Starbucks is really pushing its new Green Tea Frappuccino

I can't tell you how many times I've been offered samples in the past two days. (I politely turned them down every time; I have no interest in the drink.) Any reviews from Starbucks Gossip readers? (Starbucks Press Release)

Comments

[smartgirl63]

ahh...the green tea frappuccino + iced shaken green tea lemonade...I am suprised that you've only been offered it twice. The word from above is that we must sample at least one tray of green drinks every hour everyday for like the next month. I also am not interested in the green tea frappuccino (or any frappuccino for that matter), however, the green tea lemonade is quite nice (if your into that sort of thing).

[King Rat]

It tastes like vanilla ice cream. There's so little green tea taste to it that it's not worth downing.

[Steve McCoy]

I just had a taste about 15 minutes ago. It was surprisingly pretty good. Not a strong flavor, but drinkable and actually refreshing. I just don't ever get cold drinks at SB so I'll never order one. :)

[TW]

Our nice barista...ok all of them tend to be nice, but this one is nice...made it for us but said it was too sweet the normal way but she liked it her way so that is how she made it...with a bit of vanilla syrup and half the melon. I liked it much better than the average frap. How ever my Starbucks loving partner was not thrilled by it at all. But of course she only ever orders one hot drink year round.

[I want Green Tea]

Damn---I've been ordering iced coffees at Starbucks nearly every weekday for the past 3 weeks or so, and nobody ever offered me a Green Tea Frap sample! This isn't fair.

[Jill]

It's really good. It tastes like green tea ice cream -- a little subtler, but not much. I went to a Starbucks last Sunday and my friend and I got not only free full sized green tea frapaccinos, but also free full sized green tea lemonades and a free box of Tazo tea bags to take home and make iced tea with. Wow!

[ShiftKing]

Green Tea Frappuccino = YECH. Maybe it's the UBB, maybe it's the machata tea powder I'm not sure, but it has this sickening sweetness that then finishes with this really intense grassy finish that is just YUCK. I won't even recommend it to any of my regulars except to tell them to try a sample first.

Green Tea Lemonade=YUM. DELICIOUS. Makes me think that it must be something with the UBB or the powder in the frap, cuz the green tea lemonade is ridiculously delicious. It's got this refreshing tang that is just so good.

[Rae Whitlock]

Hey, Steve McCoy reads SBG!

Anyway, the Frappuccino is surprisingly good, in this (former) Starbucks barista's opinion. I'm not sure where the intensity is that ShiftKing up there is talking about, but it certainly wasn't in my cup. The mango flavour is really nice.

Haven't had the pleasure of trying the lemonade yet.

[vislandcub]

i really love the way the melon syrup smells - i thought it was going to be a really sickeningly ripe honeydew flavour, but it's actually really refreshing.

anyway, i suggest having the green tea frap with no melon syrup and an extra scoop of matcha powder in it. double-blend it and without whip it tastes excellent - almost exactly like the baskin robin's green tea ice cream that they had here a few years ago.

if you want to try something really good that takes kinda like hawaiian punch - try the passion tea lemonade and substitute the valencia with melon!

[Partner 113XXX0]

The frappucino is based on Matcha Green Tea which is a really premium type of Japanese Green Tea. I'm surprised that they're using it as the flavour since it has a short and finicky shelf life, and is really expensive. In Japan it's only really used for traditional Tea Ceremonies.

The iced green tea is based on our zen tea which is a chinese green tea with a hint of verbena and mint. The verbena gets lost with the lemonade, but green tea pairs perfectly with the lemonade and the mint shows up afterwards for a sparkling finish. I've got a new favorite drink.

PS. Even though I'm a barista, haven't tried the Green Tea Frappuccino due to a serious dairy allergy (ironic I know to work at SBUX but the allergy didn't exist in the current life-threatening form when I was hired) but seeing as how it's similar in recipe to Green Tea ice cream I think I'd like it.

[saffron]

In Australia, the green tea frap (along with the chai frap) has been on the *$ menu for some time. Both are delightful, but the green frap wins me over every time because of the green tones of the frap! It is also very creamy :)

[Audra]

I had the GTF about 3 hours ago! I had a sample AND LOVED IT! So much that I got a full size!

