Pork latte, anyone? Baristas’ brews have a meaty twist
CHINESE baristas have created a braised pork latte to mark the Lunar New Year.
The drink, available in about 25 Starbucks across the country, mixes traditional espresso coffee and steamed milk with Dongpo braised pork sauce.
The beverage, which is garnished with a square slice of pork, has an “interesting flavour”, the coffee chain said. Braised pork is considered a staple food during Lunar New Year celebrations.
“Eating meat means prosperity in the coming year,” the Shanghai Starbucks Roastery wrote on Chinese social media in the run-up to the Lunar New Year celebrations last weekend.
Dubbed the “Abundant Year Savoury Latte”, promotional images show a red braised pork slice placed on top of the foam of what looks like a regular latte, complete with a drizzle of red pork sauce.
The drink, which costs around 68 yuan (£7.50), creates “unexpected savoury and sweet flavours”, the coffee chain says. In recent years Starbucks has attempted to adapt its drinks to cater to Chinese audiences to compete with the local coffee chain Luckin, whose Moutai latte containing baijiu liquor proved a huge success.
A survey of Starbucks customers on what flavours they wanted on the menu reportedly listed Dongpo pork as one of the options. The dish, from Hangzhou, combines sweet and savoury flavours with sugar, soy sauce, and tender pork belly. It is named after the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi, known as Dongpo, who is believed to have created the recipe.
The retailer also reportedly unveiled plans to sell “Red Date Rice Flavor Macchiato”, “Fortune Almond Macchiato” and “Black Sesame Latte” as part of their Chinese New Year menu.