Starbucks Japan goes gold with its new imo kempi sweet potato Frappuccino

One of Japan’s favorite fall foods combines with an old-school snack for a tempting new drink.

One of Starbucks Japan’s current special guest Frappuccinos, the Green Apple Jelly Frappuccino, is all about tart appeal. For its next blended ice dessert beverage, though, Starbucks is going back to sweetness, specifically the sweet potato.

Roasted sweet potatoes have long been one of Japan’s favorite fall treats, and so the newest addition to Starbucks’ Artful Autumn lineup is going to be the Sweet Potato Gold Frappuccino. While sweet potatoes might not shout “Japan!” as loudly as the chain’s famous matcha green tea Frappuccinos, the new drink ups the Japanese quotient by also making use of imo kempi, the thrice-fried sweet potato confectioneries seen on the plate in the photo above. The imo kempi are mixed into the drink to give it an extra-crunchy consistency, and there’s also the addition of an imo mitsu (Japanese sweet potato syrup)-inspired sauce that’s drizzled into and over the Sweet Potato Gold Frappuccino.

In keeping with its tried-and-true strategy, Starbucks will also be debuting a similarly flavored coffee at the same time. While the Sweet Potato Gold Macchiato doesn’t have the imo kempi that its Frappuccino cousin does, it still uses imo mitsu-style syrup for a rich sweetness and warming fragrance, and the steamed milk and espresso base should make it an enticingly tasty eye-opener.

The Sweet Potato Gold Frappuccino is priced at 580 yen (US$5.40) for a tall, and the Sweet Potato Gold Macchiato starts at 440 yen for a short. Both will be available from September 20 to October 10.

Source: Starbucks via Entabe
Top image: Starbucks
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