On Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024, Starbucks added five new items to its menu. With two of those items being fresh, new, pastries. The drink items showcased are a new Iced Hazelnut Oat-milk Shaken Espresso, and the returning drinks a Pistachio Cream Cold Brew and a Pistachio Latte. The new pastry items on the menu include Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Bakes, as well as a Vanilla Bean Custard Danish. I have taste-tested them to provide my personal, honest review of the new menu items.
Iced Hazelnut Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
This hazelnut-shaken espresso is all the new rave, as it is very sweet and delicious. It is commonly compared to the Iced Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso but it stands out due to its hazelnut flavoring. However, I do feel that when I drank it the hazelnut syrup was rather faint and wasn’t too strong of a taste but it was still pretty good. The drink retails for $5.95 for a grande size drink. Also, this shaken espresso drink contains a calorie count of 150 for a grande size and around 165 mg of caffeine. I believe this drink is worth the price if you need an extra boost of caffeine in the morning. Overall, I’d rate this a ⅘ star
Pistachio Cream Cold Brew
This cold brew is the perfect way to start your morning! Especially if you love pistachios this drink has a very sweet and salty flavor lingering in the drink. The cold brew itself is very strong so if you love a strong coffee this is for you, but personally, it wasn’t my favorite. Along with that, price-wise it is on the more expensive side but it is Starbucks after all. It retails for a solid $5.25 for a grande-size drink. This drink holds a calorie count of about 250 and a caffeine amount of around 185 mg for a grande size. Overall, I think it’s pretty good but just not worth the price but I rate it ⅗ stars.
Pistachio Latte
This new pistachio latte is a total hit! Usually, this drink comes prepared hot but I like my drinks iced so instead I got my drink iced to try it out. And it took me by complete surprise! It had hints of sweet and then quick hints of saltiness to it which was the perfect blend in a drink. I wouldn’t say I would get it again since I usually wouldn’t drink something like this but it was really good. The pistachio taste in this drink is much stronger than the cold brew I reviewed previously but it is still worth the try. However, price-wise the grande size is $5.25 but compared to a normal latte with a grande size is $4.25. And the calorie count in this drink is about 260 for a grande size, with a caffeine amount of around 150 mg. So is it worth it? I don’t think so but I’d still rate it a ⅗ stars and recommend you to at least try it, since maybe you might like it better!
Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Bakes
This new baked good is an everything breakfast packed into two small squares! At first, I was completely hesitant to try this but it was delicious. This was one of my favorite items I’ve eaten at Starbucks. The closest comparison I can give you is a hashbrown. It has the perfect combination of eggs, potatoes, cheese, onions,
spinach, and of course chives. This baked good has a calorie count of 210. This masterpiece retails at $5.75 for two small squares, however, so for the price it is not worth it, I would say. But it is very tasty, so I would rate it a ⅘ stars. Not the full five due to pricing.
Vanilla Bean Custard Danish
This pastry treat is surely worth the try! This vanilla bean custard Danish is so light and fluffy. As I tried this, it took me by complete surprise as the vanilla taste is very prominent. However, I thought with some bites it just tasted like plain bread so I wish the custard was all over the Danish instead of just in the middle area. But it was delicious! We have seen danishes such as this one, for example, the cheese Danish. But the Vanilla Bean Custard Danish is brand new! This Danish retails for about $3.95 and is a decent size. And holds a calorie count of 230. I think the price for this is worth it but I would not buy this again since it was not my favorite treat at Starbucks. Overall, I would rate this a ⅗ stars.
Let us know in the comments if you have tried any of these new menu items and what you thought of them.
