Starbucks’ first new product of the year is the Cascara Latte.
Not familiar with cascara? It’s the outer skin and pulp of coffee cherries, which grow on coffee trees once a year. Starbucks is using the fruit to give the latte a subtle, lightly sweet flavor.
The new beverage combines espresso with steamed milk and cascara syrup. It’s topped with a velvety foam and a sprinkle of cascara topping made with cascara extract and cane sugar that’s done in a straight line, which according to Starbucks, “mirrors the inside of a coffee cherry.”
Starbucks’ Cascara Latte will be available throughout the winter, while supplies last.
A 16-ounce serving with 2% milk has 240 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 32 grams of sugar, 11 grams of protein, and 160 milligrams of caffeine.
If you’ve tried it, let us know what you think of it in the comments.
(Image via Starbucks)
Tried it today. Very smooth and a subtle sweetness. All in all not too bad.
My first thought was “Cascara?! Are they trying to give all their customers explosive diarrhea?” This is what I think of when I hear cascara, though I understand it’s a different species:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamnus_purshiana
Tried it today. Loved it, although I will get half the amount of syrup next time as it was still too sweet for my tastes.
Tried yesterday morning. It tastes like absolutely nothing. it tasted like a sweetened latte. i peeled back the lid to see any distinguishing foam/toppings. Nothing. Not at all impressed.
I agree with a previous commenter – it tastes like nothing. Mine was very bland. I didn’t change the drink at all. Just ordered a grande cascara latte. Even the topping didn’t seem to make the taste any more distinct. There was no specific flavor that jumped out at me. I was disappointed, the idea of a dark brown sugar/maple flavored latte sounded fantastic.