Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, is adding the new “Caramel Pika Pika Frappe” to its menu this holiday season from December 5, 2020 to January 15, 2021.

Caramel Pika Pika Frappe | ¥700 (Before Tax)

The adorable beverage is based on the Japanese custard pudding known as purin. It’s laced with caramel sauce, closed off with a squirt of whipped cream, and finished with a sprinkling of chocolate chips for accent.

Pikachu Sleeves

The drink also comes with one of four possible Pikachu sleeves which feature designs in promotion of the upcoming animated film Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (also known as Pokémon the Movie: Coco) which will be released in Japan on December 25, 2020 and in the US in 2021.

© 2020 Pokémon.©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
Pokémon, ポケットモンスター, and ポケモン are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK inc.
© Nintendo･Creatures･GAME FREAK･TV Tokyo･ShoPro･JR Kikaku
© Pokémon © 2020 Pikachu Project

Starbucks Coffee Japan has revealed that its second instalment of its limited-edition holiday season 2020 beverages will be the “Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate” and “Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino®” which customers can order from November 24. A new batch of festive Starbucks merch will also hit Japanese branches on November 30.

A harmonious fusion of matcha and sweet white chocolate

Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino® Tall ¥590 (Tall-size only)

Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate: Short ¥450 / Tall ¥490 / Grande ¥530 / Venti® ¥570 (Hot option only)

Matcha is one of Starbucks Japan’s signature flavours and just to happens to have been in the spotlight in last year’s holiday season drinks. This year sees marbling mixture of of rich matcha sauce and sweet white chocolate syrup with the Frappuccino®, finished with a squirt of whipped cream, brownie bits, and snowy powdered sugar. The hot version comes as a marriage of matcha and white mocha mixed together with steamed milk to warm the cockles of hearts during the cold months.

New holiday season merchandise

The theme of the second batch of merchandise is “Brilliant Season” which capture the bright and sparkly vibe of winter like with the snowflake-covered stainless steel bottle, a glass mug with beads in it that move around when shaken, a snow globe, and more. The perfect line-up for capturing the holiday season mood during your coffee break.

Starbucks Japan is currently serving the Berry x Berry No-Bake Cheesecake Frappuccino® and Berry x Berry White Mocha holiday season drinks for the holiday season until November 24 when they will be replaced by the Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate and Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino®. It is also serving the Starbucks® Christmas Blend, Gingerbread Latte, and Macadamia Toffee Latte until Christmas Day.

Starbucks Coffee Japan is set to launch the Starbucks holiday season on November 1 with a selection of special drinks and products. The theme this year is “a Special Holiday with Starbucks Classics.”

With less than two months to go before Christmas, the coffee chain is set to release a variety of seasonal beverages including the Starbucks® Christmas Blend, Gingerbread Latte, and Macadamia Toffee Latte. It will also release the first range of holiday season merchandise on November 6.

Hot and cosy drinks for the holiday season

Macadamia Toffee Latte: Short ¥440 | Tall ¥480 | Grande ¥520 | Venti ® ¥560

Gingerbread Latte: Short ¥420 | Tall ¥460 | Grande ¥500 | Venti ® ¥540

Winter White Chocolate: Short ¥400 | Tall ¥440 | Grande ¥480 | Venti ® ¥520

The spicy Gingerbread Latte is a must-have on the menu during the holiday season at Starbucks, one that latte lovers look forward to every year. And this year, coffee consumers in Japan have two new drinks to look forward to: the Macadamia Toffee Latte which is a crunchy combination of macadamia nuts and sweet toffee, and the snowy powdered sugar-topped Winter White Chocolate.

Starbucks® Christmas Blend and Cranberry Bliss Bar Pairing

From Left: Starbucks® Christmas Blend Espresso Roast | Starbucks® Christmas Blend | Starbucks® Christmas Blonde Roast – ¥1,520 Each (Before Tax)

A cup of Starbucks’s Christmas Blend fills you with that cosy nostalgic feeling of the season. This year’s recipe at Starbucks Japan is inspired by the one first sold in 1984 which has a rich, deep blend. It’s a coffee combination of dark roast Sumatran, Papua New Guinean, Columbian, and Guatemalan coffee beans. There’s also some aged Sumatra coffee in there to elevate the flavour.

