As of this week, we are officially in spring. Warm weather, blooming flowers, spring vacations, music festivals… you know, all of that sh*t.
And just like with every season, it also means brand new drinks at Starbucks. To capture the magic of the season, Starbucks has turned to lavender — the mood-boosting relaxing perennial flower that smells as delicious as it looks — for its drink inspiration. Four new lavender-inspired drinks have joined the menu, including the Lavender Creme Frappuccino, Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha, Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte, and for early morning drinkers and fans of hot beverages, the Lavender Oatmilk Latte.
We picked up all four for a taste test and ranked them all so you’d know which are worth the money and which are better off skipping. Let’s dive in.
4. Lavender Creme Frappuccino
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Highly perfumed and floral to the point of being off-putting. The Creme Frap is made with milk rather than a coffee extract, which emphasizes the sweetness more strongly, and I think it just doesn’t work with this flavor.
It’s almost stomach-turningly sweet. I could only take about four sips before taping out completely.
The Bottom Line:
Too sweet and artificially flowery.
3. Lavender Oatmilk Latte
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
The Lavender Oatmilk Latte has the opposite problem of the Creme Frappuccino. The sweet flowery flavor is way too nuanced here, emphasizing Starbucks’ blonde espresso which is a bit blunt and overly bitter. The flavor here sits on the tongue it tastes a bit one note: burnt.
The oat milk doesn’t help much either, it gives the drink a sort of oily mouthfeel.
The Bottom Line:
Bitter and burnt tasting, the lavender is far too faint here.
2. Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
If you think I’m some impossible-to-please Goldilocks, I’m not, I promise, I just felt like those first two drinks failed to implement the lavender appealingly.
However, the Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha is perfectly balanced. The mellow, grassy, malty quality of the matcha green tea is complemented by the dark flower sweetness of the lavender. It’s equal parts earthy and lavender. I love this one.
The Bottom Line:
The lavender compliments the malty quality of the matcha latte perfectly.
1. Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Like the matcha latte, the lavender and espresso make for a great combination of flavors. I’m getting some earthy nuttiness and a hint of natural sweetness that is elevated by the sweet lavender syrup, with a nice toasty finish. The oat milk helps to emphasize the nuttiness of the espresso, everything about this drink just works.
The only off-putting thing about it is the color. This straight-up looks like gutter water, it has this off-putting grey color to it. If you’re someone who is affected by the visual quality of a drink you might have a problem with this, but other than that I think this is near perfect.
The Bottom Line:
This is a top-five Starbucks iced latte. The Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte is worth a trip to the Starbucks drive-thru and I hope it finds a permanent place on the menu.
Find your nearest Starbucks here.