The coffee company is introducing a new line of beverages infused with extra virgin olive oil. To be clear, the drinks aren’t just flavoured with olive oil, and they don’t have just a hint of it. Each one contains a spoonful of oil, which adds 120 calories to the total. Some drinks have a slippery sheen of oil in the cup that you can see without even squinting.
Starting this week, three olive oil beverages will be available at Starbucks cafes in Italy. Each is named after Oleato, Starbucks’ word for the new line.
There’s an Oleato latte with oat milk and olive oil, an Oleato ice shaken espresso with oat milk, hazelnut flavour, and olive oil, and the Oleato golden foam cold brew, which is made with a version of Starbucks’ sweet milk foam infused with two servings of olive oil. Versions of those drinks will be available in Southern California this spring, with more information on the US launch to follow. They will be available in the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Japan later this year.
Starbucks, like other major chains, frequently changes its menu, introducing limited-edition items seasonally or introducing new ingredients such as oat milk. However, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer, Brady Brewer, told CNN that this launch is much larger.
It’s one of the most significant launches we’ve had in decades, he said. “Rather than a flavour or a product, it’s really a platform,” he explained, implying that customers will be able to customize some drinks with olive oil.