On 30 September, Starbucks heralded the start of autumn with the return of the Chocolate Mousse Latte, a seasonal beverage that was well received by customers last year. The beverage isn’t exactly the same this time around, though, as it contains an Espresso Roast instead of the Blonde Espresso Roast blend, with the darker roast said to impart a deeper flavor. Our resident Starbucks expert K Masami was curious to see if this new blend would be a good partner for the nutty, chocolatey flavors in the drink, so she headed out to her nearest Starbucks to try it.
Because she likes to be thorough with her reporting, Masami paired the latte with a slice of the “Two-Apple Variety Custard Apple Pie from Aomori Prefecture” (600 yen), which is one of three new limited-edition autumn desserts released on the same day. ▼ Masami snubbed the Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake (520 yen) and the Marron Pound Cake (390 yen) in favour of the apple pie. The big appeal of this pie isn’t just the fact that it contains two varieties of apples from Japan’s premier apple-producing region — it’s also recommended that you try it with a free sprinkling of cinnamon powder and a dollop of whipped cream for an additional 50 yen, so that’s exactly what Masami did.
This was a combination she had never tried before, and though the fruity, cinnamon aromas were delightful, when she took a bite of it, her taste buds fell head over heels for the flavors. It was spicy, sweet, warm, and tart, all at the sa.
