- Tags:
- Berries / Cream pie / Desserts / Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind / Starbucks / Studio Ghibli / Sweets
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If you're perusing the current sweets menu at Starbucks Japan, you'll find what on name alone sounds to be a delicious seasonal dessert--the Blueberry and Cocoa Cream Pie. The new dessert packs strawberry powder-coated chocolate pearls and blueberry cream into cocoa pie crust, offering a berry-flavored crispy but creamy treat.
However, their very distinct appearance has quickly stolen the headlines from its flavor profile online. The way the new cream pies look as been the subject of much talk on Twitter, with many captivated by the "alien-like" appearance and some saying they're just too terrified to eat them.
(c) grape Japan
(c) grape Japan<
The reason for this can be explained by a combination of the beady-like chocolate pearls and the healthy serving of seeping cream from within the pie. However, the pies have a striking resemblance to two specific things in Japan--neither of which is that appetizing. The first are the egg clusters of the golden apple snail. You can find their egg sacs often in the countryside, attached to leaves in rice fields. Outside of their aesthetic, they happen to contain a powerful neurotoxin, so you wouldn't want to imagine biting into these.
Source: プロキオン / PIXTA(ピクスタ)
The second comparison comes from animation giant Studio Ghibli. While Ghibli films are filled with delicious-looking food, the comparison these cream pries are drawing are to Ohmu, the giant insects found in The Sea of Corruption in Nausicaa Valley of the Wind. The resemblance is uncanny!
Source: © Studio Ghibli
Particularly when viewed in a certain light!
(c) grape Japan
(c) grape Japan
You'll find many comments online swearing off the idea of the pie, particularly from those who say if they've grown up in the countryside or are an avid Ghibli fan, the egg sacs and/or the giant Ohmu are all they can see when they look at it. It's not all bad, however. In fact quite a few have gone the opposite route, saying the creepy appearance is a drawing point to buy it.
Trying them out ourselves, we found them to be quite tasty, with a very good balance between the crunchy and flaky cocoa pie crust and the mix of smooth and creamy berry filling found within. Still, as tasty as they were, it's hard to not imagine these cream pies staring back at you!
(c) grape Japan