Each cup is a complex mix that brings to mind herbs and spices, and hidden within all that a subtle sweetness.

Cranberry Bliss Bar | ¥270 (Before Tax)

Starbucks Japan is bringing back its signature Cranberry Bliss Bar dessert for the holiday season and pairing it with the Christmas Blend. The cake has orange in it which brings a tangy but fresh kick that matches heavenly with the spicy notes.

The First Merchandise Batch

The first batch of holiday season merchandise to drop at Starbucks Japan incorporates Christmas motifs like ribbons, candy canes, and reds and white colouring. The line-up includes a stainless steel bottle with a gingham checked pattern and gold dots to a stainless TOGO cup with a classic design reminiscent of a candy cane, notebooks, and more.

The holiday season is shaping up to be another cosy welcoming again this year at Starbucks Japan.

World Matcha Inc. launched the Cuzen Matcha machine in the USA on October 21, 2020. The product arrives to the North American market after a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign where it achieved 235% of its funding goal. It has already received praise from some of the country’s top chefs and hoteliers including Tartine’s Chad Robertson and SingleThread’s Kyle Connaughton.

Cuzen Matcha

Cuzen Matcha allows for any person to produce fresh matcha with the company’s shade-grown whole organic leaves and award-winning technology. Users simply add fresh leaves grown in Kyushu to the machine, and with the press of a button, it instantly creates freshly-ground matcha, delivering the superior health benefits of matcha to everyone. Sustainability is also at the heart of the brand which incorporates sustainable tea farming, sustaining a tea-growing tradition, and wrapping it all up in sustainable packaging

Eijiro Tsukada (World Matcha Inc., Co-Founder and CEO)

“We have been helped by a lot of people and have put our trusts in them while developing Cuzen Matcha. Now we’re launching it into the world to lots of people, even if it reaches only one. We will deliver fresh matcha in a way no one else is along with all of its health and lifestyle benefits. And I hope to create a more sustainable future together with our customers around the world.” (Translated from Japanese by MMN)

Asakusa welcomed the newest and third branch of matcha dessert specialist shop Kaminari Issa on October 2, 2020, which opened its doors along Dempoin Street. The shop is just a 3-minute walk from Asakusa Station and 2-minutes from Kaminarimon.

Signature delights on Kaminari Issa’s menu include the Okoicha Warabi Latte and Okoicha Gelato. Everything on the menu is made with rich, high quality matcha, from the matcha tea lattes to the matcha beer, parfaits, ice cream, dacquoise, and more. If you love matcha, and you’re in Tokyo, this place is a must-visit.

There are plenty of items to get your hands on in this newest store, which also has its own eat-in space, tea leaf display, and more.

They even sell kits so you can make your own Okoicha Warabi Latte and Wakocha Brown Sugar Warabi Latte at home.

Pokémon Cafe and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe are releasing a new teatime menu at their respective branches on October 24, 2020.

Pokémon Cafe

Polteageist & Sinistea Tea Party! Fruit Tea Set ~Apple Flavoured~ | ¥1,188 (Tax Included)

Polteageist & Sinistea Tea Party! Fruit Tea Set ~Strawberry Flavoured~ | ¥1,188 (Tax Included)

Pokémon Cafe is serving up two different fruit tea sets based on the Ghost-type Pokémon Polteageist and Sinistea. Customers are free to pour in their desired amount of fruit syrup which changes the colour of the tea. The sets come with a cute cookie too.

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe

Left: Polteageist’s Tea Party! Fruit Tea ~Mixed Berry Flavour~ / Right: Polteageist’s Tea Party! Fruit Tea ~Peach Orange Flavour~ | ¥700 Each (Before Tax)

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe is also going to serve up some Polteageist themed fruit teas as well as a selection of desserts like macarons and financier almond cakes which have Pokémon tail and ear designs.

After ordering one of the Polteageist fruit teas, customers can place their cups under the Polteageist tea pot as pictured above and activate the pot to dispense their drink, so it’s like Polteageist  really pouring tea for you.

Left: Swirlix Strawberry Macaron | Middle: Pikachu Vanilla Macaron | Right: Galarian Ponyta Pistachio Macaron – ¥500 Each (Before Tax)

Treat yourself to one of the super cute Swirlix, Pikachu, or Ponyta macarons each with designs that tell you instantly which Pokémon they’re inspired by.

