Starting on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, Starbucks is raising its prices on select drinks. Not sure which drinks are impacted other than brewed coffee.
There’s no better way of celebrating the American tradition of Independence Day with good old American capitalism.
Being stuck in South Korea in the Incheon area for a day wasn’t such a bad situation afterall. There’s enough to keep you occupied, and the Incheon Airport itself is huge with many shops to pass the time. Of course there has to be a Starbucks at an airport, especially in Korea where Starbucks has flooded the market and infiltrated the Korean culture. But being in an airport, the queues for Starbuck fluctuated wildly. When I passed by, there was a line ten deep. However others in our group reported no lines at all.
Compared to the Summer Frappuccino push in mainland China, the juicy Macau, and the blueberry items in Hong Kong, South Korea Starbucks was promoting the Fizzio lineup. Yup, the carbonated Fizzio drinks were front and center.
Yuzu Iced Shaken Tea, Yogurt Juice with Mango Jelly, Lemongrass Tea Lemonade, Sweet Orange Black Tea Lemonade? Yup, all fizzified by the Fizzio machine. Looking at the dessert case, my guess is that chocolate pairs well with carbonated fruity teas?
As a snack for the plane ride, there’s packaged pear.
Had I more space in our luggage, I would have bought mugs from South Korea – a lot more colorful and decorative than the selection in China.
I think I need to return to South Korea one day and do more Starbucks exploring…
One block away from BP International in Hong Kong is a seemingly small Starbucks location on Nathan Road. Once you enter however, you’ll see a Starbucks about twice as big as regular shops. There’s the front window section which is typically sized. Then there’s the coffee bar. Then there’s the back seating area that’s almost as big as the front. All in all, a deceptively big store (for a Starbucks).
Blueberry seems to have been the flavor profile for Hong Kong. No blueberry drinks per se, but lots of blueberry pastries and baked goods. I would have gone for a slice of the blueberry cheesecake but just got a Ristretto Bianco instead.
There was a cool, multi-paneled wall art illustrating coffee plants that nearly stretched across the length of the entire store.
Interestingly, ordering at Starbucks is relatively simple. I guess the lexicon of Starbucks and coffee is universal. Of course, all the drink names are known by the baristas. When I asked for non-fat milk, the worker replied, “Oh, you mean a skinny.” One small change I learned was “no whip (cream)” is just “no cream.”
Oh and hey, Starbucks is celebrating 15 years in Hong Kong. There are a several promotional items for this event tagged #HAPi15th (not sure why the capitalization is as such). Here’s a color-changing #HAPi15th mug.
While in China and Hong Kong, I noticed a few different menu items at local Starbucks. One of these items was a Ristretto Bianco drink. Not knowing what it was, I ordered it. After a few sips, I thought to myself, “flat white.” Sure, enough, Ristretto espresso shots and foamy makes for a flat white, but I didn’t look for the decorative artwork.
Anyways while I enjoyed the familiarity of a Starbucks Flat White, drinking a hot drink and walking in the humid Hong Kong climate wasn’t such a great combination. Thankfully the air is cold and crisp at BP International.
Before you enter the casino area at the Venetian Hotel in Macau, you need a boost to fortify your gambling frame of mind. No better way than making a stop at the 24-hour Starbucks right next to the casino entry.
A good sized location but not huge, but no matter if you’re just going to down your caffeine and get back to gambling. Free wifi for 30 minutes using the code on your receipt. Had too much caffeine? Detox by drinking fruit juices instead, and don’t forget that when using cash, your change will be in Macau’s pataca currency.
A few more pics on Flickr.
Before heading out for our #HIChina15 tour, I looked up Starbucks locations near our hotels. Luckily, one of the newest Starbucks flagship stores in China is at the Kerry Center. This two story location features a very unique interior design with coffee bars on both floors.
It’s here I sampled the Discover a Sip of Summer promotions exclusive to China. Being late in the evening, I opted for the less caffeinated Summer Berry Italian Panna Cotta Frappuccino. As you can expect, this drink is sweet, and the panna cotta layer was akin to drinking a boba or jelly drink. Kinda distracting sucking up a chunk of jelly when you’re not expecting it. And yes, it was very berry-ful tasting.
For those who are fearful of drinking the water in China, don’t worry. This Starbucks location offers up filtered water from a stone basin.
Check out a few more pictures of the Starbucks Kerry Center location.
I’ll be honest and say right up front that the Starbucks S’mores Frappuccino is an absolutely great tasting drink. Calories and fat content aside, the drink throws various textures and yummy flavors at you. But here’s the big “but” – I don’t taste the s’mores in the S’mores Frappuccino. While the s’mores components may be there, the drink itself just tastes like a good Frappuccino, not a S’mores Frappuccino if you know what I mean. On top of that, I’m not in the s’mores target audience and can’t relate to the nostalgia the drink is supposed to evoke.
Nothing says summer like the laughter and memories shared around a crackling campfire.
