Sure, we love puff pastry, but what’s it like to drink it?

One of the great things about our team having a reporter based in Taiwan is the fact that she’s able to give us a firsthand account of all the fantastic local Starbucks treats over there that we sadly miss out over here in Japan.

Now, she’s back to make us all green with envy once again, this time with Starbucks Taiwan’s newest limited-time offering: the Strawberry Choux Cream Frappuccino.

While this is the first time for the Frappuccino to land on Taiwanese shores, the Strawberry Choux Cream Frappuccino appeared in South Korea in 2017 and 2019 to huge acclaim. Now, it’s not only on the menu at Starbucks in Taiwan, but at a number of other Starbucks branches in east and southeast Asia as well.

The drink has been getting rave reviews from everyone who’s tried it so far, but our reporter Yui Imai wasn’t so sure if choux cream would make for a great Frappuccino, given that the milk bases they usually contain are already so creamy on their own.

Another potential problem was the fact that the drink doesn’t contain any cream puffs, which is the sweet Yui usually thinks of when she hears the words “choux cream”. Instead, the base is a blend of vanilla custard cream and milk, with plenty of strawberry pulp at the bottom.

Instead of cream puff pastry, the drink contains a topping of graham cracker pieces for a textural accent, and when Yui took her first sip of the drink, the initial flavour was similar to vanilla ice cream. A second or two later, the acidity and jelly-like texture from the strawberry pulp jumped into the flavour profile, providing a fruity refreshment to the creamy base.

Yui was almost upset to admit the beverage was actually amazing. And as for the missing cream puffs, the graham cracker pieces on top did a really good job of recreating the familiar pastry-and-cream combination. In fact, it was probably a better option than including real puff pastry pieces, which would have clumped together and created a cloying texture.

As she sipped through the drink, Yui was surprised to find that the crispy texture of the cookie, the mellow custard-flavoured Frappuccino base, and the strawberry pulp mix combined beautifully together to create an overall flavour that really tasted like a choux cream pastry.

This playful Frappuccino is available in three sizes, priced from 145-185 TWD (US$5.19-$6.63), and will be available for a limited time from 23 June.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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