We're Green With Matcha Envy Over The 2023 Starbucks Japan Spring Menu

The top layer of this drink is frozen, blended strawberries and cream (a common stand-in for cherry blossom flavor). On the bottom is a floral sakura jelly and the drink is topped with whipped cream and crispy, crushed pieces of strawberry macaron.      

The second frappuccino is green tea-based with matcha and cream, blended together with ice. The drink is topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with crushed strawberry macarons.      

This hot drink is a blend of soy milk and strawberry sauce, topped with shaved white chocolate flower petals and pink silver sugar.      

For coffee lovers, there’s a non-tea option that will still get you into the Sakura spirit. The Spring Season blend coffee is smooth and strong with notes of dark cherry, spices and herbs.      

Starbucks’ Sakura line is about more than just drinks. There’s also augmented reality via a special Starbucks app. When you point your phone at QR codes on Sakura products, you’ll get either blooming cherry blossoms or a dancing “Bearista” teddy. The AR surprises change each week, but one possibility is the little bear holding cherry blossom pom-poms to cheer the season – so cute, or as they say in Japan, “Kawaii!”      

You need some sweet snacks to go with the new Sakura drinks and Starbucks did not disappoint. There’s a cherry blossom frosted donuts topped with salty sweet Sakura leaf powder; a matcha donut with matcha filling, frosted with Sakura glaze and drizzled with more matcha glaze; a cherry blossom chiffon cake with a single salt-dried blossom on top; and cherry blossom and matcha ball cookies.      

Of course you need cute cups to carry around your seasonal drinks. With cherry blossoms as the unifying themes, these tumblers, mugs and more are very seasonally stylish in pink. To really go in on the theme, there are also notebooks, tote bags and even a cherry blossom-adorned desk calendar.      

There’s only six of these premium Starbucks cafes worldwide and one is in Tokyo. The offerings are upgraded from the usual coffees and treats, with a barista-mixologist fusion vibe. The drinks for spring include a barrel-aged cold brew, a Sakura Macchiato (coffee topped with strawberry cream), Rose Raspberry & Lychee Tea, Snow Blossom (Sakura Allure Tea, cacao juice and goishicha fermented tea from Kochi Prefecture, finished with amazake), Arriviamo Frozen Decadent Strawberry (frozen Strawberry Mint Oolong Tea topped with fresh strawberries and strawberry Espuma), Arriviamo Frozen Serene Strawberry (a low-alcohol version of the original strawberry Arriviamo) and Serene Irish Coffee (a low-alcohol version of the classical coffee cocktail).