Nothing says springtime quite like the smell of freshly blooming flowers. And this year, Starbucks is highlighting a flowery seasonal ingredient in its spring menu: lavender. The flavor is a popular request from Starbucks baristas, so the coffee chain is launching two brand new lavender-forward drinks.
As Delish reports, the Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte and the Iced Lavender Oatmilk Matcha will be available in the U.S. starting today. Each drink features a proprietary lavender powder—not a traditional syrup. “We found a powder to be the best expression of the subtle sweetness of lavender,” said Patrick Penny, a Starbucks lead beverage developer. “It reminds me of lavender ice cream because of the light and soft vanilla flavor.”
While I love lavender, I was worried the drinks were going to be too sweet or floral. But after trying both, I was pleasantly surprised. Here’s my rundown of the two new drinks and what to expect.
Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte
The new latte features Starbucks Blonde Espresso, oat milk, and lavender powder. It even has a very subtle purple tint. I expected this to be overly sweet, but it was surprisingly balanced, likely because of the powder instead of a syrup. And no, it did not taste like soap.
Iced Lavender Oatmilk Matcha
With pastel purple and green coloring, the Iced Lavender Oatmilk Matcha screams spring. It’s a classic iced matcha with oat milk, but topped with lavender cream cold foam. (FYI, the cold foam does contain dairy.) Matcha and lavender? I didn’t think the flavors would pair well together, but they blended well for creamy drink I couldn’t put down.
You can find the new spring menu at Starbucks stores across the U.S. for a limited time, while supplies last.
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