Starbucks to offer pork flavoured coffee in China to mark Lunar New Year

Starbucks has released an unusual new flavour combination to mark Lunar New Year.

The new 'Abundant Year Savory Latte' has been released in China - and combines your typical latte with the flavour of braised pork.

The drink combines Dongpo Braised Pork Flavor Sauce with espresso and steamed milk, with extra pork sauced and pork breast meat to garnish, according to the Starbucks delivery app.

The drink is priced at 68 yuan - around £7.50 - according to the app.

"Eating meat means prosperity in the coming year," the Shanghai Starbucks Roastery wrote on the Chinese social media site Weibo.

Lunar New Year is one of the biggest holidays of the year in Asia, with braised pork being a popular dish served at New Yeats feasts.

The dish, which originates from Hangzhou, combines sugar, soy sauce, and pork belly. It is named after the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi, known as Dongpo, who is believed to have created the recipe.

Since coming to China in 1999, Starbucks now has over 6,500 outlets across the country, with 785 outlets opening in 2023 alone.

The chain rivals Chinese startup Luckin Coffee, which has over 13,000 outlets across the country.

The Starbucks pork latte has gained traction on Chinese social media, with the topic viewed more than 476,000 times on Weibo by the time of publishing.

While some users expressed curiosity, but others were skeptical, pointing to the high price point and questioning why they would drink the latte instead of eating real braised pork.

“For 67 yuan, I could eat a plate of braised pork then go to Luckin and drink two lattes,” one Weibo user wrote.

Another user quipped: “I would allow both (pork and coffee) to exist in my stomach at the same time, but not in my mouth at the same time.”

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