The crunch doesn’t just come from the ice in this dessert drink made with traditional Japanese imo kempi sweets.

Foodies in Japan have long held that you should take an afternoon break (usually at 3 o’clock) to relax with some tea or sweets. It’s a philosophy we here at SoraNews24 can really get behind, especially since the country’s cafes keep tempting us with new dessert drinks now that fall is here.

Earlier this week, McDonald’s McCafé by Barista branches unveiled their updated lineup of matcha green tea beverages, and now its Starbucks’ turn to have us looking forward to a mid-day liquid dessert. One of Japan’s favorite autumn foods is sweet potato, and that’s the star of the brand-new Crispy Sweet Potato Frappuccino.

Yes, that’s right, crispy. While the chain’s Frappuccino’s are famous for their icy texture, the new drink has some legitimate crush to it, since it’s made with imo kempi, a traditional Japanese thrice-fried sweet potato chip that’s coated with sugar for extra sweetness.

▼ Imo kempi

The Crispy Sweet Potato Frappuccino has imo kempi (made from Japanese kogane sengan sweet potatoes) mixed into not only its whipped cream topping, but also the slushy beverage itself, ensuring plenty of crunch until the very last sip/bite. There’s also a rich and fragrant sweet potato sauce on the ingredient list.

Starbucks is also adding Sweet Potato Lattes to its menu, in both hot and cold varieties, once again topped with a swirl of imo kempi-enhanced whipped cream.

The Frappuccino is priced at 580 yen (US$5.20) for a tall, while the Lattes start at 440 yen for a short. All three drinks go on sale September 13 and will be available until September 30, at which time we’ll have to start looking for other ways to get our drinkable sweet potato fix.

Source: Starbucks via Entabe
Top image: Starbucks
Insert image: Wikipedia/Ocdp

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he likes to put sweet potato slices into his nabe hot pot.