Japanese convenience store chain serves up two green tea drinks for a limited time.

7-Eleven struck gold when it launched an exclusive line of smoothies at its stores around Japan in 2023. The freshly made drinks quickly became a hit with local customers and those visiting from overseas, spawning new flavours like Acai, Banana, and even Sweet Potato.

Amongst all these flavours, however, there was one that was particularly popular, but it was a blink-and-you’ll miss it release. Only available for a very short time in October last year, and at the pop-up 7-Eleven store at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, this smoothie flew off shelves and disappeared shortly after, leaving fans longing for its return.

Well, 7-Eleven has heard the cry and is now bringing that smoothie back, this time in two variations:

▼ The Uji Matcha Smoothie (420 yen [US$2.64])…

▼ …and the Fragrant Matcha Smoothie (420 yen).

Both new drinks have over a century of expertise behind them, as the Uji Matcha Smoothie uses powdered green tea from Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten, a tea wholesaler in Kyoto that was established 165 years ago, in 1861.

▼ Kitagawa Hanbei’s logo appears on the packaging for the new smoothie.

The Fragrant Matcha Smoothie is made with matcha from Marushichi Seicha, a tea merchant in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, that was founded in 1907.

▼ Marushichi’s famous “七” (“shichi” [“seven”]) logo appears on the smoothie packaging.

Both smoothies boast a visually vibrant green colour and are said to contain a rich flavour and elegant aroma. Like all of 7-Eleven’s cafe smoothies, these too will be sold in the freezer section in pre-made form, with cubes filling each cup.

Simply take the cup to the register and pay for it, and then take it over to the smoothie machine on the counter, where you’ll scan the barcode and then pop it into the machine, which will whip it up fresh for you on the spot.

The only downside to these new drinks is their limited availability, as they’ll only be around in set areas from certain dates. The Uji Matcha Smoothie will be available in Fukushima Prefecture and the Kanto region (in and around Tokyo) from 21 April, then Hokkaido, Tohoku (excluding Fukushima Prefecture), Niigata Prefecture, and parts of Tokai from 28 April, followed by Kyushu from 5 May and Kansai (which covers Osaka, Kyoto and surrounding prefectures), Chugoku/Shikoku, and Okinawa Prefecture from 12 May.

As for the Fragrant Matcha Smoothie, it will be available in a much more limited area, coming to stores in parts of Nagano Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the Tokai and Hokuriku regions from 28 April. Only stores equipped with smoothie machines will be stocking the new drinks, so it may require a bit of effort to get your hands on them, but as we discovered with the recent five-Frappuccino release from Starbucks, treasure hunts are as much about the journey as the gold you find at the end of them.

Source, images: Press release
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