An East-Meets-West fusion promises to excite the taste buds this winter.

Now that Christmas has been and gone, taking its festive Starbucks Frappuccinos with it, there’s a new offering on the menu at the famous coffeehouse chain in Japan. Called the Hojicha meets Caramel Cream Frappuccino, this new beverage is said to combine roasted green tea, or “hojicha”, with a sweet caramel sauce, and our reporter K. Masami was on the scene to taste it when it was released on 26 December.

The drink is available in hot and cold versions, and is joined by two other hot beverages for a limited time: the Caramel Apple Rooibos Tea and Oolong meets Citrus Tea Latte.

Masami placed her order for the Hojicha meets Caramel Cream Tea Latte, and when it arrived she immediately gave it a ten-out-of-ten for its gorgeous golden-caramel-hued appearance.

The beverage contains a base made with hojicha and black tea, intertwined with a hojicha caramel sauce that contains roasted hojicha powder.

This was a very saucy drink, but when Masami took her first sip, she was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t overly sweet.

It had a deep richness of flavour and an elegant, smooth finish that paid homage to a good cup of tea, with a slight caramel accent for a subtle sweetness.

This was one of the best hojicha-based drinks Masami has ever tried at Starbucks — and believe us, she’s tried a few.

It was so good that she decided to try another one of the new releases as well: the Oolong meets Citrus Tea Latte.

▼ Made with the heavenly sounding Teavana Zen Clouds Oolong.

The refreshing oolong latte looked warm and inviting, with its whipped cream and freeze-dried Satsuma mandarin and yuzu peel topping.

This drink brought Masami to a realisation she’s never had before: that oolong tea and slightly tart fruits go very well together. The milk and whipped cream mellowed out the citrus finish beautifully, creating a sumptuous drink that’s both refreshing and decadent.

While Masami was at Starbucks, she was able to pick up some limited-time items from the New Year’s drinkware range, which were met with approval by her furry flatmate at home.

The Hojicha meets Caramel Cream Frappuccino is available in a Tall for 660 yen (US$5.77) while the Oolong meets Citrus Tea Latte is available in Short through to Venti sizes, with prices starting from 510 yen. Both will be on the menu until 18 January.

Photos: ©SoraNews24
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