Starbucks Japan has teamed up with Spanish luxury leather designer Loewe to produce a range of sexy leather sleeves for its paper coffee cups, it was announced yesterday.

The limited-edition sleeves are part of a programme designed to provide financial support to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that stuck north-eastern Japan in March last year.

As well as producing a limited number of leather coffee cup sleeves, Starbucks Japan also announced that it will be stocking a new original blend of Costa Rican coffee beans under the banner of Starbucks Special Reserve.

▼The swanky new coffee. Brew a cup, relax, feel good about yourself.

Both the new sleeves and coffee are scheduled to be made available in a limited number of stores from 14th November this year, just in time for those cold late autumn days when you want to hug a cup of coffee but would rather it didn’t melt your hand in the process.

The sleeves come in a six different colours: rude red, bold blue, young yellow, orang-utan orange, precious pink and business black.*

▼Ooh-la-la! Looking sharp, Starbucks!

The posh new sleeves will be available for a minimum donation of 1,000 yen a piece (US$12.50).

As well as acting as giving Jpan’s coffee-guzzling elite something new to show off to their pals, the campaign will drum up monetary aid for victims of the Tohoku earthquake, with the proceeds from the sales of the new sleeves and coffee being donated to non-profit group JOICFP, who are focusing in particular on helping young women and mothers affected by the recent disaster.

The sleeves and limited edition coffee will only be available in a small number of stores across  Japan, so if you’re in the country and simply must have one, then you’ll need to check the list of stores below to find out where you should be on 14th November when the products launch:

  •  Tamagawa Takashimaya Shopping Centre (Tokyo)
  • Gate City Ōsaki (Tokyo)
  • Tōkyū Plaza, Omotesandō Harajuku Store (Tokyo)
  • Kyōto Sanjō Karasuma building (Kyōto)
  • Midōsuji, Hon machi Toshiba building (Ōsaka)

Good luck, coffee fans!

Source: Fashionsnap Images: (C) Starbucks Japan