Dessert drinks capture the flavour of the new season.

When the seasons change in Japan, the menus also change, with seasonal ingredients taking pride of place at restaurants, and at some of the big-name chains around the country as well.

Over at Starbucks, the humble pumpkin and sweet potato will be taking centre stage this autumn, in the form of two limited-time beverages that capture the taste of the season.

First up is the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which, despite being a staple overseas for many years, only appeared in Japan last year after a 15-year absence. There’ll be a hot and cold version of the drink, both of which contain ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves to help conjure up the taste of a freshly baked pumpkin pie.

Accompanying the Pumpkin Spice Latte this year is a Grilled Sweet Potato Brûlée Frappuccino. Designed to make you feel as if you’re eating a sweet potato brûlée, this drink contains a slightly caramel-flavoured sweet potato syrup blended with ice and milk.

On top is a sweet potato brûlée sauce and brûlée chips to bring out the fragrant flavour of the star root vegetable with a fun textural contrast.

The Frappuccino will be on sale from 21 September to 18 October, priced at 668 yen (US$4.69) for in-store customers and 680 yen for takeout. The Pumpkin Spice Latte will be on the menu from 21 September to 31 October, in short through to Venti sizes, priced from 501 yen to 640 yen.

As always, both new releases will only be available while stocks last within their respective sales periods. If stocks do run out, though, there is a silver lining for customers, because that’s when they bring out the elusive “Phantom” Frappuccino for a limited time.

Source: Starbucks via Entabe
Images: Starbucks
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