Our attention was recently brought to an American blogger who claims to have made “The Most Expensive Starbucks Drink in the World, Ever:” a 31-oz Java Chip Frappuccino loaded with all sorts of extras that totaled $23.60 (1921 yen).

Now, as many of you may know, RocketNews24 has established itself as the leading Japanese authority on unreasonable portions of food. By claiming that he has definitively created the world’s most expensive Starbucks drink, this blogger has effectively challenged our reputation.

We think you know what happens next.

We made our way to our local Tokyo Starbucks and asked the barista if he could make a drink that costs more than 3000 yen ($36.86), figuring that we could get better results if we give them a tangible goal to work with.

We had even made sure to bring the 32-oz McDonald’s soft drink cup that we had received during a previous trip to America (you can’t find cups that big in Japan) and requested they used it to hold the drink.

The barista readily consented and went to work on putting together our order.

15 minutes later, the barista called us over and presented us with the drink, which we like to call: “The Most Expensive Starbucks Drink in the World, Ever—Japan Style, Bitches.”

The contents are as follows:

Soy Orange Brûlée Frappuccino (Venti) - 620 yen
Whipped Crème – 50 yen
Hazelnut Syrup – 50 yen
Almond Syrup – 50 yen
Vanilla Syrup – 50 yen
Caramel Syrup – 50 yen
Caramel Sauce – Free (!?!?!)
Mocha Syrup – 50 yen
White Mocha Syrup – 50 yen
Chocolate Sauce – Free
Chocolate Chips – 50 yen
Frappuccino Mix (Extra) – 50 yen
Frappuccino Mix (Extra) – 50 yen
Tazo Chai Syrup – 50 yen
Espresso Shot (x37) – 1850 yen

Total – 3020 yen (with tax)

3020 yen. That’s $37.10 of your American dollars—$13.50 more than the previous “Most Expensive Starbucks Drink in the World.” Stick that in your cup and drink it.

But wait!

While the price was right, there was one thing that held us back from doing our victory dance: not only did the drink not fit in the 32-oz McDonald’s cup, but it was so big it had to be divided among 4 Venti cups.

The American blogger claims his barista managed to fit $23.60 of drink into one 31 oz cup. If this is true *glares,* then our drink is disqualified due to being over-volume.

Looking back over our receipt, the bulk of our drink’s cost comes from the 37 added espresso shots. You can theoretically make a drink as expensive as you want just by adding espresso shots, but it comes at a cost of increased ever-increasing volume. Surely there must have been a more efficient way to make a drink with 3000 yen? Perhaps our barista was short on ingenuity that day.

In any case, we thanked the barista and took the Japan Style back to our office for further testing.

We started by putting each cup to the scales and measuring the drink’s weight, which totaled 2542 grams (89.67-oz)! Luckily we had an office full of eager onlookers to drink the thing.

Next up was the taste test.

We admit that the Japan Style isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing Starbucks drink, but it does fill the room with the pleasantly strong aroma of espresso.

And the flavor? After taking turns passing the drink around, the overall consensus was something along the lines of: “Good! We’re not really sure why, but it’s tasty!”

The drink proved to be a hit and, before long, all 5 cups had been drained and we had an office full of over-caffeinated Japanese.

Thinking back on it, this experience really renews our appreciation for how amazing Starbucks is. I mean, what other store would so willingly take on such a ridiculous request and make it rock our taste buds proper?

We’re not sure if this is something they’ll do for customers at all stores, but we’d like to send a special thank you to everyone who helped put together our drink!

And finally, we tip our hats to the American blogger who was able to keep it all in one cup. While you may technically still hold the record for “Most Expensive Starbucks Drink in the World,” you can guarantee we’ll wipe the “, Ever” from that title all in due time.

Photos, Video & Slightly Wounded Pride: RocketNews24


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