Brian Nagele
I love trying the new seasonal drinks at Starbucks, and as the weather warms up this summer, it’s officially iced coffee season. Starbucks just announced some new iced drinks coming to their menu this summer, and I can’t wait to try them out.
Luckily, you don’t have to wait for the official start of summer to enjoy these Starbucks summer drinks! This week they launched two new summer beverages, as well as a new coffee blend.
Frappuccino lovers can now try the new Chocolate Java Mint Frappuccino, with refreshing mint and delicious chocolate flavors.
The Chocolate Java Mint Frappuccino is made with Starbucks coffee, chocolate and mint flavors, and Frappuccino chips blended together to make a tasty frozen coffee. The drink is topped with mocha sauce, whipped cream, and chocolate mint cookie sprinkled topping for some extra crunch.
If you love Girl Scout cookie thin mints, I think you’ll love this new frappuccino!
If you’re more of a cold brew fan like me, the other new summer drink is the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew.
The White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew is made with Starbucks cold brew, sweetened with Macadamia syrup and topped with a white chocolate macadamia cream cold foam.
It’s also topped with toasted cookie crumbles for some extra flavor and texture!
Matt Thorton from Starbucks beverage development team stated, “The smooth flavor profile of Starbucks® Cold Brew combined with the nuttiness of macadamia flavor, creaminess of white chocolate flavored sauce in the cold foam, and salty cookie crumbs delivers the perfect balance of sweet and savory that customers love and offers a moment of summer fun with every sip.”
We can’t wait to try it! Both of these new beverages are limited time offers, so get them this summer while you can.
New Starbucks Coffee Blends
Starbucks has also added a new coffee blend, the Starbucks Green Apron Blend, which you can enjoy brewed in stores, or purchase the beans to brew them at home.
The Starbucks Green Apron Blend is a blonde roast, “with hints of Honeybell orange and graham crackers, to emulate the brightness and energy of Starbucks partners (employees) and stores.”
Starbucks is donating $5 per bag and $0.10 per cup sold of the Green Apron Blend to their Caring Unites Partners (CUP) fund, which provides grants to Starbucks employees in need.
Starbucks has also released two new Starbucks Reserve coffees specifically for the summer season. Both are single-origin coffees, one from Rwanda and one from Papua New Guinea.
Starbucks Reserve® Rwanda Sholi features notes of raspberry and cherry skins, tea-like floral flavors, and toffee-like sweetness. The coffee comes from a woman-founded coffee cooperative in Rwanda.
Starbucks Reserve® Papua New Guinea Moanti is named after Moanti Ise, a farmer from Papua New Guinea who has greatly helped the community of farmers in her country. The coffee has notes of cocoa nib, thyme, and sandalwood aromas with a sweet finish.
Other Changes to the Starbucks Menu
One other bright addition to the Starbucks summer menu is a bumblebee cake pop!
The bumblebee cake pop is made with vanilla cake, buttercream frosting, and a yellow chocolate coating.
One less exciting change to the Starbucks menu is a change to the pricing of Starbucks refreshers. A popular menu hack has been to ask for less ice, no ice, or less water when ordering a Refresher drink, but Starbucks has caught onto the hack.
Now, if you ask for a Refresher drink to be made with less ice or water, baristas will have to charge an extra dollar for the drink. Since more product is being used in lieu of ice and water, Starbucks has added this charge to make up for the cost of the product used.
If you’ve used this hack before, take note of the price change!
