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.
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. And if you're looking for more refreshing drinks to sip on as the weather warms up, check out our picks for the best Starbucks iced drinks.
As a Contributing Writer, and former Associate Editor, at Delish, Allie is a writer, reporter, and producer of features at the intersection of food and culture. Before Delish, Allie worked for publications including Apartment Therapy and Insider. She even spent time working in restaurants and breweries. Allie has dumpster-dived in NYC to expose food waste, reported on the invasive lionfish you can eat, and wrote about the growing trend of weed weddings. Her health and nutrition stories on hydration culture, bananas, and coffee have generated nearly 2M combined views. She loves traveling, running, and eating her way through new places and even has a thorough Google Maps ranking system for her favorite restaurants and bars! When not writing about food, she's planning her next trip, lifting weights, or training for a race. Expertise: food & culture (Sustainability, Health, Travel) Education: M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, B.S. in Information Science (User Experience Design) from the University of Michigan
