NEED TO KNOW
- Starbucks has four new iced drinks: Iced Banana Bread Matcha, Iced Double Berry Matcha, White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew and Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino
- The two new iced matcha drinks will be permanent menu additions
- The limited-time White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew and Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino are Valentine’s Day menu choices
These drinks are a match-a made in heaven.
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Starbucks customers have four new iced sips to sample: Iced Banana Bread Matcha, Iced Double Berry Matcha, White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew and Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino. The first two are permanent additions to the menu lineup while the latter two are limited-time Valentine’s Day beverages.
The Iced Banana Bread Matcha adds brown sugar syrup and milk to the matcha before adding a Banana Cream Cold Foam and a sprinkle of caramel crunch.
The effect is a buttery tasting (and smelling) drink, according to testers. The brown sugar syrup and caramel pieces on top meant that each sip tasted like baked goods, not just banana, which was a concern one PEOPLE staffer had going into the taste-test. Plus, if readers are anything like the PEOPLE team who have been inundated with drool-worthy clips of Caramelized Banana Matchas from The Nitro Bar, a coffee shop in Rhode Island, then this order can certainly scratch that itch.
Next up is the Iced Double Berry Matcha, which also seems to pay homage to the trendy strawberry matchas that took over cafes and TikTok last year. Starbucks’ version combines the milky matcha with layers of strawberry purée and a Raspberry Cream Cold Foam on top.
Taste testers were just as enthusiastic about the fruity matcha choice. The strawberry purée had a sharpness that balanced the creaminess of the matcha and cold foam, one staffer reported. Plus, the drink felt like the perfect way to welcome back the beloved raspberry syrup, which has come and gone from menus over the years but is permanently back as of Tuesday.
Starbucks took inspiration from the chilly weather in its two frosty (and adorably pink) Valentine’s Day drinks this year.
The White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew layers vanilla-sweetened cold brew with a White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Foam to get the berry flavors in. The white chocolate taste got a little lost in the fruity flavors of the White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Foam for one tester. But the drink’s V-Day dessert inspiration was totally clear to staffers as the cold foam swirled into the coffee and with the sprinkle of chocolate curls on top.
The Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino has swirls of strawberry purée between the cinnamon dolce syrup-flavored blended drink, plus whipped cream and caramel sugar on top. Similarly to the Iced Banana Bread Matcha, the Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino got its baked goods-like flavor across but with this drink it gets the taste from the addition of cinnamon dolce syrup
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