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Tasting Starbucks’ Sesame Almond Tofu Frappuccino, the drink you can’t get in Japan or the U.S.

Casey Baseel Jun 25, 2020
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You can’t get this new treat in Starbucks’ home country or the land of Frappuccino plenty, but we just tried it for ourselves.

As big fans of Starbucks’ Frappuccinos, we’re fortunate to live in Japan, where the chain brings out such a huge variety of seasonal blended ice dessert beverages that they’ve become a regular part of our diet. But while we definitely can’t complain about the amount of variety in our local Frappuccino selection, Japan doesn’t get every cool new flavor, and every now and then we find ourselves looking out across the East China Sea with envy at Taiwan’s Starbucks.

It happened last month with the Fantasy Tail “Mermaid” Frappuccino, and then again this month when we found out that Starbucks Taiwan was releasing a Sesame Almond Tofu (a.k.a. annin tofu) Frappucino. Luckily, though, our Japanese-language correspondent Yui Imai is based in Taiwan, so after the Sesame Almond Tofu went on sale last week she headed out to try it for herself.

▼ Prices start at 140 New Taiwan dollars (US$4.75)

In contrast to the pretty pink sakura and verdant matcha Frappuccinos that we so often enjoy in Japan, the Sesame Almond Tofu Frappuccino is a maturely sophisticated gray-scale concoction. That just communicates Starbucks’ commitment to the top-billed ingredient, though, because this thing is positively packed with sesame.

For starters, the whipped cream topping isn’t ordinary whipped cream, but a special sesame-infused variant. Drizzled on top of that is a fragrant black sesame sauce.

The drink’s base is a sesame and milk mixture, and way at the bottom of the cup is where you’ll find a foundation of soft, quivery almond tofu.

Now even though we were intrigued by the concept, we weren’t sure how the Sesame Almond Tofu Frappuccino would actually taste. Sure, sesame isn’t all that uncommon in traditional Asian sweets, but it’s not something that’s usually added to almond tofu, which plays things sweeter in its flavor profile. But as soon as Yui took her first sip, her concerns vanished and her taste buds sang out in joy.

As expected, you get plenty of sesame as the first impression, spreading from the tip of your tongue throughout your mouth. But then you get a piece of jiggly almond tofu, and the arrival of the sweetness creates an enjoyable symmetry with the sesame spice.

All in all, it’s a refreshing and satisfying combination, and one that Yui thinks would be a big hit if they only offered it in Japan, so we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that it eventually gets added to the Starbucks Japan menu (while also checking out alternatives, of course).

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[ Read in Japanese ]