more like a tart Western-style cherry flavour rather than the sweet-and-salty sakura flavours that are popular in Japan, but as soon as the tart cherry arrived, it was washed out with the creaminess of the white chocolate casing, creating a more familiar sakura taste, with tiny bursts of fruity strawberry added to the mix.

▼ Bits of strawberry seeds in the white chocolate casing add a crunchy contrast

For such a small ball, this chocolate packed in a rollercoaster of flavours, taking us from floral aromatics through to tart fruit, sweet fruit and then creamy chocolate, before finishing with an aftertaste that’s distinctly sakura.

It’s a deliciously wild ride, and one we really recommend you try this hanami season. Of course, these chocolates are best enjoyed while sitting under the cherry blossom trees, so you can gaze at the iconic flowers while their flavour melts upon your tongue, and if this year’s sakura forecast is correct, we don’t have to wait long for that to happen!

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