While Starbucks is fairly uniform with what they offer drink-wise in countries across the world, the Japanese with their love of limited-time promotions get some drinks that may never see the light of day in other countries and have certainly never been offered here in the U.S.
Here's
a list of some of the drinks that have passed through the Starbucks Japan menu and that you might wished Starbucks would bring home to the U.S. (maybe someday...):
Above is the
Azuki Matcha Frappuccino (left) and Latte. It made its appearance at the tail end of 2011 and featured the flavor of matcha green tea, sweet red beans, and a sprinkle of kinako or soy bean powder on top.
Earlier, in fall of 2011, Starbuck Japan patrons could enjoy the Apple Crumble Frappuccino and Apple Crumble Latte. They were made with apple caramel syrup and sprinkled with a shortbread cookie crumble. Apparently, it was
also tested in North Carolina so perhaps we'll see it someday.
Also available in the winter of 2011 was
White Chocolate Green Tea, topped with whipped cream of course.
In Spring 2012, there was the
Orange Brulee Latte made with caramel brulee syrup and finished with a swirl of orange syrup.
For Summer 2012, there was the
Mango Passion Tea Frappuccino with Mango Pudding made with a base of tropical mango and passion fruit plus hibiscus tea and blended with ice.
Additionally, there was the
Chocolate Cookie Crumble Frappuccino with White Chocolate Pudding.
A regular menu item of interest offered at Starbucks Japan and now offered at many-a-Starbucks throughout Asia, and even Australia, is coffee jelly. You might find it here in the U.S. at a boba milk tea cafe, but not at Starbucks.
While the Japanese do get a lot of Starbucks exclusive drinks, the drinks do cost a fair penny in Japan with prices starting from 490 yen (~$6.29 US) for a Tall version of some of these drinks and going up from there (compared to about $4 here in the U.S. for similar drinks).
