Enjoy the taste of autumn in Japan with three limited-edition drinks you won’t find anywhere else.
In Japan, Starbucks is much more than a coffeehouse chain, with 15 “Starbucks Tea & Cafe” stores in select locations around the country. These standalone branches focus on the chain’s range of teas, with exclusive menu items you won’t find anywhere else, such as Tea Lattes and Tea Frappuccinos.
▼ The stores have a different feel too, with peachy biege hues that resemble the mud walls of a traditional chashitsu (tea room).
With Starbucks unveiling its new autumn Frappuccino yesterday, which will be available at the chain’s regular branches from 4 September, it’s time for the Starbucks Tea & Cafe branches to unveil their exclusive new seasonal offerings, and this time there’ll be two very Japanese beverages on the menu.
▼ First up, we have the Japanese Chestnut and Japanese Black Tea Mousse Tea Latte (678 yen [US$4.68] for takeout, 690 yen for dine-in).
Available iced or hot (pictured left and right respectively in the above photo), the star ingredient in this Tea Latte is “waguri” or Japanese chestnut, which has a sweeter and nuttier flavour than its overseas counterparts. With chestnuts being the main ingredient in Mont Blanc, an incredibly popular autumn dessert in Japan that consists of a sponge cake topped with piped swirls of chestnut cream, these new drinks are said to taste just like the dessert, with a soft chestnut-flavoured mousse and swirls of chestnut-flavoured paste on top.
The body of the drink contains Japanese black tea sourced from Kagoshima Prefecture, which is said to display a “gentle aroma and delicate taste” due to the unique local climate. Specially roasted to maximise flavour, this tea is said to pair incredibly well with milk and Japanese chestnuts, creating a sublime taste that will make you feel as if you’re enjoying a Mont Blanc with a side of milk tea.
▼ The Mont Blanc inspiration is also present in the Japanese Chestnuts and Japanese Black Tea Frappuccino (776 yen for takeout, 790 yen for dine-in).
The Frappuccino contains the same main ingredients as the latte, but with more ice in the blend for extra refreshment and whipped cream up top in place of the chestnut mousse. Like the latte, it too contains a sprinkling of Japanese black tea powder on top for added aroma and flavour, giving you the freedom to enjoy it full-strength or diluted as you mix it into the drink.
▼ Starbucks says the new drinks are a great way to “enjoy the charm of autumn in Japan”.
Like all good things, these new beverages will only be available for a limited time, gracing the menu at Starbucks Tea & Cafe branches in Japan from 4 September to 31 October. It’s a tasty incentive to seek out one of these special branches, which are just as rare as the drinks you’ll find in them.
Related: Starbucks Tea & Cafe
Source, images: Press release
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