What Was the Starbucks Taiwan Coffee Star Pop-Up Dinner?

Starbucks Taiwan partnered with Embers, a local Michelin Plate-recommended restaurant, for a one-night pop-up Coffee Feast on May 27, themed A 24-Year Starbucks Journey. Only 28 spots were available, and registration required 200 stars plus NT$1,800, roughly RMB396. The five limited dishes used local Taiwanese ingredients, each paired with a creative Starbucks coffee drink.

The menu ran from a Cascara tea champagne opener to a non-alcoholic Irish coffee finale, with each course tied to a local story from Starbucks' 24 years in Taiwan. The event followed the Shanghai Roastery's limited buffet in August 2022, priced at RMB358 and RMB398, and formed part of a Gold member program that also included art exchanges and merchandise redemption.

Starbucks has been continuously pushing the boundaries of coffee shops in recent years. Last year, the Shanghai Roastery launched a limited-time buffet, and this year, the Taiwan region, under the theme of "creating more value experiences for Gold members," partnered with the local Michelin Plate-recommended restaurant Embers to create a one-night pop-up limited "Coffee Feast." The event was limited to 28 spots, with registration requiring 200 stars plus NT$1,800. This feast centered on the theme "A 24-Year Starbucks Journey," featuring five limited-edition dishes designed with local Taiwanese ingredients, paired with creative coffee beverages developed by Starbucks, from a Cascara tea champagne opener to a non-alcoholic Irish coffee finale, each dish carrying a local story of Starbucks' 24 years in Taiwan. This article will comprehensively outline the culinary creativity of this coffee feast and the brand context behind it, and review Starbucks' previous collaborations with Michelin one-star restaurant chefs, exploring whether its next step is really to open a Michelin restaurant.

After launching a buffet in mainland China last year, Starbucks in Taiwan this year has brought a Michelin-level coffee feast experience!

In August 2022, the Starbucks Shanghai Roastery launched a limited-time buffet, priced at RMB358/RMB398, offering unlimited limited-edition drinks and food within 2 hours. The menu covered a variety of freshly sliced quality hams, various sausages, salmon and chicken pizza, mini cakes, and DIY coffee ice cream; the higher-priced package also included specialty cocktails and craft beer.

This year, Starbucks in Taiwan, under the theme of "creating more value experiences for Gold members," not only launched exclusive art exchange activities such as handwriting and floral design for Gold-level members, as well as exclusive merchandise redemption for Gold members, but also partnered with the local Michelin Plate-recommended restaurant Embers to jointly create a one-night pop-up limited "Coffee Feast." The event was scheduled for May 27, with a limited quota of 28 spots, and registration conditions of 200 stars plus NT$1,800 (approximately RMB396).

This coffee feast is themed "A 24-Year Starbucks Journey" (Taiwan's first Starbucks opened in March 1998), using local Taiwanese ingredients to present 5 limited-edition dishes, paired with creative coffee beverages developed by Starbucks. By exploring local ingredients and coffee creations, participants can feel the local story of Starbucks' 24 years in Taiwan.

According to the restaurant, the "Coffee Feast" will begin with a glass of Cascara champagne made from coffee cascara and coffee leaves~

The first dish is a coffee specialty drink based on matcha latte, paired with trout tartare sprinkled with spices full of local Taiwanese flavors such as tana and maqaw, symbolizing the milestone Starbucks carved in coffee cultivation in Taiwan 24 years ago.

The second dish is local Taiwanese taro paired with tender salted meat, symbolizing the abundant harvest during Starbucks' third five-year period in Taiwan.

The third dish features tender tri-tip of local Taiwanese black cattle paired with coffee rice cake, accompanied by a non-alcoholic coffee cocktail espresso martini, symbolizing the maturation of Starbucks' operations.

The fourth dish features local Taiwanese bamboo free-range chicken paired with茄苳 tea and pickled lotus root, accompanied by rare Starbucks Reserve coffee presented by Starbucks coffee experts who visited coffee farms around the world, symbolizing Starbucks' years-long local bean-seeking journey in Taiwan.

The fifth dessert features ricotta paired with citrus honey and cured meat (yes, a dessert with cured meat, you read that right), accompanied by a non-alcoholic Irish coffee made from Guatemalan coffee, Sherry coffee, brown sugar, and cream, leaving a unique coffee aroma lingering in the mouth after tasting, symbolizing that Starbucks will always bring people surprises.

Before collaborating with the Michelin Plate-recommended restaurant, in 2021, Starbucks in Taiwan collaborated with the chef Deng Yougui of the Michelin one-star "Danny's Steak House" to launch the "Starbucks Chef Series" at Reserve stores, including "Chef's Version Red Wine Braised Beef," "American Beef Brisket Panini," and "Orleans Beef Panini," allowing everyone to enjoy delicious food brought by a Michelin one-star restaurant chef at Starbucks even when busy.

Following this trend, is Starbucks planning to open a Michelin restaurant next?! (Just guessing) After all! Starbucks' imagination is something you can't even think of, but they can do it. Image source: Xiaohongshu, Facebook, internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.