2 thumbs up!

[ShiftyinCanada]

Just a comment on the "starbucks drinks simplified" page, although this is a very handy resource for those who do not work for the company I need to say that caramel apple cider is not made with cider it is made with apple juice (the difference being that cider is thicker and not strained clear, think apple juice with pulp.....) plus cinnamon syrup, whipped cream and caramel sauce. However, the steamed cider is quite literaly just steamed apple cider with nothing else added.
No big deal, just wanted to be a good shift supervisor and maintain the drink consistency. :)

[esthereggy]

It does taste like green tea ice cream. I wonder if it's because the ratio of whipped cream to green tea frapp one to one. I wonder if boba shops in so cal see starbucks as coming onto their turf. boba shops here sell many variations of frozen blended tea drinks, with and without milk.

[Abigail Schilling]

I was in Starbucks early Thursday morning when I barista approached me and asked if I would consider what I was wearing "Hawaiian." I said, "I guess?" and she promptly handed me a tall green tea frappaccino. I won the contest, apparently. In the remaining 10 minutes I was in the store, I witnessed 9 other customers win the contest.

I still didn't try it. It's green and I just can't.

[Antonietta]

I tried a green tea frappuccino a few months ago in Singapore. It was good - smooth and creamy but very sweet.

I tried one the other day. It tasted EXACTLY like a vanilla milkshake. Probably won't get another one. Also, I think once a drink ceases to have ANY coffee in it, it can't rightfully have "ucinno" in the name. This should be called a Frappateano, but that probably didn't go over well at corporate.

[lalana]

it really tastes like honeydew melon. the barista told me it has a melon flavoring, not green tea. it also has twice as many calories and more fat than a light coffee frap.

[Rifleman]

This was the most foul thing I've ever tasted in my life...

...and I've had English food.

[Joe]

Ok. I was not offered one at the SB in San Jose, CA. But I did order one. I liked it. It reminded me of the Dreyer's Green Tea iced cream.

I like it. I hope I get a free sample though... :(

[martha]

didn't do much for me. kinda bland and vaguely vanilla-ish. other than that, at least it wasn't overpoweringly sweet. pretty color, though.

[PamB03]

Had one this morning - to me it was like someone dumped a scoop of lawn clippings into the blender with milk and ice. Blecch. The boss loved it though; he slurped his down, then mine.

[wayne]

Their "ever tasted green" slogan has a marijuana innuendo.

[litlnemo]

It is pretty good. It does taste like green tea ice cream, but slightly milder. I did not notice the melon flavoring, but maybe the melon is why the drink tastes mild. Anyway, it's tasty.

[corianderstem]

I'm not a big Frappucino fan, but was surprised as how much I liked the green tea one. Although I only had a sample, not sure if I could handle a whole one.

I didn't, however, care for the green tea lemonade, though. Blech.

[starbuxgirl]

Seeing as though I am a Barista and have helped launched GREEN TEA this past week....we have to SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE to ALL CUSTOMERS till the end of JULY....we are EXPECTED to do it....sorry if you are offended....and we DO NOT EXPECT everyone to take a SAMPLE......no worries!!

[Andrew]

Funny story: I went to a safeway starbucks that was suposed to be serving samples of the Green Tea Frap, but the kiosk was understaffed and the single barista was unable to man the sample table. I expressed my discontentment that she was not sampling the New Frap and she said that if i wanted to i could help her and give out samples. So i borrowed a apron and was serving and talking to customers about it!!! It was cool! maybe she will pass my name onto starbucks and i'll get a free drink in the mail!!!!

[Partner 113XXX0]

Couple things people aren't saying....

First off, the sampling push is backed by a contest for a trip for 2 to Japan. One trip is being awarded per zone so the chances are pretty good.

Also, voicemail to the stores from Jim Donald today stating that the Green Tea launch has outdone (by far) anyone's wildest expectations. I forsee it becoming a staple of the menu..maybe to the loss of the cursed STCF!!

