The Starbucks sakura Frappuccino, which appears every spring in Japan without fail, has become the envy of the world. For fans of both the corporate coffee shop mastodon and Japanese cherry blossom, this sought-after drink is the ultimate Instagram fodder. So much so, that it becomes sold out in many Tokyo stores almost as soon as it goes on sale.

But perhaps Lindt Japan could be a competitor in the cherry blossom themed beverage department. They release the White Chocolate Sakura Ice drink every year but make it original by switching up the toppings and appearance of the beverage.

Two types of cherry are blended with white chocolate to make the decadent drink. It’s topped with whipped cream which contains real cherry blossom leaves, pickled to preserve them. They have a slight salty taste to counterbalance the overwhelming sweetness. Then the elegant look is finished off with cherry sauce and perfectly formed sakura flowers made from Lindt’s famous chocolate.

The pink and green colour scheme perfectly matches the cherry blossom trees. This year, on presentation alone, Lindt have absolutely nailed Starbucks, who are still carrying on their classic creamy-messy-saucy aesthetic for their iced drinks. Step it up guys!

It hasn’t been released yet, so we can’t comment on the taste, but since Lindt specialize in chocolate, we can probably expect good quality from a chocolate-based drink such as this.

The announcement of this year’s Starbucks spring offering is surely coming any day now, and there’s every chance they will come up with something so original it blows Lindt’s competitor away like blossom in the wind...

The drink is available from 16th February to 31st March, costing 772 yen.