New drinks showcase the delicious taste and texture of cold potatoes.


As summer slowly eases its grip on the country and makes way for autumn, Starbucks Japan is welcoming the change of seasons with a classic autumnal ingredient: sweet potato.

There will be two new drinks showcasing the tuber: the Torori Mitsuimo Beni Haruka Frappuccino (from 687 yen [US$4.30]) and the Torori Mitsuimo Beni Haruka Mousse Tea Latte (from 628 yen). As the names suggest, the type of sweet potato used is the Beni Haruka, a popular variety in Japan, with a focus on “mitsuimo” (literally “honey potato”), the term used to describe sweet potatoes whose natural sugars become concentrated into a honey-like sweetness when baked.

The soft and gooey mitsuimo texture is said to be replicated beautifully in both drinks, through a sweet potato paste made from Japanese Beni Haruka. In the Frappuccino, the paste is combined with milk to create a rich sweetness, with roasted sweet potato-flavoured sauce drizzled over the whipped cream for an enticing roasted aroma. To finish, the drink is topped with roasted sweet potato-flavoured chips, inspired by “imomitsu” (“potato honey”), the caramelised, honey-like juices that ooze out and harden on the surface of a sweet potato as it bakes.

The Torori Mitsuimo Beni Haruka Mousse Tea Latte pairs the chilled Beni Haruka sweet potato paste with a milk tea blend featuring Darjeeling and Assam. On top sits a fluffy sweet potato-flavoured mousse, which can be enjoyed on its own at first, before being mixed into the milk tea for added depth of flavour.

While sweet potatoes are traditionally enjoyed hot and freshly baked, Starbucks says it wanted to highlight how the texture and taste change when chilled. Rather than being soft and fluffy, a chilled sweet potato can become moist and creamy, bringing out a different side to its sweetness.

▼ Rounding out the sweet potato offerings is the Beni Haruka and Annoimo Baked Mitsuimo Cake.

This cake combines two varieties of Japanese sweet potato: Beni Haruka, known for its refined sweetness, and Annoimo, which has a richer, more honey-like flavour. The combination is designed to balance the lighter sweetness of Beni Haruka with the deeper richness of Annoimo, and can be enjoyed hot or cold. When hot, the cake has a roasted aroma, with a gooey, honey-like sweetness and caramelised surface, and when chilled, it has a dense, smooth texture and concentrated sweetness.

All the items in the new release are a great way to get a taste of a very Japanese seasonal flavour, and they’ll be available at Starbucks stores across Japan for a limited time from 2 September.

Source, images: Press release
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