Starbucks has welcomed the new season with a carousel of lavender-infused spring-inspired offerings, but not everyone is on board with the floral flavor.
On March 7, the coffee conglomerate swapped its rich winter flavors for flavors of the purple plant in two new menu items: Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha and Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte. This year marks the first time Starbucks has introduced lavender as an available additive in its beverages.
The iced matcha is a blend of green tea powder with oat milk and is topped with lavender cream cold foam that has “sweet, subtle floral notes,” according to the company description. The iced latte is a take on the Starbucks Blonde Espresso blend combined with non-dairy milk and finished with lavender cold foam.
While matcha devotees are more likely to be familiar with the fragrant wick of their morning drink, Starbucks regulars aren't quite sure they like the new frozen concoctions. Customers have been voicing their opinions online, some expressing a sweet passion for the lavender spirit and others announcing their distaste for it.
One fan noted that “the combination of lavender and matcha tastes like cream.” A few more followers described the flavor as reminiscent of spring, adding that the overall aroma was like “spring in a cup.”
“The best drink [Starbucks has] “I never lied,” proclaimed another lover before admitting that they added half a pump of vanilla.
“I TRIED THE LAVENDER MATCHA DRINK FROM STARBUCKS AND IT WAS GOOD,” another fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
One honest person commented: “Starbucks' new lavender matcha drink is dead***, Fruit Loops milk.”
However, critics of the new drink noted their dissatisfaction with the appearance and taste.
“I just want to talk to who approved the Starbucks lavender latte because it's the worst tasting drink I've ever had (and I usually love lavender),” one reviewer said.
Another commented: “Starbucks lavender drink tastes like dish soap.”
“Very disappointed in how it looks…COME ON, MAKE SURE THEY KNOW HOW TO DO IT FIRST,” one reviewer noted.
“And the way it doesn't taste like lavender at all,” a fourth added.
As divisive as these lavender menu offerings have been, the floral flavor is far from the most unique concoction the beverage giant has come up with. Just in time for the Lunar Year, Starbucks launched pork-infused coffee in China.
