For the first time in its 18 years since arriving in Japan, Starbucks Coffee Japan has completely redesigned its classic Starbucks Latte. It became available at stores nationwide on October 1st.
The biggest change in this redesign is the milk. After roughly a year of research to perfectly match the espresso, the company switched to a milk with a higher milk fat content, a rich, sweet taste, and a clean finish.
The shipping route from the factory was revised to ensure the coffee beans used in espresso are delivered to stores in a fresher state. Furthermore, Starbucks provided technical training, including milk steaming, to approximately 25,000 Starbucks baristas nationwide, successfully improving their drink-making skills.
The new latte was unveiled on September 30th, with appearances by Hiromi Horie, executive officer of the company's Marketing and Category Division, and actress and newscaster Chiaki Horan. During the talk show, Horan revealed that she is a huge Starbucks fan, saying, "If there's a store near the station I go to for work or in a town I'm visiting, I'll stop by. Drinking Starbucks gets me pumped, so it's a must-have before work." She also sampled the new latte, praising it, saying, "Compared to our previous lattes, it's richer and full-bodied. The aftertaste is clean and there's no lingering milky smell. It's completely different!" She also donned a Starbucks green apron and tried making a latte heart. After struggling with the highly skilled latte heart, she saw it split in half down the middle, lamenting, "I guess this means I should just focus on my work now..." On the latte cup she was handed, she wrote, "Have a wonderful moment with the new Starbucks Latte..." Starting that same day, all Starbucks stores are offering 12 new drinks, including the Starbucks Latte, at new prices in line with the product renewal.