REVIEW: We Tried the CONTROVERSIAL Olive Oil Coffee from Starbucks!

For the first time in our lives, we were hesitant to visit Starbucks. 

We LOVE Starbucks!

Usually, we’re practically drooling at the thought of a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew or a Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. However, we went to Starbucks today on a mission to try something new. Not just any ol’ menu item that we’d never had before, but an item NEW to the Starbucks menus entirely. We knew that it was being tested at a few Starbucks locations across the U.S., but now it’s available in 15 U.S. states, which we’ll talk about later! Yep, it’s those controversial Oleato drinks.

Today, we’re trying olive oil coffee.

Oleato is a new Starbucks coffee that is infused with Partanna extra-virgin olive oil. Olive oil is known to enhance the flavor of numerous dishes, so why would coffee be any different, right? Starbucks said that the olive oil adds a smoothness to coffee beverages that’s one of a kind. We tried to have an open mind and remember this when we were waiting for our drinks. We ordered the Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew and the Oleato Shaken Espresso with Oatmilk and Toffeenut. Let’s try them!

Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew

This drink is your typical cold brew topped with cold foam that’s been infused with the Partanna olive oil. 

Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew

The first thing we noticed was that there wasn’t a whole lot of extra flavor, but the foam itself is really thick and creamy. It isn’t drastically different from other coffees we’ve had. It has a very slight aftertaste of olive oil, but that’s really the only indicator that it’s in the drink at all!

 

Starbucks said that the purpose of the olive oil in the cold foam is to create a “subtle sweetness” that pairs with the typical cold brew, and we can definitely see that. This beverage didn’t blow us away or anything, but we’d probably get it again! It’s pretty much your average cold brew coffee.

Oleato Shaken Espresso with Oatmilk and Toffeenut

This beverage is more coffee-forward. It’s a cold shaken espresso coffee that’s layered with Partanna olive oil, oat milk, and notes of Toffeenut. 

Oleato Shaken Espresso with Oatmilk and Toffeenut

The first thing we noticed was that this drink is HEAVY on the Toffeenut taste. It also has a significantly… oilier… look to it, which was slightly off-putting. The oil on the top lingers after a sip, and it’s almost overpowering.

We honestly didn’t taste much of the coffee we were hoping to taste, as this is meant to be a coffee-forward beverage. If you’re not a fan of toffee or olive oil, this is a hard pass. 

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