Memoirs of Beijing

First and foremost, I’d like to wish all my readers a belated Happy Mid-autumn festival!  I would also like to thank Starbucks for the delicious box of Starbucks mooncake which they gave me for free!  The box of mooncake came with 2 each of Espresso Coffee Cheese & Orange, Espresso Coffee Milk Chocolate, Green Tea Toffee Cheese and Espresso Blueberry Cheese mooncakes.  They also included a buy one get one coupon for you to enjoy the mooncake with a friend drinking a cup of your favorite beverage.  The box of mooncake was then placed in a recycled cloth bag in brown.  This mooncake retails at RMB 298.  Another box of mooncake retails at RMB 398 and has drawers in it.  Thank you Starbucks!

Anniversary Collection

Every year in September, Starbucks releases their Anniversary collection aka The Mermaid.  The Anniversary collection includes new tumblers, mugs and coffee blend.

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As autumn officially kicks off in China, Starbucks launched today the autumn 2011 beverage, food and merchandise.  The rabbits are back to celebrate the mid-autumn festival on September 12. 

Beverage

One new frappuccino and two new ice cold drinks were launched to suit the palate of fruit lovers.  For a bit of sweet and sour taste almost similar to a smoothie, opt for the Strawberry Lemon Frappuccino blended juice drink (RMB 30/33/36).  For a perfect blend of two types of berries, try the Iced Black Currant and Raspberry Juiced Tea (RMB 24/27/30).  For a flowery and fruity taste, the Iced Hibiscus Mango Juiced Tea (RMB 24/27/30) will be perfect.

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Now you don’t have any reason to miss your daily brew of Starbucks coffee as Starbucks Via is officially launched today in mainland China, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong Starbucks store. This instant coffee pack is filled with 100% roasted Arabica coffee. All you need to do is pour the packet in a cup, add hot water and stir to enjoy your coffee.

Coffee blends

For the initial launch in China, they introduced the Italian Roast and Columbia blends. The Italian Roast blend is perfect for coffee drinkers who like it black as it has a strong bold flavor. The Columbia blend flavor has just the right boldness and can be lessen if you pour in milk and sugar.

The Starbucks Via coffee packs can only be purchased in packs of 3 or 12. A pack of 3 costs RMB 25 while a pack of 12 costs RMB 88. From April 6 to 10, customers can try these Starbucks Via coffee for free at your nearest Starbucks store. Moreover, if you wish to purchase these coffee packs, you will be able to get 10% off on your purchase.

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A new year means new Starbucks merchandise to celebrate Chinese New Year which falls on February 3 and Valentines Day.  Have a look on what’s new in Starbucks China as they celebrate “A Cup of Prosperity” to coincide the Year of the Rabbit.

Bearista

This year’s CNY bearista is dressed as a rabbit with the Chinese character of rabbit as a scroll.  I believe this is the male bearista. 

The Valentines bearista is definitely the female bearista.  She’s dressed in a pink coat, chequered skirt, rose headdress and a red mink hand warmer.

Both bearistas are sold @ RMB 128 each.  The Valentines bearista sells faster than the CNY bearista.

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When I posted the previous two entries about the latest mugs & tumblers of Starbucks, I thought it was just a new release.  However, as I get to know the baristas at the store near my home, they told me that each city hosting the Olympic Games in China has a new design for their mug, tumbler and demitasse collection.  It’s not really with the Olympic logo and all as that’s copyrighted and Starbucks ain’t a sponsor.

The 6 Olympic cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang (Qinghuangdao) and Hong Kong.  Of course, the country where they are located has it’s own design as well.

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I was meaning to go to Starbucks for quite some time to take photos and check out the latest city mugs and tumblers.  I got the chance to do it yesterday as I was at the main office and there’s a Starbucks on my way to the bus stop.

In that Starbucks, they still have the Beijing mug & tumblers which I’ve posted in my previous blog as well as the latest Tianjin tumbler and demitasse set.  The Tianjin tumbler has that huge clock structure which I saw on the way to the city from the train station.  The color and font design is similar to the new Beijing & China tumblers which they’ve recently released.  Retail price for the tumbler is RMB 95.

The demitasse set composed of one Tianjin cup and one China cup.  Retail price  for this set is RMB 88.  They’re quite cute and when I went to the Starbucks near my home, they said it’s already sold out.

Since I wasn’t happy with the photos I’ve taken in the Starbucks near the office, I  thought about going to the Starbucks near my home.  When I got there, they don’t have the tumbler nor the demitasse set.  They, however, have the Tianjin mug.  In this shop, they were more amenable to have a picture taken so I think the picture is much better.  Retail price of the mug is RMB 90.

Well.. for the collectors in Manila, I have a friend going home this August.  Send me a comment if you want me to buy you some of them.  For other collectors, I’ll see what I can do with the shipping.