Starbucks really outdid itself in 2016, adding almond milk to the menu (finally) and even crafting a drink made with anti-inflammatory ingredients—and this is in addition to their whole secret healthy menu.
What's in store for 2017? Here's your first taste: Today, the coffee chain announced its first new latte of the year, plus two new breakfast items. (TGIF, indeed.)
But before you change your regular a.m. order, there are a few things you should know.
Keep reading for the low-down on Starbucks' new menu items for 2017.
Say hello to the cascara latte
Starting today, customers can now order Starbuck's latest coffee beverage: the cascara latte. The not-so-secret ingredient here is cascara syrup. Wondering what the heck that is? Here's the low-down: Coffee beans are the seed that's tucked inside coffee cherries, and cascara is the dried whole fruit itself—which is sweeter than just the bean alone.
The cascara latte blends the syrup with espresso, steamed milk (giving a nice top layer of foam), and sprinkling coconut and cane sugar for a finishing touch. If mochas are too sweet for you, but lattes aren't enough, this one will taste just right.
But if it sounds like there's a lot of sugar in it, you're right. A grande with almond milk has 22 grams of the sweet stuff. (The hard-and-fast rule is to keep added sugar consumption under 25 grams daily.)
The new breakfast foods are loaded with protein
At a press lunch held yesterday—where I got to try out the new menu items—a rep from Starbucks said that the company wants to double its food business within the next five years. To figure out what to add to the menu, they turned to customers and one request kept coming up again and again: protein.
The mega-chain's solution comes in the form of two new "sous vide egg bites"—one with bacon and gruyere and the other with egg-whites and Monterey Jack, creamy cottage cheese, spinach, and red pepper—available starting January 10. The steamed egg bites taste light and fluffy—definitely not like the tasteless egg pucks you might choke down from other fast-food joints.
Exactly how much protein are you getting? The egg whites sous vide has 13 grams of protein while the bacon and gruyere version has 19. Which makes it a decent grab-and-go option post-HIIT workout.
It seems as if the coffee counter is taking customer feedback seriously. So hey, Starbucks, what's a girl gotta do to get avocado toast on the menu?
Before you order that new latte, here's how to know if you are addicted to sugar without realizing it. Plus, here are more sneaky ways to get additional protein.
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