Update 9/2/22: We also tried the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato! Click here to read our review.
What is the Starbucks Apple Crisp Macchiato?
Move over, Pumpkin Spice Latter, there’s a new fall drink in town. Recently added to the menu is the Apple Crisp Macchiato, available either hot or iced. Espresso is added to milk, with a spiced apple drizzle on top. You’ll also find the flavor of an Apple Brown Sugar Syrup.
How is it?
Let me start with a story. I’ve always understood that you do not stir a macchiato. After the espresso is layered on the milk, you let it naturally settle as you sip. A year or so ago, I mobile ordered an Iced Caramel Macchiato and sent my husband in to get it while I stayed in the car with our infant son. I gave him the explicit instructions NOT to stir the drink. Five minutes later, he walks out, and what is he doing? You guessed it. Shaking the drink around like it’s his job. Lesson learned: I go in and get the drink myself. (And he doesn’t live it down!)
I share this story because it’s one of the reasons the Iced Apple Crisp Macchiato fell flat for me. When I got the drink, I could visibly see the Spiced Apple Drizzle and Apple Brown Sugar Syrup at the very bottom of the cup. And although that’s how macchiatos are constructed, unless I were to stir my iced beverage, there was no distribution of the flavor. I would have preferred the apple evenly distributed throughout the macchiato. I didn’t get a hint of apple until about 25% of the way through the drink. When I did get to taste the drizzle at the bottom, it was syrupy sweet. But overall, this really felt too similar in taste to the standard caramel version.
What I did like, though, was the hint of spice. It did make it feel like a fall drink that could be a nice alternative for folks who aren’t PSL fans. I’d like to try the Apple Brown Sugar Syrup in a regular iced caffe latte and see if that brings out more of the flavor.
Anything else you need to know?
Two other cons for me: The Iced Apple Crisp Macchiato has A LOT of sugar (hello, 36 grams in a tall) and was A LOT of money for a tall. Just be prepared that your waistline and wallet may not like you if you’re a fan of these.
Conclusion:
Just meh. Had higher hopes. I’m curious to see if the hot macchiato translates the same way… I’ll just have to add it to my list.
Purchased Price: $4.75
Size: Tall
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 210 calories, 4 grams of total fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 36 grams of total sugars, 7 grams of protein, and 75 milligrams of caffeine.