大象传媒

Roast Sweet Potato Frappuccino and other unusual flavoured foods

starbucks-sweet-potato-frapuccino.Image source, Starbucks

If you're a fan of unusual flavours then look no further!

You might've heard of pumpkin-flavoured drinks but in Japan it's all about the sweet potato!

Starbucks Japan have added a Roasted Sweet Potato Frappuccino to their autumn drinks menu this year.

Sweet potatoes are harvested in the autumn in Japan, and lots of people enjoy eating them roasted (called yaki imo) from local street food stalls.

The drink will be decorated with crispy sweet potato flakes, with real sweet potato chunks and sauce and will be available from 22 September to 19 October - but only in Japan!

What do you think? Would you give it a go? Let us know in the comments!

The sweet potato brew isn't the only unusual flavour combo. Check out some more freaky flavours below!

Crisps

Image source, Walkers

Fast-food chain KFC teamed up with snack company Walkers to launch two crisp flavours - Walkers MAX Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Walkers Max Double Crunch Zinger for those who enjoy a bit a kick.

In 2018 Walkers introduced limited edition Brussels sprout flavoured crisps to the world for Christmas, as well as Pigs in Blankets and Turkey Stuffing flavour.

Crisp makers Pringles are known for their wide variety of flavours, in fact they have more than 250 different flavours worldwide, including some pretty unusual ones.

There are flavours like Dill Pickle, Peppermint White Chocolate flavour (limited edition for Christmas) as well as Soft-Shelled Crab flavour and Blueberry and Hazelnut flavour in Asia.

Did you know?

Flavoured crisps weren't introduced until the 1950s and 60s in the UK. Before that people were given a little packet of salt, to add flavour to crisps.

Ice cream

Image source, Heinz/Twitter
Image caption,

Heinz has released five different sauce flavoured ice creams and one sorbet.

Fancy a scoop of ketchup flavoured ice cream? How about mayo or BBQ?

In July 2020 Heinz released a range of ice cream kits for people to make their own sauce flavoured desserts.

The kits included tomato Ketchup flavour ice cream or sorbet, as well as Mayonnaise, BBQ Sauce, Salad Cream, and Saucy Sauce flavoured ice cream too.

"We know it might seem like a bit of a crazy combo to some - but with Heinz always at the forefront of innovation, anything is possible." said David Chalbert, Senior Brand Manager for Heinz Sauces.

Cereal

Image source, Post consumer brand
Image caption,

Do you want milk or gravy with that?

In 2019 American cereal makers Post introduced two limited edition flavours of cereal: Chicken and Waffles, and Maple Bacon Donuts.

Although the cereal did not contain any meat, it was supposed to have a "savoury sweetness" flavour.

In July 2020 Kellogg's released a green onion flavoured cereal in South Korea.

It was so popular it sold out online in the first two days it was released!

Chocolate

Image source, Nestle/Kit-Kat
Image caption,

Fancy trying Beni Imo or Purple Sweet Potato flavour chocolate?

KitKat is famous for the unusual flavoured chocolate bars it releases in Japan, in fact since 2000 it has released more than 300 different limited edition and regional flavours!

Flavours include: Purple Sweet Potato, Strawberry Cheesecake, Pumpkin pudding, Grilled Corn and Adzuki Red Bean flavour (which is traditionally used in sweets in Japan).

Did you know?

The name KitKat is similar to the Japanese phrase 'kitto katsu' which means "you will surely win" in Japanese, and is seen as a sign of good luck.

Chocolate makers Cadbury's sparked a big debate in 2015 when it released a limited edition chocolate bar in Australia, which had been infused with Vegemite.

Vegemite is a savoury yeast extract spread, similar to Marmite in the UK, which many people have strong feelings about.

Drinks

Image source, Wagamamas/twitter

Starbucks aren't the only ones to be experimenting with unusual beverage flavours...

Wagamama announced in March that they would be making a new smoothie, which is katsu curry flavoured.

It's made from a combination of apples, bananas and pineapples along with the restaurant's famous katsu curry sauce.

Commenting on the announcement, smoothie company Innocent said: "we take off our little woolly hats to this beauty".

The katsu smoothie was available in 20 restaurants across the UK, between March 24 and April 7 - with profits going to the mental health charity YoungMinds.