[starbuxgirl]

Maybe if STCF goes away....they might bring back the COCONUT flavour that alot of my customers keep asking about....i miss it....it was sooo good with TAZO CITRUS frappucino....maybe a petition should be started???

[ShiftKing]

no no no! don't take away STCF. I NEED the strawberry for my BSL!!! There's nothing like a BSL on a hundred degree day, light ice and extra strawberry. Mmmmmn mmmmn.

[ExSFBarista]

Hey, I like STCF and even better, STL!

Coconut can go where the sun don't shine as far as I am concerned.

Green tea is "hot" in the beverage world this year. Jamba's got a big green tea push going too.

[Q]

Hi, this is unrelated to this post, but since this site seems to be into this kind of information, I just wanted to tell you that Starbucks here in Kuwait have raised their prices, and after asking around I found out that no Starbucks' raised their prices! Does that make sense?!

I know there was some news on raising prices since last year, but why start in Kuwait? Their profits here are considered to be among their best anywhere in the world, and I assume their margins are very healthy, it just doesnt make sense!

I dont mind the price raise, its raising it here and only here that baffled me!

Any thoughts?

[Partner 113XXX0]

The thing I don't like about STCF is that you can't assemble it in the blender...so old school. And they can't change the cup designs till it's gone....though I'm sure it's going to be the one to go at the end of summer...though it may be DCCF that takes a hike, or VBF...we'ill see...

[michaelpanda]

Actually, the green tea frappacino (macha cream frappachino) is standard on the starbucks menu here in Japan. I don't know if the version sold in the States has been "americanized", but it's very popular in Japan - in the summer months (the only time it's available) it seems like every third drink I see at Starbucks is a macha cream frappacino.

while someone accurately pointed out that "real" macha is reserved for tea ceremonies (as compared with other "regular" teas like sencha/kocha/mugicha) , the "green tea flavor" is fairly common in everday foods, especially in deserts. Haggen Daz, for example, has a macha flavored ice cream, soba (buckwheat) noodles are available in a "green tea" variety as are literally dozens of different candies and snack items. So it's not so surprising, I think, that Starbucks would offer a macha frappacino - although I must admit being pleased to see them extending the flavor overseas to the US!

[CoffeeBoy]

GTF, isn't my thing. Many customers love it though. Sampling is important, because its green - The green tea lemonaid is YUM.

Try them both - you may - or may not like 'em.

[ShiftKing]

113...you really think they're going to change the cup designs? They can't change the iced cup designs...what about needing the lines to make iced bar drinks? The cups will stay with the lines on them unless they give us an "iced bar drink" measuring cup, which IMHO would be a serious waste of time and $.

Oh yeah, and I gave the GTF another chance today at work, and I gotta say, I liked it better. Still not something I'd come in and plunk down $4+ for, especially seeing the calorie content, but it was good enough that at least I can recommend it to customers now, which helps.

as an aside to that, since this is the active thread (hey...any way we can just have a "partner discussons forum" here on the website?) anyone else think La Candellila isn't that good? I've definately not been impressed, though I wonder if that's just Kinjia setting the bar really high.

[barista c]

Shiftking--for a partner discussion forum try http://www.livejournal.com/community/baristas

[ShiftKing]

awww lovely. i never thought to look in LJ!! nice call!

[Lorelei C]

I had a customer order a malted green tea frappucino today. Can you say nastiness??!!?!

[ShiftKing]

i think the whole idea of malt is just gross. especially when customers want like...hot malted mochas...and i'm like "well yeah okay i can try to do that for you" and it's just like...yech. or malted STCF's. What are these people thinking?

[Audra]

I love them! I have had 3 this weekend!

I had a customer ask me for a green tea latte today, so I said "like a chai latte but with green tea?" She said yes, so I explained I'd steep the green tea for a few minutes in a small amount of water to concentrate it, but she said she wanted it cold, and made with the matcha powder, something she'd apparently had in japan. So, I just said yes and did it for her, meant to try it, but didnt get around to it tonite.
BTW, the green tea frap we get in the west is different from the one long served in japan (and other eatern markets, i'd suppose). I'm guessing the change is adding more sugar. The matcha we get is mostly sugar, evidenced by the fact that sugar comes first on the label "sugar with matcha green tea". Pretty pathetic if you ask me. That said, I enjoy the drink, but just don;t see why they need to add so much damn sugar in everything. i usually opt for far less melon syrup. Also, if you sweeten it with a bit of vanilla bean powder, its very good.

