Olive oil and coffee - talk about an unexpected combo!
Starbucks has officially chosen the Italian road less traveled and crafted the all-new Oleato drink range.
So what is Starbucks' Oleato line, and is it worth the hype (and your money)?
What Exactly Is Starbucks Oleato?
A Starbucks Oleato coffee combines Starbucks Reserve Arabica coffee with a spoonful of Partanna cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
These incredible natural ingredients blend to create a unique experience alongside a velvety smooth, earthy-tasting coffee.
Where do you even get the idea of combining extra virgin olive oil and a Starbucks coffee?
Starbucks' interim chief executive officer, Howard Schultz, became inspired when he recently traveled through Sicily.
There, he discovered the regional tradition of having a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil each day and began trying it out in the morning with his coffee - thus, the vision was born.
Starbucks has teamed up with family-owned Italian olive oil brand Partanna to bring the spirit of this morning tradition to life globally.
The name Oleato, then, was born from the Latin word for Olive!
Partanna's olive oil uses the coveted Castelvetrano olives to bring a slightly sweet, nutty, and buttery flavor that works well with Starbucks' Blonde Espresso Roast drinks and Reserve blends.
Where Can You Get This Exciting Beverage?
The Oleato Starbucks initially launched at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan before spreading across Italy, America, the UK, the Middle East, and Japan.
Now, it is available worldwide, providing plenty of Starbucks Oleato locations for you to check out.
Not all Starbucks locations serve the new Oleato line, so you will need to filter for Oleato coffee Starbucks in the store locator before rushing out the door.
Doing this beforehand makes it much easier to get in on this unique trend.
Certain Starbucks stores even offer hand-tailored Oleato drink menus and provide exclusive tasting experiences that you can book in advance. These locations are:
Oleato Golden Cold Foam (Yes - You Read That Right!)
A stand-out element of the Starbucks Oleato line is the golden cold foam.
Starbucks is no stranger to topping your custom drink with a delicious vanilla sweet cream cold foam (I adore the salted caramel and brown sugar ones!), but this is certainly an interesting take on a classic.
The Golden Foam is simply a blend of fior de latte, AKA sweet cream, and Partanna's extra virgin olive oil.
The olive oil gives it that subtle golden color, and its thick layer slowly cascades through your drink over time, providing a creamy taste all the way down.
The Golden Foam is not just reserved for the Oleato range - you can even top the following drinks with this new foam:
What Starbucks Oleato Drinks Can You Order?
There are three basic variations of the Starbucks Oleato. Once I heard the "Starbucks Oleato near me" announcement, I just had to try this fancy new line.
However, I was more than a little skeptical. I love cooking with olive oil, but I have never had the urge to chug a spoonful or two while pan-roasting some salmon.
Once I reasoned that this line has a similar logic to the bulletproof and coconut oil in coffee trend, I swallowed my doubt and started sipping.
At most stores, the Starbucks Oleato line of drinks looks like this:
Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew
Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew is blended with vanilla syrup and finished with the new golden foam.
I love a cold brew but admit that I had my doubts, even with the multiple pumps of vanilla syrup mixed in. However, the coffee was rich and earthy with no bitterness.
I will admit that the olive oil smell is very present with each sip, which put me off a bit.
Oleato Caffe Latte With Oatmilk
The Caffe Latte combines Starbucks' Blonde Espresso with the famous extra virgin olive oil and steamed oat milk.
I was pleasantly surprised by the softness of this latte. It was very smooth and not bitter at all, with a robust olive oil taste.
The light roast was a good choice here, but the olive oil taste can drown it out a bit too much for me.
There was a slight separation between the oil and coffee, which I was concerned about going in.
Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso With Oatmilk
The Iced Shaken Espresso combines Starbucks coffee with toffee nut syrup and steamed oatmilk infused with olive oil.
I was disappointed with the Iced Shaken Espresso. I initially somewhat enjoyed the earthy and savory undertones as well as the smooth and velvety texture.
However, an oily layer soon bubbled to the surface that I could not mix back in. This, combined with the strong oil aftertaste on my tongue, put me off finishing my drink.
Exclusive Oleato Variations
If you happen to be traveling around Sicily this year, the Milan Reserve Roastery offers the following exclusive menu:
The American stores I mentioned earlier also offer an exclusive, unique menu consisting of the following:
General Nutrition & Ingredients Of The Oleato Drinks
Here are the facts behind Oleato Starbucks' nutrition and ingredients.
Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew
You can get the Cold Brew in Tall, Grande, Venti, and Trenta.
The Oleato Starbucks calories for the cold brew range from 330-450 across the four sizes, which is high for the Oleato range.
There are also around 31-36 grams of fat and 13-29 grams of carbs per serving, depending on the size - this puts the Cold Brew at the top of the charts in both categories for the line.
The sugar content is also the highest of the three drinks, ranging from 13-29 grams per serving.
Ingredients:
Oleato Caffe Latte With Oatmilk
You can order the Caffe Latte in Short, Tall, Grande, and Venti.
The Oleato Starbucks calories for the Caffe Latte with oat milk make it the nutritional middle child, ranging from 210-410 calories.
As for fat and carbs, you can expect each serving to have around 18-25 grams and 14-41 grams, respectively.
This is very middle-of-the-road when it comes to Starbucks' Oleato nutrition.
Ingredients:
Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso With Oatmilk
You can buy the Iced Shaken Espresso in Tall, Grande, and Venti.
The Iced Shaken Espresso Oleato coffee Starbucks drink tends to rank the lowest of the bunch in terms of nutrition.
Its calorie count ranges from 220-310 calories per serving with a fat and carb content of around 16-19 grams and 18-34 grams, respectively.
Ingredients:
What Do People Think Of Starbucks' Oleato?
After diving into Starbucks Oleato Reddit threads and checking out every Starbucks Oleato review, one thing becomes clear - people are very divided over this new trend.
Some people cannot get enough of this distinctive flavor profile, while others cannot stand what it does to their taste buds (and digestive system!).
Like Marmite and bulletproof coffee before it, Oleato has divided the nation's taste buds. Whether you love it or hate it, it is clear that Starbucks has undoubtedly gone down an eccentric route.
Give Oleato drinks a try for yourself and see if they are the new best way to kickstart your day.
