Starbucks Japan Oleato drink olive oil bread food cutomisation hack taste test review photos Tokyo Reserve Roastery

Turns out there’s something else you should try when drinking the chain’s new olive-oil infused drinks.

Recently, Starbucks made global headlines when it announced it would be adding a range of olive-oil infused beverages to their menu in select stores around the world.

Known as Starbucks Oleato, the range landed in Japan on 20 April,where it’s being sold at 63 stores nationwide, including all 55 Reserve stores.

As the third market in the world to receive the new drinks, following the February debut in Milan and the March release in the U.S., Starbucks fans in Japan like our reporter Yuuichiro Wasai have been eagerly waiting for a chance to try them. So when Yuuichiro stopped by the Reserve Roastery Tokyo on release day, he wasn’t surprised when he had to join a long queue of customers.

Granted, they might not all have been lining up for the Oleato, as this special branch is popular with locals and tourists, but there were more people here than usual and Yuuichiro couldn’t help but feel an extra buzz of excitement in the air.

▼ The Reserve Roastery Tokyo is the largest Starbucks in Japan, and it was the largest in the world when it opened in 2019.

The full range of three Oleato drinks can be purchased at this location: Golden Foam Cold Brew (960 yen), Golden Cream Iced Espresso (1,050 yen) and Oat Milk Latte (900 yen).

Yuuichiro joined the queue just after 10:00 a.m. on a weekday, and set a timer on his phone to find out how long it would take him to get served.

▼ It took 28 minutes and 36 seconds for him to reach the cash register and complete his order.

▼After a total wait time of 41 minutes 21 seconds, he finally had an olive-oil infused beverage in his hand.

 

The beverage he chose to order was the most expensive of the lot — the Golden Cream Iced Espresso.

After waiting so long in line, Yuuichiro had worked up a bit of an appetite, so he asked staff to recommend him something to eat that would pair well with the drink.

As if they’d been anticipating such a question, one of the staff members immediately replied but Yuuichiro couldn’t catch what they’d said with all the noise inside the store.

▼ So they wrote their recommendation down for him.

Yuuichiro had been expecting a sweet recommendation so he was surprised to read the note and find they’d recommended him something savoury — the Ciabatta Pistacchio.

▼ Never one to refuse a recommendation, Yuuichiro purchased the ciabatta for 390 yen.

▼ The taste was much lighter than he expected, with a subtle pistachio flavor.

It was neither sweet nor salty, so on its own the taste seemed rather weak, but when he took a bite and followed it with a sip of the drink, his mind was blown.

The combination took the flavour of olive oil up a notch, with each item enhancing the olive oil notes in the other. It really was the best match, and a pairing you really ought to try if you can when the drinks arrive in your corner of the world.

As we’ve seen time and time again, Starbucks’ baristas really are well versed when it comes to giving recommendations to customers!

Cafe information
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo / スターバックス リザーブ ロースタリー東京
Address: Tokyo-to, Meguro-ku, Aobadai 2-19-23
東京都目黒区青葉台2丁目19-23
Open 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
Website

Related: Starbucks Oleato
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