Created with Shibuya109 Lab, this new release aims to bridge the gap between traditional coffee and sweet Frappuccinos.

This year marks the 30th anniversary for Starbucks in Japan, and the chain is celebrating the milestone with a number of new and innovative creations. Its latest release is particularly special, as the chain worked with Shibuya109 lab, a youth marketing organisation based in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, to help create it.

The collaboration sought to understand how younger generations view coffee. It found that 46 percent of those surveyed had never tried black coffee, with many saying they thought it seemed bitter, while around 56 percent said they would drink coffee if it was sweet. Starbucks then got to work creating a new range of drinks to cater to those tastes.

Through workshops and tasting sessions, Starbucks discovered a gap between black coffee and sweet coffee drinks like lattes and Frappuccino beverages on the menu, and so fine-tuned the new beverages to enhance their drinkability and visual appeal.

The result is two new drinks that don’t fit the mold of traditional black coffee but aren’t as sweet as a Starbucks latte or Frappuccino.

▼ Clear Coffee (481 yen [US$3.26] for takeout; 490 yen dine-in) on the right, and Citrus Clear Coffee (579 yen takeout; 590 yen dine-in) on the left

The standard Clear Coffee is said to deliver a “gentle” coffee flavour with reduced bitterness and a subtle sweetness. Despite the lighter flavour profile, the aroma of coffee is still retained, providing a more approachable “first step” into the world of coffee for younger generations.

The Citrus Clear Coffee combines coffee with pieces of citrus fruit, creating a bright, refreshing flavour that helps to make coffee feel more familiar and approachable, especially during the hot summer months. The combination of fruit and coffee may sound unusual, but the company says the layered appearance of the drink, along with the ability to customise it with fruit pieces and syrup, is part of the experience.

▼ Both drinks use “Sumatra Masa Depan” coffee beans, which were developed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the chain’s arrival in Japan.

Since opening its first Japanese store in Ginza in 1996, Starbucks has continued to develop new and exciting products for the local market, and these Clear Coffee drinks are a clever way to open the door to a new generation of drinkers. In fact, anyone who prefers a lighter coffee will likely be drawn to these drinks, and you can try them when they’re released on 31 July at Starbucks stores across Japan.

Source, images: Press release
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