Starbucks Japan unveils new limited-edition drinkware and goods for spring

Stanley cups and colour-changing tumblers are just some of the highlights in this mega collection.

Whenever a new season arrives in Japan, Starbucks is one of the first to herald its arrival with a range of limited-edition goods. Now, as we transition from winter to spring, the chain is releasing a new range filled with joyous springtime hues, covering all sorts of drinkware, from mugs to Stanley cups…and some special reusable tumblers that change colour before your very eyes.

There’s a wide variety of goods to suit all different tastes, so let’s get to it and take a closer look at the collection below!

▼ Stainless Steel Bottle Misty Blue — 591 millilitres (20 ounces); 5,450 yen (US$37.10)

▼ Stainless Steel Bottle Misty Blue — 473 millilitres; 4,950 yen

▼ Can Shape Stainless Steel Bottle Crack Purple Gradation — 473 millilitres; 5,300 yen

▼ Can Shape Stainless Steel Bottle Crack Mint Green — 355 millilitres; 4,650 yen

▼ Stainless Steel Logo Bottle Gold — 473 millilitres; 4,800 yen

▼ Stainless Steel ToGo Logo Tumbler Metallic — 473 millilitres; 4,500 yen

▼ Stainless Steel Logo Bottle Silver (online store only) — 473 millilitres; 4,800 yen

▼ Can Shape Stainless Steel Bottle Ivory (online store only) — 355 millilitres; 4,150 yen

▼ 3-Way Stainless Tumbler Stanley Blue Gradient — 414 millilitres; 5,100 yen

▼ 3-Way Stainless Tumbler Stanley Mint Green Gradient — 591 millilitres; 6,300 yen

▼ 3-Way Stainless Tumbler Stanley Mint Green Gradient — 887 millilitres; 7,200 yen

▼ 3-Way Stainless Tumbler Stanley Gradient (online store only) — 414 millilitres; 5,100 yen

▼ Logo Cold Cup Tumbler Neon Yellow — 710 millilitres; 2,850 yen

▼ Logo Cold Cup Tumbler Neon Pink — 710 millilitres; 2,850 yen

▼ Shaker Bottle — 444 millilitres; 2,500 yen

▼ Heat-resistant Glass Mug Medal Light Green — 355 millilitres; 3,300 yen

▼ Glass Tumbler Blue Gradient — 473 millilitres; 3,300 yen

▼ The cup changes colour when cold, so you won’t know which of the four designs you’ve received until you add a chilled beverage to it.

The straw caps above are sold in sealed bags so the gummy-inspired colour you receive is also a mystery upon purchasing. These cup accessories are a fun way to add excitement and colour to your drink, and there’s another set of accessories that come included with one other product in the range.

▼ The Joy Pack Water Bottle Beige — 710 millilitres; 1,900 yen

Each bottle comes with a free sticker and coin case, packaged in a silver bag to conceal which of the four varieties you’ve received. The stickers feature Bearista designs inspired by gummy candies in different colours.

▼ The four varieties available

And if you’d like to match your colour-changing cups and gummy-coloured Bearistas to your reusable eco bag, Starbucks is releasing a specially designed type that’s separated in the middle so you can carry your hot items on one side and cold items in the other. There are five designs available, priced at 2,400 yen each, and they all come with a card case to carry your Starbucks card.

▼ The Mint and Black designs can be purchase in stores and online…

▼ …while the Blue, Red, and Yellow are only available online.

The entire collection will be available to purchase from 12 March, except the online store-only items, which were released on 10 March. It’s a colourful way to welcome spring into our lives, and all the cups, mugs and tumblers will be the perfect partner for the new colour-changing Frappuccino.

Related: Starbucks online store
Source, images: Press release
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Edible deep-fried “coal” souvenir ignites our curiosity, so naturally we try it for ourselves

Spoiler alert: No, it’s not really coal, but it could seriously be a carbon copy.

The city of Iwaki, Fukushima, is known today for places like the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium and the Spa Resort Hawaiians theme park, but back in the day it was famous as a coal mine city. Edible “coal” is even a local souvenir product sold in the area which can luckily be purchased on Rakuten Japan. While that may sound like a resounding “No thank you” to many readers, our team of writers has a penchant for eating things that shouldn’t be eaten and not eating things that should be eaten. Let’s now add edible coal to the list!

When our package was delivered, we were surprised to see the product’s unexpectedly colorful outer packaging. Its maker is Iwaki-based food company Nishinoya.

▼ Edible, deep-fried “coal” for 1,188 yen (US$8.03)

A neat touch was that this outer packaging came off to reveal a sightseeing guide to the “Sunshine City” of Iwaki, nicknamed so because of its relatively high number of hours of bright, sunny days throughout the year.

Now that nothing remained but the food pouch, we mentally prepared ourselves for what would emerge from inside.

WHOAH.

It was jet black and shiny. This could only be real coal, right…?!

It was hard to believe that this clump of something could really be eaten. Against the mostly white plate, the mass looked like a black hole that would suck everything inside.

According to the outer packaging, the contents were actually tatsuta-age (a style of food preparation involving deep-frying and flavoring) of marlin fish coated in a squid-ink paste. Marlin are commonly found in the waters off of Iwaki, so this product is essentially appealing to two famous local things in one.

We followed the instructions to heat up the dish in the microwave for 1-1.5 minutes before eating.