[Kym]

I am sipping my first green tea frappuccino as I type this comment and I love it. Nice flavor.. Not to sweet or not to strong. A slight vanilla milkshake taste but with a slight hint of Melon.. I am looking forward to drinking these cool reshreshing drinks this summer.

[Maggie]

I tried to order one over the weekend, but the idiot barista "couldn't find" the green tea stuff. So I had to stick to my usual Chai Frap. This was at a Barnes & Noble Cafe, not a real Sbux, but still. When the other girl got off her break, the very next customer got to try the green tea stuff. I'd stop going there, but I am in love with the stuffed pretzels and you can't get them anywhere else.

[barista in pa]

Shiftking - yeah, the Candelilla estate is nasty. It's like drinking a bunch of acid and the taste sticks in the mouth for way toooo long afterwards. I had to drink about a venti cup of ice water just to rinse it out. I can't believe that they can find good coffees like the elephant kinjia and the el salvador estate pacamara and then come up with something like the candelilla.

The green tea frap seems to be too sweet with the original recipe. Tone down some of the melon flavor and it should be a lot better. There's still a bit of an aftertaste much like with an artificial sweetener - it makes me think that there's something in it that I'm not totally aware of yet.

But Starbucks is really pushing it, since their last number of things were total bombs - the chocolate decadence deal was awful when they should have known people were into the whole 'low-carb healthy lifestyle' thing, and they brought out stuff with more calories than we can shake a stick at.

I need to stop working at that place, it makes me feel bad to think that people are getting a healthy drink because it has green tea in it, but it's cream based frap so it's more calories than any venti hot drink they can get (excluding chantico, of course).

[Hirayuki]

I ordered this on the 9th, before it had officially came out; one store sold me a grande (but made it wrong--it had a slushier texture and I was left with ice chips at the bottom), while another store apologized for not being able to sell us any yet and whipped up three (!) tall samples (which were divine--creamy and delicious, with the perfect aftertaste).

If it's been Americanized from its Japanese roots, I can't tell. In any case, if you've been jonesing for this drink as I (and my family) have, you ain't gonna get it any better in North America for sure. I'm limiting myself to sips from friends' cups from now on, though--it's too rich to be more than a very occasional treat, albeit lower in fat than I had expected.

On a related note, I picked up a carton of Tazo Matcha Latte at Cost Plus World Market before the Frapp came out here; now that I take a closer look at it, I see it has "hints of melon", too. Is this what Starbucks uses in the matcha Frapp?

[ivy]

Blech, I drank a Grande Green Tea Frapp this weekend, and it tasted like sweet bathroom cleaner to me. I'm not exaggerating. And I love green tea. I finished it because I thought it might grow on me, but it never did. It looks so lovely to me, too. I would taste it again, at a different 'Bucks to make sure I didn't get weird one, but I think it was right.

[Tony Touche]

the green tea frapp is sent from heaven. I wished for the day a drink like this would be available in North America. My advice is to skip the melon syrup and add an extra scoop of green tea powder.

[melina]

I had one Saturday afternoon on a whim. I saw the picture and that is was green, the same green as the "pale green pants with nobody inside them" from that Dr. Seuss storybook.

I also wanted to call up my *$'s-lovin' niece to tell her how it tasted and to utter these three words verbally, "Green Tea Frappucino" a la Valley Girl.

I had a tall with whipped cream and wished I would've ordered a grande. I liked how it tasted and loved the GREENESS of it.

Hey, can we still submit pics of us fans of yours in *$$?

That was bad grammar. Sorry.

[Hirayuki]

Oh, and to Michaelpanda: It's available year-round in Japan now--since last year, I think. The Website said it was so popular, they've permanently added it to their menu. It's nice in spring...oh, who am I kidding? It's always nice. :9