I Tried Starbucks' New Protein Lattes & Cold Foam Menu

The demand for high-protein snacks and drinks has increased recently, with even Khloé Kardashian releasing her own popcorn brand with at least 20 grams in every serving. Now, Starbucks is getting in on the protein popularity with a packed menu of all-new lattes and cold foams.

These protein offerings at Starbucks arrive Monday, Sept. 29, and include lattes and cold foams made with protein-boosted milk. Unlike Saxon’s 200-gram smoothie in Season 3 of The White Lotus, each of Starbucks’ new sips feature just 15 to 36 grams of protein per grande size. In a press release for the cafe, Starbucks’ global chief brand officer, Tressie Lieberman, shared, “Our new protein beverages tap into the growing consumer demand for protein in an innovative, premium and delicious way that only Starbucks can deliver.”

Starting now, the protein menu will include:

• Iced Banana Cream Protein Matcha
• Iced Vanilla Cream Protein Latte
• Chocolate Cream Protein Cold Brew
• Hot or Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Matcha
• Hot or Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Latte
• Hot or Iced Protein Matcha Vanilla Protein Matcha

You can also upgrade your drink of choice with a protein cold foam, which comes in a variety of flavors like vanilla, sugar-free vanilla, chocolate, matcha, salted caramel, brown sugar, and an all-new banana. Ahead of its launch, I was able to taste-test four of the new protein drinks at Starbucks. Below, you’ll find my honest review of each one.

4. Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Matcha

The sugar-free vanilla cold foam doesn’t really taste like much, so it won’t add a ton of flavor to your drink. It did feel like a flavorless protein shake was added on top of my matcha, which wasn’t bad as a huge Starbucks matcha fan. It was exactly what I thought it would be, and I can see how someone who wants a sugar-free, protein-packed matcha before or after the gym would love this.

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

3. Iced Vanilla Cream Protein Latte

Once again, I could really taste the protein milk in this latte. If you don’t like the flavor of vanilla protein powder, smoothies, or milk and are hoping the latte would mask some of it, you might not love this. However, I thought it was a solid Starbucks vanilla latte that just happened to have an additional protein milk taste to it.

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

2. Chocolate Cream Protein Cold Brew

The least obvious protein-tasting drink was this Chocolate Cream Cold Brew. It had a really nice chocolate flavor that wasn’t too sweet. I’m more of a latte girl than a cold brew fan, so moving forward, I’d probably get the Chocolate Cream on a latte instead, but I really enjoyed this.

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

1. Iced Banana Cream Protein Matcha

My absolute favorite sip of the day was the all-new Iced Banana Cream Protein Matcha. Out of all the cold foams, this had the most dense texture that made my sips feel more like a smoothie than a latte. It must have been from the banana, which is thick. I even got some banana inclusions inside that were delicious.

Ultimately, I love the flavor of banana and matcha together, and can’t wait to try this again. As a fan of chocolate-covered bananas, I’m already coming up with ideas on how I can combine the two flavors in one delicious secret menu latte. The introduction of protein cold foams and banana flavors just gives fans even more opportunities to customize their next coffee run.

Rating: 4.9 out of 5