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Instagram-Worthy Blossoming Hot Chocolate Arrives in Houston

It’s topped with flower-shaped marshmallows that actually bloom

Dominique Ansel’s blossoming hot chocolate
Ameritania Hotel/Facebook
Amy McCarthy is a reporter at Eater.com, focusing on pop culture, policy and labor, and only the weirdest online trends.

Because there aren’t enough viral food trends in this city, Midtown’s Cafe Poetes has plans to bring a hot cocoa to its menu that features blooming flower marshmallows.

The flower-topped hot chocolate will debut this week at Cafe Poetes, and owner Karine Favre-Massartic is seriously stoked about this new addition. “I love blooming marshmallow. I love rain. I love how they softens the outlines of things,” Favre-Massartic wrote on Facebook. “The world becomes softly blurred and I feel like I melt right into it.”

Here’s how the drink works: once the hot chocolate is poured into a mug, the flower marshmallow is placed on top. After a few seconds, the heat from the drink causes the petals to “bloom.” or fan out over the top of the cup. It’s actually a pretty cool trick, one that Instagram enthusiasts will definitely go wild over. Take a peek at the blooming action below:

I love blooming marshmallow. I love rain. I love how they softens the outlines of things. The world becomes softly blurred and I feel like I melt right into it. Inspired by Hanamoto Hagumi. Tomorrow Thursday marshmallows will bloom at the café ✨#cafepoetes #bloomingmarshmallow #hotchocolate #rainydays #frenchcafe #midtownhouston

Posted by Café Poêtes on Wednesday, February 21, 2018

The idea was first popularized by viral pastry genius Dominique Ansel, the mind behind the massively popular cronut, who also uses the blooming marshmallows to top hot chocolate. Ansel’s flowers sparked an Instagram trend, and even recipes for people to learn how to make the sugary, over-the-top garnishes at home. The flowers, made at Cafe Poetes, have a decidedly different look than Ansel’s original creation.

The blooming hot chocolate debuts at Cafe Poetes today, which is just gloomy and rainy enough to justify a steaming mug of hot chocolate.