Tag: Starbucks

Guess who’s back? Back again?

Not Slim Shady, but Starbucks’ Chicken, Maple Butter & Egg Sandwich! It officially joined the permanent menu this past January after a brief week-long stint in June 2022.

I tried it when it debuted and have similar thoughts about it this time around. So basically, it’s the same sandwich – breaded white meat chicken, eggs, and maple butter spread on a toasted oat-biscuit roll – just with all the undisclosed kinks figured out.

This breakfast combo of chicken, egg, and biscuit seems so familiar, yet there’s distinctiveness. There is nothing quite like it at other quick service establishments or on Starbucks’ current food menu. Plus, a toasted oat-biscuit roll just sounds unique and fancy.

As I pulled my freshly heated sandwich bag from the hand-off counter and peered at it while making my way to a table, I was immediately hit with a sweet honey smell. My Pavlovian response to the sweet and savory breakfast was, “Oooh, McGriddle!”

Visually, though, it was pale and almost looked underbaked, which was unsurprisingly unlike the golden tones of the re-touched menu photography. The chicken looked like an oversized chicken nugget, which gave me grade school cafeteria food vibes. I noticed and appreciated that the egg layer was equal in size to the chicken patty. It was a plus to me because it seemed like it would be more filling and, thus, worth the nearly $6 price tag.

I was disappointed to find just a thin layer of maple butter on just one side of the sandwich. It was impressive that such a small amount packed such big smells but meh flavors. This, unfortunately, made me think that maybe it was just artificial flavoring. This realization detracted from my perception that it was a premium sandwich made with high quality ingredients. Boo.

All put together, it was really dry. Also, like in grade school, the chicken was a touch rubbery with no crispiness whatsoever. The oat biscuit roll didn’t do the sandwich any favors. It had the dryness of a biscuit and biscuit-ish flavors (see: butter) without actually being one. After a few bites, I ended up deconstructing it and just eating the chicken and egg together. I solved the dryness issue and still got the sweetness of the maple butter because it attached itself to the chicken breading.

The bright side to all of this was that at least it was heated thoroughly. I’ve unfortunately had many Starbucks sandos and wraps that were still cold in the middle.

Does this dethrone my latest bacon gouda sandwich kick or the chain’s outstanding Potato, Cheddar & Chive bites? (Pro tip: ask for hot sauce.) Nope. But I can understand why some folks looking for something with more protein or sweet and savory flavors might be into this.

Purchased Price: $5.45
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 sandwich – 150g) – 450 calories, 24 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 160 milligrams of cholesterol, 1040 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 17 grams of protein.

As readers of a junk food blog may agree, there is nothing quite like buying yourself a little treat, whether you’ve done anything to deserve it or not. When that treat is a beverage, I will choose a chai latte nine times out of ten. I love them so much that I have tested and ranked the chai lattes offered by (almost) every café in my city. When a craving hits, even the low-ranked ones hit the spot. However, my favorites are often an equal measure of tea, milk, sweetness, and spice. Chai spice blend preferences are about as personal as one’s coffee order, but I like a peppery bite as well as a hint of vanilla.

I both love and resent chai lattes for occupying so much of my mental space that could be dedicated to other things, like remembering the names of my colleagues’ kids or establishing a regular dusting schedule.

Again, my priorities were set when I tasted the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai Latte, a new item on Starbucks’ winter menu. The iced beverage base consists of Starbucks’ chai concentrate, chai syrup, and oatmilk. An oatmilk froth flavored with gingerbread syrup tops the drink, along with a sprinkle of pumpkin spice. (Sadly, my order was missing the pumpkin spice. I shouldn’t take it personally. And yet….)

To add gingerbread syrup only to the froth felt like an odd choice. The flavor was noticeable (and at times trickled down into the drink’s base), but I expected it to shine more brightly. Mostly cinnamon and molasses, the gingerbread flavor tasted good, but lacked any real punch of ginger. (Gingerbread fans may wish to try the hot version of the drink, which contains both chai and gingerbread syrups in the base. Share your findings, please!)

The oatmilk in the base was delicious, contributing a thick, creamy richness and subtle nutty flavor. It was very sweet, which I’m not opposed to. The creaminess seemed to dominate, throwing off the spice ratio. As with the froth, the spice in the base seemed very cinnamon-forward. Even though Starbucks’ chai concentrate contains black pepper and ginger, the drink somehow lacked the bite I expect from chai. Generally, it was more reminiscent of pumpkin spice.

Don’t get me wrong, the drink still tasted good — creamy and sweet, with enough sugar, spice, and caffeine to nudge a few dopamine receptors out of bed. However, the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai Latte oversells the promise of ginger; by confining the gingerbread flavor to the froth, no component fully delivers what could have been vibrant spice. This limited time offering isn’t in my top tier of seasonal beverages or chai lattes, but it will still quell a sweet treat craving.

Purchased Price: $5.45
Size: Tall – 12 fl oz.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 290 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 36 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

As we all know, only three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and pumpkin spice season. I wasn’t feeling particularly autumnal as I exited my local Starbucks into the 90-degree heat, but at least with its orangey-brown hue and dense pumpkin spice topping the color of fallen leaves, my Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte looked the part. This is a new offering for Starbucks’ fall menu, but I don’t foresee it becoming a mainstay…

Maybe this is supposed to be obvious from the drink’s name, but I certainly didn’t realize before looking it up, so let me warn you that the base of this beverage is just Starbucks’ regular chai tea latte. The unique “pumpkin cream” factor specifically refers to the cold foam on top; the drink itself doesn’t have anything in it that’s different than the usual. That felt a little unsatisfying to me at first, but hey, pumpkin spice mix is generally a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, and with the exception of nutmeg, all of these ingredients are already present in Starbuck’s chai tea concentrate. (Others include water, black tea, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, sugar, honey, vanilla, and citric acid, if you were wondering). So, it might not be an immediate member of the pumpkin spice nuclear family, but at the very least, Starbucks’ chai tea latte is probably a not-too-distant cousin.

In any case, the pumpkin cream cold foam and its smattering of seasoning on top was as tasty as I’ve come to expect from Starbucks. It was sweet, rich, and creamy, with an appealing melt-in-your-mouth fluffiness, and the pumpkin spice topping added some nice zest (though mine had a bit too much for my liking, with one particularly saturated mouthful calling to mind that old viral challenge where people would eat a straight spoonful of cinnamon with disastrous results).

The foam topping was substantial enough that it took a few sips for me to even get to the chai, but when I did… well, do you know that feeling when you’re sipping a drink that’s so cold that you can’t actually tell what it tastes like beneath the sensation of coolness? That was the case here; of course, I knew from the velvety texture that I was drinking something meant to be indulgent, but the only immediate way I could describe the taste would just be “cold.” That blandness didn’t ever change, leading to a general feeling that I was just drinking some nicely chilled, very mildly sweet, and quite over-expensive milk. There were occasional flashes of the complex spiciness of chai, but they were more of an aftertaste than the main event they should have been, and ultimately, I would say this drink’s creamy texture was more noticeable than its taste.

So sure, the pumpkin cream cold foam is good, but it’s not a big enough part of this drink’s experience for me to really recommend; once it’s gone, the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte effectively just becomes a plain chai tea latte, so if that doesn’t entice you, you’re better off getting your fall fix elsewhere.

Purchased Price: $7.35
Size: Grande (medium)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 460 calories, 17 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 68 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 66 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.