Taking a bite of the heated “coal,” we were pleasantly surprised. It had a thick, moist texture and was delicious, not unlike a salty-sweet meatball. The taste was something that could appeal to anyone, even if the looks wouldn’t. It would definitely go well with a bowl of white rice.

▼ We still couldn’t get over how unbelievably dark that squid-ink coating was.

The ingredients list revealed that there was some kind of sweet chili sauce in the mix, but even so, we couldn’t taste any spiciness. Small children and anyone with an aversion to spicy foods should also be able to eat this without any problem.

Incidentally, the “coal” also received a grand prix prize in a marlin cooking contest. We don’t know what the judging criteria were, but we can imagine that the dish’s visuals left all of the judges with quite an impression. Thankfully, its taste was equally worthy of recognition.

Iwaki’s edible, deep-fried “coal” can be purchased here on Rakuten Japan for anyone whose curiosity has been sparked. For another dish with an equally impressive visual impact, you may also want to try making this recipe for botayama curry at home.

All images © SoraNews24
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Starbucks Japan adds cult drink to its permanent coffee menu due to popular demand

Sweet Milk Coffee becomes a hit, with a special customisation that’s got everyone talking.

Starbucks is well known for its amazing limited-edition releases in Japan, and sometimes they prove to be so popular that they make it onto the menu as permanent mainstays. That’s what recently happened to the chain’s Sweet Milk Coffee, which was permanently added after numerous limited-time releases, and it’s already become a cult product, with people on social media raving about how much it tastes like Papico, an incredibly popular coffee-flavoured ice cream produced by Glico.

With people dubbing the Sweet Milk Coffee a “drinkable Papico“, there’s a recommended way to drink it as well, with a customisation hack currently doing the rounds with all the cool influencers on social media.

▼ The customisation involves switching from regular milk to Breve (a mix of milk and cream) for an additional 50 yen (US$0.34), and requesting a pump of mocha sauce for free.

Without the customisation, the multi-layered drink combines fresh cream with white chocolate-flavoured syrup and vanilla-flavoured syrup in the base, and tops it all with a blend of freshly extracted coffee, milk and cream. Upon first sip, the coffee hits you behind the eyes, awakening you to the rich blend as the sweet milky flavours kiss your taste buds with a hint of tantalising vanilla. The combination is pure luxury in terms of both taste and texture, and customising it is definitely the way to go, as the extra thick Breve milk amps up the rich creaminess while the mocha adds another layer of depth and sweeetness.

The creamy sweet coffee flavours are certainly reminiscent of Papico ice cream, but we’d go one step further to say it’s even better. The different layers allow you to enjoy a variety of coffee flavours throughout, from light and refreshing through to rich and milky, but if you want the drinkable Papico experience, we recommend mixing it thoroughly from the start so you can enjoy a well-balanced taste that’s reminiscent of coffee ice cream.

▼ The more you mix, the more addictive the flavour, so the drink will be gone in no time.

Available in a Tall size only, priced at 540 yen for takeout or 550 yen for dine-in, the Sweet Milk Coffee will be on the menu at Starbucks stores nationwide from 12 March. Rewards members are able to purchase the drink from 6-11 March, ahead of its official on-sale date, but this is one drink you don’t have to worry about missing out on, because unlike the new limited-edition colour-changing Frappuccino, this is a permanent resident on the menu.

Photos©SoraNews24
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Traditional Japanese mochi dessert inspires McDonald’s newest pie flavor

McDonald’s Japan puts a crunchy spin on ichigo daifuku.

The key to McDonald’s Japan’s success has been the skillful way its menu both stays true to the chain’s American roots but also takes into considerations local tastes. For example, should you walk into a McDonald’s in Japan this month craving something sweet, the staff will be happy to serve you up an apple pie…but you can also get an ichigo daifuku pie.

Ichigo daifuku is one of Japan’s most beloved Japanese-style sweets. In its orthodox form it consists of a mochi dumpling with anko (sweet red bean paste) inside and a strawberry (ichigo in Japanese) at its core. For the Ichigo Daifuku Pie, McDonald’s Japan instead takes the three ingredients of an ichigo daifuku and uses them to fill one of its pie crusts.

The result is a mix of tart and sweet flavors, but what’s going to be especially intriguing for Japanese sweets fans is the texture. With regular ichigo daifuku being covered in mochi they’re very stretchy treats, but since McDonald’s Japan cooks their pie crusts to a crispy consistency, the Ichigo Daifuku Pie promises to have a crunchy outer layer with an inner chewiness.

With the 200-yen (US$1.35) Ichigo Daifuku Pie arriving just a little before the cherry blossoms are supposed to start blooming, McDonald’s chefs have added some extra spring appeal to the dessert by giving it a pink crust evocative of sakura petals. That color connection is also a factor in the chain’s newest drinks, the McFizz Peach Lemonade (300 yen) and its soft serve ice cream-topped sibling, the McFloat Peach Lemonade (380 yen).

▼ Actress Aoi Miyazaki gets an early start to cherry blossom season in the Ichigo Daifuku Pie commercial.

The McFizz and McFloat Peach Lemonade are available now. The Ichigo Daifuku Pie will be joining them on the menu as of March 12 and is expected to be sticking around until early April.

Source: McDonald’s Japan (1, 2) via Entabe
Top image: McDonald’s Japan
Insert images: McDonald’s Japan, YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s）
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