As a limited-time promotional campaign, McDonald’s Japan will be treating customers to free servings of their new revamped iced coffee!

That’s right, McDonald’s Japan will be launching a completely new version of their Premium Roast Iced Coffee starting May 21, and what’s more, they’ll be giving out free small-sized cups of the drink for the first five days until May 25.

And their new iced coffee isn’t just any ordinary drink, either. As part of their “Promising Better Taste” project, McDonald’s Japan have revamped their iced coffee with the help of 2014 World Barista Championship winner Hidenori Izaki, so you can say that the new iced coffee has the stamp of approval from the world’s number one barista.

Izaki, who earlier this year redesigned McDonald’s Japan’s caffe latte, selected the type and origin of coffee beans as well as how they’re blended and roasted to create what is being describing as a refreshing and mild taste with an excellent balance of aroma and richness. In fact, they’re confident that regular customers are sure to notice a significant difference in taste rom the previous iced coffee. In particular, they explain that including Guatemalan beans in the blend has created a more vibrant aroma and their new method of roasting allows for a clean aftertaste.

And from May 21 to 25, you’ll be able to try a small-size serving of the new Premium Roast Iced Coffee for free during the morning hours of 7 am to 10 am so that you can see for yourself how different the new drink tastes. Izaki has commented that he created the iced coffee to go well with hamburgers and that hopefully the drink is refreshing enough for the hot Japanese summer and tasty enough that you can drink it everyday without growing tired of it.

McDonald’s Japan will also be putting on two giveaway promotions on their Twitter account to coincide with the launch of the new iced coffee. The first promotion will be a giveaway of 1,000 coupons for a free small-sized iced coffee (valid from July 1 to September 30) for Twitter users who retweet McDonald’s Japan’s tweets with the hashtag “#ひと夏分のアイスコーヒー”. The second promotion involves answering the five questions McDonald’s Japan will release each day on their Twitter account from May 21 to 25, and one lucky participant who answers at least one of the questions correctly will win a special giant McDonald’s straw. If you’re interested, details on the promotions can be found on their special website campaign page.

▼ Here’s the TV commercial for their five-day free iced coffee campaign.

The new Premium Roast Iced Coffee will be available at McDonald’s locations across Japan from May 21 and priced at 100 yen (US$0.90) for a small-sized cup, 150 yen for a medium and 210 yen for a large.

If you’re in Japan this summer, you may want to try the revamped iced coffee to beat the heat and see for yourself what they’ve done with the drink. But if you’re going during the five-day free iced coffee deal, you may want to be prepared for huge crowds, because who wouldn’t be amenable to a nice cold cup of iced coffee just as the weather is turning warm, right?

Source: McDonald’s Japan press release 
Top and insert images: McDonald’s Japan website special iced coffee campaign page