SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

RocketNews24 Japanese

Featured

Starbucks Japan adds new Sweet Potato Frappuccino and Latte to the menu, but do they deliver the taste of autumn?

New drinks coincide with the opening of the chain’s new “Customisation Bar”, giving us a hack for making them even better.  

There’s now a distinct feeling of autumn in the air, and Starbucks is heralding its arrival in Japan with a very distinctive autumnal flavour: sweet potato. The ingredient is being showcased in two new drinks, the Torori Mitsuimo Beni Haruka Frappuccino and the Torori Mitsuimo Beni Haruka Mousse Tea Latte, which went on sale on 2 September.

With “torori” meaning “melty” or “gooey”, and “mitsuimo” (“honey potato”) referring to its thick sweetness, the Japanese names sound enticing to the ear, but would they be just as enticing to the palate? That was something our resident Starbucks expert, K. Masami, was keen to find out, so she lined up early when the drinks were released, and purchased them both for a tasting.

▼ She started the proceedings with the Tea Latte, which is sold in Small through to Venti sizes, from 640 yen (US$4.35).

The beauty of this drink lies in its many layers – take a preliminary sip and you’ll get a beautiful mouthful of honey-like sweetness from the chilled sweet potato paste in the base. Move the straw up slightly, and you’ll be able to enjoy a layer filled with milk tea, made with Darjeeling and Assam for a bold yet aromatic and refreshing astringency, before finishing with the fluffy mouthfeel of the sweet-potato-flavoured mousse topping.

As the drink contains a pre-blended tea mix, it can’t be customised with a different type of milk, so that’s something you might need to be aware of, but thankfully for Masami, that wasn’t a concern. After enjoying the layers separately she mixed them all together, and that’s when the beverage levelled up, taking on a richer, deeper flavour and consistency, and making every sip taste like Japanese autumn.

Masami loved the way Starbucks chose to use the Beni Haruka sweet potato variety, as it’s the one that’s most ubiquitous in Japan so it delivered all the familiar, nostalgic flavours from way back in her childhood. It worked a treat in the Frappuccino too, proudly showing off its sweet, rich flavour with the addition of crispy roasted sweet potato-flavoured pieces on top. These pieces are inspired by “imomitsu” (“potato honey”), which is the caramelised, honey-like juices that ooze out and harden on the surface of a sweet potato as it bakes, and they added an extra layer of authentic flavour to every mouthful.

▼ Frappuccino on the left

Another surprise awaiting customers from 2 September is the new “Customisation Bar”, which lets customers add various extras to their drinks, to personalise the flavours.

▼ The five optional add-ons are: Vanilla Sugar & Salt, Pepper Cardamom Maple Sauce, Ginger Sugar Chips, and Cinnamon Powder and Honey.

Masami had requested almond milk for her Frappuccino (the milk in the Frappuccino can be customised) so as she walked by the customisation bar, she couldn’t resist adding a sprinkling of cinnamon, which she thought might pair well with the slightly nutty flavour.

Taking a sip with the cinnamon made her fall even deeper in love with the Frappuccino, as it paired exceptionally well with the sweet potato. As a lover of spice, she would even go as far as to say that the drink felt complete after the cinnamon had been added, and she ended up wishing she’d tried it on the latte too.

There’s something about cinnamon that really helps to being things to life in a very autumnal way, so if you do get to order one of these drinks, she highly recommends adding it if you can. It’ll really get you in the mood for all things autumn, and with a very distinctive seasonal ingredient as the main star, the flavour of Japanese autumn will stay with you as a fond memory after the very last sip.

Images ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related Stories

Trackbacks

  1. There are no trackbacks yet.
  2. Trackback URL

Trending Today

  1. Japanese milk carton cakes are a genius idea that the world needs to know about
  2. Free-flowing cocktails, natural onsen water, and custom pillows make this Osaka hotel a steal
  3. Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
  4. New Studio Ghibli notebooks are a beautiful reason to write and draw by hand [Photos]
  5. Do Komeda’s beefy rice balls continue the chain’s hallowed tradition of “reverse fraud”?
  6. Giant wagashi cushions will turn your home sweet home into home sweet Japanese sweets home
  7. Final Fantasy Fat Chocobo Curry coming to fill up fans, even if they can’t attend Fan Festival
  8. 7-Eleven Japan now has Milk Miso Curry Ramen, but is that too much for one cup? [Taste test]
  9. Sushi Bus starts running in Japan, but is it a tourist trap or tourist must-do?
  10. Japan lodges formal complaint with China for calling Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Sanae Takaichi

© SoraNews24 —Japan News— / SOCIO CORPORATION

Powered by WordPress VIP

%d