Roughly five years ago, Starbucks Japan switched from plastic straws to paper ones, in an effort to be more environmentally friendly. But while this change was made in order to make Mother Nature happy, customers have had more mixed feelings.
The common and consistent complaints have been that paper straws are flimsy and have a noticeably unpleasant taste, with the unwanted flavor tending to become even more pronounced as the straw’s material dissolves and deteriorates. With Japanese consumers having especially high standards regarding how their food and beverages look and taste, as well as a general dislike for things that seem messy or dirty, Starbucks’ paper straws haven’t been particularly popular.
So there are now a lot of people happy to hear that Starbucks Japan is ready to get rid of paper straws, and very soon. They’re not backpedaling to petroleum-based plastics for their sipping apparatuses, though. Instead, Starbucks Japan’s new straws will be made out of plant-based biomass plastic. Specifically, they’ll be using Osaka-based Kaneka Corporation’s Green Planet-branded bioplastic material. In doing so, Starbucks hopes to address customers’ dissatisfaction with paper straws while still utilizing a more ecologically responsible material than traditional plastic.
Straw material is an especially important matter for Starbucks branches in Japan. If you’ve spent much time on our site, you probably know that Japan loves Frappuccinos, and the chain is often seen here as much as an emporium for slushy dessert drinks as it is a coffeehouse. So with Frappuccinos, which are drunk with a straw, being arguably Starbucks Japan’s most popular product, anything that makes them more enjoyable is a win-win for the chain and its customers.
The new biomass plastic straws are scheduled to be introduced first at Starbucks Japan branches in Okinawa Prefecture next month, and to expand to all of the approximately 2,000 Starbucks Japan locations across the county in March.
Sources: TBS News Dig, Yomiuri Shimbun, Oricon News
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19 Comments
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bass4funk
Fantastic news! They were just so God awful terrible, I hated them so much I brought my own straw with me.
kurisupisu
Why do people need to use straws?
ian
Haha
WA4TKG
Hate paper straws, sorry Earth
Pukey2
That's great and all, but I was shocked when I recently looked at their nutrional information. A typical drink has 20g of fat and over 30g of sugar.
Sven Asai
Their pure sugar should maybe eaten with spoons. lol
HopeSpringsEternal
Most recent same store sales down (7%) in US, Japan must be worse. This is cost savings, inflation biting them and their consumers, surely finding workers is tough as well, seems a mini doom loop with no upside
SomeWeeb
Shocked they don't have bamboo straws. Anyway this isn't coffee, just liquid sugar for breakfast. Your body is the worst an processing liquid calories.
HopeSpringsEternal
If you want terrible heart and brain health, an overpriced coffee loaded with sugar and many other processed and artificial ingredients is a GREAT place to start!
HopeSpringsEternal
FYI and PRO TIP, using a straw helps to better keep your teeth purely white, reduce coffee/tea stains! But do not skip your flossing and regular dental visits for cleaning!
リッチ
Biodegradable straws have been sound for 20 years. Indonesia singapore and Malaysia all use them. I thought everyone did. Why is Japan so slow? Paper straws are horrible. Top that off they put them in plastic cups and lids and well Japan is plastic heaven with the pure use of plastic inside plastic inside plastic. lol.
リッチ
agree but starbucks drinks are mostly sugar and ice. They have very few actually coffee drinks. The shot they use doesn’t nearly have enough coffee in it to stain your teeth. You will have a higher chance of getting diabetes than brown teeth.
HopeSpringsEternal
Do remember, you CAN still order regular coffee or hot water with a teabag at SB's and not add anything.
Far healthier option than their "Tutifruitimochalatte"
Fighto!
Noticeably unpleasant taste?
That'd be a good match for Starbucks coffee, then.
Hervé L'Eisa
Most of Star*ucks offerings are junk. Real coffee isn't drunk with a straw of any kind.
Lola
yes because by using paper straws you can save the planet....
MiuraAnjin
Bass:
The best possible outcome. Please keep it up.
asdfghjkl
Hang on, I thought one aspect of the movement away from plastic straws was that sea turtles mistakenly eat them and basically this screws them up.
Also wouldn’t it be better to use paper cups and paper caps rather than paper cups and plastic caps?
toolonggone
I don't know why other people do but as for me, I've got sensite front teeth and cold drinks without a straw cause me discomfort.
I agree with your first statement but is iced or cold brew coffee junk too?