Starbucks Japan's Tea Floats Put A Twist On The Classic Ice Cream Treat

When you want an ice cream float, you likely have a craving for a pairing of ice cream and your favorite soda, like Coke. Quite unexpectedly, however, some Starbucks locations in Japan serve tea floats that combine its traditional iced tea drinks with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to satisfy your need for a dose of caffeine and your sweet tooth. It's certainly different from the classic ice cream floats we grew up on, but that's partly why it's just one of the many items Starbucks Japan serves that aren't available here in the U.S.

The scoop of vanilla ice cream is a beverage customization available for iced tea lattes and tea Frappuccino's. One scoop of ice cream can transform your iced green chai tea latte into a dessert of sorts. The upgrade costs between 108 and 110 yen, or about 70 cents in U.S. currency. It's only available for specific products at Starbucks Tea & Cafe locations — there are currently only 14 locations across the country in cities like Tokyo that focus on tea beverages from its Teavana brand.

There are a variety of iced tea drinks on the menu at Starbucks in Japan that you can turn into a float with this upgrade. The iced green chai tea latte that looks similar to the one served in the U.S. is made with sencha tea, green apple flavor, and yuzu — plus a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you please. A more unique drink available to add the ice cream to is the strawberry & passion tea made of passion tea, hibiscus, orange peel, strawberry pulp, and freeze-dried strawberries. Then there's the matcha & crushed pistachio milk tea latte that features pistachio milk, crushed almonds, pistachios, and matcha powder.

It's worth mentioning that some of these drinks are only available at certain locations, so you might have to do a little research to find a participating Starbucks Tea & Cafe. In years past, the ice cream customization was only available during summer months. And just in case you find yourself at a regular Starbucks location in Japan, consider its new Banana Brûlée Frappuccino that was developed to reduce the waste of bananas in Asia.