But you know what? Experiencing s’mores by the campfire is something I’m sure America’s favorite family, the Bradys, must have done. In fact, this S’mores Frappuccino reminds me a lot of the Brady kids….
Starbucks describes their limited seasonal creation as follows:
The layered beverage starts with marshmallow-infused whipped cream and milk chocolate sauce; adds a creamy blend of graham, coffee, milk and ice; and is finished off with marshmallow whipped cream and a graham cracker crumble.
And here’s how Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy match up.
Marcia, Marcia, Marshmallow! You don’t have to brush your hair 100 times before realizing that the S’mores Frappuccino is all about Marcia, Marcia, Marshmallow! The visuality of this drink starts and ends with the marshmallow whip cream.
The milk chocolate sauce is for the only brown-eyed Brady, Peter. Peter’s kind of messy and all over the place just like the layer of chocolate sauce. And trust me, when you inhale that chocolate sauce, your voice will crack like a pubescent Peter Brady.
Greg Brady is the Frappuccino in the drink, bringing in the core of coffee, milk, and ice but with the s’mores graham giving some Johnny Bravo sweetness.
Then it’s more Marcia, Marcia, Marshmallow on top with a graham cracker crumble of Bobby Brady.
Sure, Bobby was around but somewhat overlooked, just like this crumble. It’s there, but once in the mix, you easily forget about Bobby.
The edible cookie straw embodies pigtailed Cindy Brady. Purse your lips to coo about Cindy’s lispy cuteness and purse your lips as you drink out of this cutesy straw.
What about middle sister, Jan Brady? Where is she in the S’mores Frappuccino? Well, the bespeckled Jan has a special place as the bottled version of the S’mores Frappuccino. Of course, the bottled version doesn’t have the Marcia, Marcia, Marshmallow and is a step-down from the prepared S’mores Frappuccino, but that is Jan’s existence.
So as you’re enjoying your S’mores Frappuccino, sing along with the theme song you already know by heart.
Today’s the launch day of the Starbucks S’mores Frappuccino. I don’t have my review ready yet as I’m still drinking my too-early-in-the-morning Frappuccino. Don’t forget to ask for your free edible cookie straw.
And yes, the drink is good, very, very, very good.
The countdown is at one day before the American public is reminded of their youthful summers via the S’mores Frappuccino. Until the crafted drink is available, there’s the bottled version that has to be just a specter of the real deal. I mean how can this premade version of the S’mores Frappuccino go up against marshmallow whip cream, chocolate sauce, and graham cracker syrup and toppings?
Let’s do a quick taste test of this S’mores Frappuccino that’s available at groceries right now. Visually, this Frappuccino is lighter in shade, more like the Bottled Vanilla Frappuccino, and expectedly, you don’t see any of the unique qualities of the prepared Frap (meaning the graham cracker sprinkles). You just see a light brown liquid. It’s 290 calories in 13.7 fl oz.
First sip. It tastes graham-y. Yes, really. The scent of the drink throws me off a little. There is a graham cracker like smell to the drink, so your head is thinking of a solid cracker but then your tongue feels a liquid.
I’m getting a aftertaste/feel after a few sips. My tongue feels kinda dry, not sure why. In general though, this bottled S’mores Frappuccino tastes like the other bottled Frappuccinos. Somewhere in between vanilla and caramel. I don’t taste the chocolate and maybe that aftertaste is supposed to be the marshmallow. In fact, I think it is indeed that.
I’m already not a fan of these bottled Frappuccinos, and the new S’mores flavor hasn’t convinced me otherwise. My recap: typical bottled Frappuccino taste, a graham-y scent, and a marshmallow-y aftertaste for +$3.00 per bottle. I’ll pass, but I am looking forward to a more authentic experience on Tuesday.
Yup, for about a buck more, you can get a cookie straw to suck up your Frappuccino. Seems like you might even get one of these straws as a gift.
I’m waiting for the day when even the cup is edible ala sour dough soup bowls. Just imagine the environmental savings of this! Well, yeah, your drink would probably cost around $8 and contain 1000 calories, but you know you’d get it.
By now, it’s no secret that Starbucks baristas like to mess with customers by feigning misunderstanding your name for your drink order. So when your drink for “Darthy” is called out, just be proud of your perceived lineage to the Dark Lord of the Sith.
The nostalgia of summers past is rolling out at Starbucks with their upcoming S’mores Frappuccino. Starting on April 28, 2015, Starbucks will inspire you with the nostalgic experience of roasting S’mores. That means that you’ll be sucking down:
marshmallow-infused whipped cream and milk chocolate sauce, a creamy blend of graham, coffee, milk and ice, then finished off with more mashmallowy whipped cream and a graham cracker crumble.
Not really a summer memory I can recall in Hawaii. Maybe if Starbucks made a rainbow shave ice inspired drink then I could relate more. But no matter, I’ll try one of these S’mores Frappuccino, especially since the Hammer signal was beaconing this morning. Although it was a bit too early for my radio listening, other Pulpy fans told me about reviewing this drink for one Gregg Hammer.