Can a drink that’s meant to look like an illuminated Christmas tree actually taste good?

Now that Christmas is just a month away, Starbucks Japan is getting everyone in the festive mood with their second instalment of limited-edition holiday season drinks, called the Nutty White Chocolate Frappuccino and the Nutty White Mocha.

Keen for a taste of Christmas, our Japanese-language reporter Masami headed out to Starbucks on the drinks’ release date of 22 November, and when she arrived, the nutty duo was waiting to greet her at the front entrance.

She ordered one each of the hot and cold drinks, which both looked beautiful with shiny chocolate dragées sprinkled over their whipped cream toppings.

According to Starbucks, these sparkly dragées aim to mimic the lights on a Christmas tree, so customers can feel the same type of joy that’s sparked when the festive lights come on for the first time during the holiday season.  

While it’s a lovely sentiment, the thought of actually drinking Christmas lights is one that doesn’t really spark joy, so Masami was a little trepidatious when it came to taking her first sip of the Frappuccino.

She decided to take a quick look at the list of ingredients, and was pleased to find the drink was actually filled with some pretty tasty components. In addition to milky white chocolate, the beverage contains hazelnuts, roasted walnuts and crunchy shortbread pieces, which peered out at her enticingly from the bottom of the cup.

She grabbed a spoon, picked up a generous dollop of the dessert drink, and took a taste. Instantly, the flavour and aroma of roasted nuts permeated her senses, and then the creaminess of the white chocolate kicked in, leaving a pleasantly sweet finish on the tongue. The shortbread pieces created a crunchy accent that made it fun to drink, and when she closed her eyes, images of the Christmas lights danced around in her head.

After finishing the icy cold beverage, Masami was reminded of the coldness of winter, which made it the perfect time to warm up with the Nutty White Mocha.

This one was an absolute delight to drink, and while it contained the same ingredients as the Frappuccino, the mocha comes with the addition of an espresso shot, which makes it slightly bittersweet. The nutty coffee was incredibly delicious, and rather than conjure up images of the Christmas lights, this one actually made Masami feel like she was snuggling up in front of a fireplace.

The Nutty White Chocolate Frappuccino is available in a tall size only for 590 yen (US$5.43) plus tax, while the Nutty White Mocha is sold in Short through to Venti sizes from 450-570 yen, plus tax.

After selling out of their first Christmas drinkware range and serving up the first festive Frappuccino of the season, Christmas is almost over before it’s even begun at Starbucks. And now that the the new holiday season drinkware collection is selling out after going on sale on 22 November, these drinks will be keeping the festive season alive until they disappear from the menu on Christmas Day.

Photos © SoraNews24
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