Inspired by a day at the beach, with a jelly that tastes like salty sea waves.

As the summer heat continues to make us sweat and yearn for days at the seaside, Starbucks is serving up a taste of the beach in a special limited-edition beverage called the Sunshine Pineapple Frappuccino.

While the drink goes on sale for a limited time from 7 August, Starbucks Rewards members are able to purchase the drink in the two days before the official release, so that’s what our reporter K. Masami was able to do, lining up to order it at her local Starbucks on 6 August.

▼ The new drink retails for 690 yen (US$4.77).

The first thing that makes this drink so special is the way it looks, because the colourful layers are designed to represent a day at the beach, with the blue base being the sea, the orange being sunshine and the white cream on top representing clouds in the sky.

▼ The real star of the show is the blue sea salt jelly at the bottom of the drink, which is something Masami had never seen in a Frappuccino before.

Pineapple and salt sounds like a refreshing combination, but just how salty would the jelly be? Taking a sip, Masami braced herself for a wave of salt, but thankfully, it didn’t crash down on her taste buds — it simply washed over them gently, creating a slight saltiness that let the pineapple juice shine through beautifully. The seasoning was just enough to leave a refreshing salty tang on the tongue, as it would if you caught a splash from the sea while paddling about in shallow waters.

▼ The jiggly texture also added a wonderful coolness to the tongue.

The salty jelly added such an addictive flavour to the delicious sweet and tart pineapple that Masami found herself finishing the drink in no time at all. And when her day at the beach was over, she promised her taste buds she would take them there again — over and over through the summer while the drink is on the menu until 3 September.

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