Starbucks Japan made an exclusive five-green tea blend for its new Hojicha Frappuccino

The coffeehouse shows it knows a thing or two (or five) about teas too with its newest roasted green tea dessert drinks.

We’re into the second week of January, so it’s time to shake off any lingering nostalgia for last year and move full-speed ahead into 2020! Of course, the best ways to broaden your horizons and challenge yourself with new experiences are those that also double as desserts, and thankfully one of our first guides into the bold new decade is Starbucks Japan.

The Japanese division of the coffeehouse chain has just announced its newest Frappuccino dessert drink, the first to join the lineup in 2020. Called the Hojicha Cream Frappuccino, the marque ingredient is hojicha, a roasted Japanese green tea that takes on an inviting brown color and a rich, deep yet mild bitterness.

The tea used for the Hojicha Cream Frappuccino is a blend of five varieties of leaves, prepared exclusively for Starbucks Japan. White mocha syrup is mixed with the tea and blended ice to form the drink’s base, which is sandwiched between layers of whipped cream at the bottom and top layers of the cup. While chocolate is now a time-tested accompaniment to matcha desserts, hojicha tends to pair better with more mature flavors, and the whipped cream topping is instead dusted with brown sugar.

As has become Starbucks’ standard m.o., it’s simultaneously releasing two dessert drinks, and the hot variation on this hojicha theme is the Hojicha Cream Latte. Like the Frappuccino version, the latte uses the Starbucks-exclusive roasted green tea blend and white mocha syrup, crowned with whipped cream and brown sugar to create a drink that the chain promises will “warm both the body and the heart.”

Both new drinks go on sale January 9, with the Hojicha Cream Frappuccino priced at 570 yen (US$5.30) for a tall and the latte starting at 430 yen for a short. They’ll be offered until January 16, meaning you’ll have to make a difficult choice between them and the jiggly, lucky warabimochi Frappuccino and latte that’re available for an overlapping period (though we say the smart choice is to go four different times and drink them all).

Source, images: Starbucks
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