A tide of media describing 2020 as a “lost year” is rapidly rising across the world. While certainly lockdown living and the state of general abstinence that has been enforced on people’s lives has been lamentable, 2020 has not been without its satisfying sweet notes. Especially in Japan, we’ve been treated to some undeniably spectacular sugary treats to keep the corners of our mouths upturned in spite of the whole world trying to drag them down . I mean, 2020 was the year Starbucks managed to distill an entire candied sweet potato into a gorgeous seasonal Frappuccino. What’s not to love about that!? And what’s more, with a few weeks still left of 2020, Family Mart released some sweet beverages and snacks to round off the year on a final sweet note.

Family Mart launched a hot and iced “Morinaga Milk Caramel Latte” on December 1st. The beverages are enriched with the gentle sweetness of milk from Tokyo based dairy company Morinaga & Co. Ltd. They also contain a subtly sweet caramel sauce based on Morinaga’s popular Milk Caramel candies. Finally, finished with Family Mart’s rich coffee machine espresso, this new caramel latte is a sublimely satisfying drink that beautifully blends bitter and sweet notes.

The hot latte benefits from Family Mart’s patented milk-steaming technology which fills every latte with surprising smooth and fluffy foamed milk. It produces such a superlative latte that Family Mart have made a special PR video for their fuwafuwa milk which you can watch below.

For fans of iced drinks, the Morinaga Milk Caramel Latte also comes in a chilled version which is both refreshing and rich.

Family Mart also started offering a Morinaga Milk Caramel Fluffy Chiffon cake which we recommend enjoying alongside the caramel lattes. The lighter than air sponge oozes with Morinaga Milk Caramel infused whipped cream that gives all the satisfaction of enjoying two sweets in one.

While there’s no sign of white Christmas, at least in Toyko anyway, Family Mart’s latest treats give everyone the chance to swap out mounds of fluffy snow for a sea of fizzling caramel-flavored white foam. Why not round out the year by raising a Morinaga Milk Caramel latte to the sweeter memories in 2020?

Beverage and sweet details

Morinaga Milk Caramel Latte [HOT]

  • Price: ¥210 (inc. tax)
  • Availability: Nationwide (excluding Okinawa Prefecture)
  • Release Date: December 1st, 2020

Morinaga Milk Caramel Latte [ICE]

  • Price: ¥240 (inc. tax)
  • Availability: Nationwide (excluding Okinawa Prefecture)
  • Release Date: December 1st, 2020

Morinaga Milk Caramel Latte [HOT]

  • Price: ¥140 (inc. tax)
  • Availability: Nationwide (excluding Hokkaido, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa prefectures)
  • Release Date: December 1st, 2020

By - Toby M.