Polteageist Fruit Tea and & Pikachu Macaron Set

Customers can order a tea and macaron combination set too.

Pikachu Parfaits

Pikachu Glass Parfait Set | ¥1,500 (Before Tax)

An adorable set of Pikachu parfaits, one being caramel banana flavoured and the other chocolate.

Pikachu Tea Party Assortment – Pika Pika Pikavee Set | ¥2,800 (Before Tax)

Another set to share between friends and family, this time with two Pikachu glass desserts as well as Pikachu and Eevee cupcakes.

Pikachu Tea Party Assortment – Ghost Type Set | ¥2,800 (Before Tax)

This set comes with the Pikachu glass desserts as well as Ghost-type Gengar and Litwick mousse cakes.

The Polteageist teapot and Sinistea teacup used at the Pokémon Cafe and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe will also be released at Pokémon Center Online in Japan on December 5, 2020.

© 2020 Pokémon.©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
Pokémon, ポケットモンスター, and ポケモン are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK inc..

Bubble tea chain Pearl Lady, which is celebrating its 17th anniversary this year, is teaming up with Sanrio for the second time to release two new drinks themed on the popular characters My Melody and Kuromi on October 16, 2020. My Melody and Kuromi are also celebrating their 45th and 15th anniversaries respectively.

Black Lemonade | Strawberry Milk Tea (w/ Novelty) – ¥500 Each (Tax Included)

The two beverages are Sweet Strawberry Milk Tea, which is inspired by the cute My Melody, and Black Lemonade, which is based on her rival Kuromi.

When ordering either of the drinks at Pearl Lady, customers will also get one of 6 possible badges as pictured above. One of the designs is a secret, so you’ll need some luck if you want that one.

Coca-Cola has teamed up with Kikkoman to release a new beverage in the GO: GOOD line of soup drinks which was created for busy people in a hurry that still need to get their fill. Their new collaborative Japanese dashi flavour will be released in Japan on October 12, 2020.

The new Japanese dashi flavour is made using specially-selected katsuo bonito, kombu, and ago flying fish extract to create an authentic dashi that you can drink straight from the can. It makes for a perfect addition to any lunch or bento assortment, and it can even be enjoyed on its own.

Three flavours already available on the market also underwent a can design change last month. This includes the Corn Potage, Ebi Bisque, and Minestrone.

Samples of the new dashi flavour will be handed out at places around Japan via food trucks.

Fill your belly and feel nourished with a can of GO: GOOD.

McDonald’s Japan has announced that it’s once again bringing back its crème brûlée coffee drinks to McCafé by Barista branches of McDonalds on October 14, 2020. The line-up includes the Crème Brûlée Frappe, Crème Brûlée Latte and Iced Crème Brûlée Latte.

The fast food chain’s crème brûlée beverages have been sold every autumn and winter since 2015 and are enjoyed for their perfect combination of sweetness and richness.

Crème Brûlée Frappe: Regular ¥460 / Large ¥500

The delightful Crème Brûlée Frappe contains a mix of caramel sauce, subtly sweet crème brûlée whipped cream, and crème brûlée syrup, all combined inside an espresso latte. Topping the drink is more crème brûlée whipped cream, caramel sauce and crushed cookies. The cookies have been baked lightly which together with the whipped cream change the flavours of the cream’s sweetness and espresso’s richness on each sip.

Crème Brûlée Latte: Small ¥350 / Regular ¥390

The Crème Brûlée Latte combines crème brûlée syrup with bitter espresso and fluffy foamed milk. It’s topped with crunchy cookies and whipped cream.ほ

Iced Crème Brûlée Latte: Regular ¥390 / Large ¥430

Like the hot drink, the Iced Crème Brûlée Latte contains the crème brûlée syrup and espresso but is served with cold milk. It’s topped with crushed cookies, crème brûlée flavoured whipped cream and caramel sauce.

Suntory Beverage & Food International unveiled its new seasonal Caramel Punch flavour of its Pepsi Japan Cola beverage which will hit shelves in Japan for a limited time from October 20, 2020.

Pepsi has released many different seasonal and limited-edition drinks in Japan, from their popular Pepsi Sakura cherry blossom flavour to their Sparkling Christmas edition.

Pepsi Japan Cola Caramel Punch | ¥140 (Before Tax)

Caramel Punch maintains that refreshing taste of Pepsi Cola and enjoys a rich sweetness and slightly salty kick that’s perfect for the autumn season.

If you’re in Japan for autumn this one’s a must-try.

Matcha has become a common ingredient and flavour in people’s lives outside of Japan. It’s now easier than ever to get your hands on something matcha flavoured, whether it be desserts or the tea itself. Even in Japan, you’ll find new matcha products released daily. Today, we’re reviewing a particular matcha dessert made using the highest quality Japanese ingredients.

Marche co., ltd., a subsidiary of TAGPIC Inc., co-launched a luxury sweets brand called ‘BRANCHE CHOCOLAT’ on September 9, 2020, together with Riku Yakushijin who, as a chef at the introduction-only French restaurant Sugalabo, works as a Culinary Producer where he has honed the concept of ‘food literacy.’ Together, they have released their very first dessert together: the matcha-flavoured ‘CARRE AU CHOCOLAT.’

About BRANCHE CHOCOLAT

BRANCHE CHOCOLAT is a high quality sweets brand based on the idea of wanting to expand the number of authentic and genuinely good sweets. The brand’s name is a combination of the French words branche, meaning to ‘connect’ or ‘tie,’ and chocolat which of course is chocolate. Everything they do is totally calculated, using good quality Japanese ingredients while keeping in mind flavour, texture, and appearance, and taking into account the joy of sharing, the surprise when eating, and the moment you put something delicious into your mouth―and all of this without being predictable. By making their products into a distinct cube shape, it makes the dessert look stylish, easy to eat, and easy to photograph from every angle.

The First Product: Matcha ‘CARRE AU CHOCOLAT’

GIFT BOX ¥5,478 (Tax Included) / ECO BOX ¥4,378 (Tax Included)

The first product in BRANCHE CHOCOLAT’s line is the ‘CARRE AU CHOCOLAT’ which is made using yamecha from Fukuoka. Yamecha is a type of tea produced in Fukuoka that comes in many different forms depending on the variety and how the tea is ground, which can make for a whole range of different results from types that are beautiful in colour to very bitter flavours, very rich flavours, or very sweet flavours. And to ensure they get the absolute full potential out of the yamecha, BRANCH CHOCOLAT conceived over 50 recipes through trial runs and taste-testing. The end result had them arrive at the recipe we have here today which preserves the original flavour of the tea while enhancing it to be even more elegant in taste.

Tasting Time

When opening the dessert box, your gaze is arrested by the sparkle of the four-sided matcha dessert. A dessert that’s cube-shaped looks good enough to snap a photo from any angle. As you fork into the chocolate, it’s softer than Japanese ganache, and moister than a terrine.

Time to tuck in.

Your taste buds are met by the sweetness of the rich chocolate together with the bitter, full-bodied taste of the yamecha. It feels smooth in the mouth and just melts. You can really savour the matcha which penetrates all the way to your nose. This is a completely different dessert experience which is deep and rich in flavour yet has a lightness to it.

Underneath the chocolate is a traditional French confection known as pain de genes which has been thinly sliced which makes it feel a little like eating a cake when enjoyed with the chocolate. The simple flavour of the pain de genes and the sweetness of the chocolate are a perfect match for one another.

It’s precisely because the CARRE AU CHOCOLAT uses high quality Japanese matcha that you can savour the sweetness, delicious taste, and the adequate amount of bitterness. This is a treat that any and all lovers of matcha and chocolate cannot afford to pass on. It’s the perfect size to be enjoyed by 2-4 people, making it great for a special celebration, a home party, or if you want to share it with someone special.

Starbucks Coffee Japan has revealed the second beverage in its Artful Autumn @ Starbucks® series of drinks. The “Candied Sweet Potato Frappuccino®” will be released at Starbucks branches in Japan on September 23, 2020.

Candied Sweet Potato Frappuccino® | Tall Size Only – ¥590

Each drink is made using a whole chopped and blended Japanese daigaku imo candied sweet potato to serve those autumn flavours, with its marbled golden colour also reminiscent of the autumn leaves. It’s topped with whipped cream, black sesame seeds, and sweet potato syrup.

Truly the perfect dessert drink to sip on for the changing seasons.