When you think of things to add to your coffee, what comes to mind? Honey? Brown sugar? Perhaps some chocolate chips? We’re guessing olive oil is probably not at the top of your list, however Starbucks would like to change your mind. In early 2023, Starbucks launched olive-oil-infused coffee drinks at select locations across the United States and Italy. This combination initially caused a divide online but now you can taste and judge the controversial drink for yourself. Two olive-oil-infused drinks will be launching across Canada on Tuesday, January 30 — if you’re still a bit on the fence about this curious concoction, we’ve got you covered! Read on for everything you need to know about the new Starbucks Oleato drinks and our honest review.
Related: Here’s How Starbucks Comes Up With Your Favourite Drinks
Why is Starbucks adding olive oil to its coffee?
On a recent trip to Italy, Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schultz experienced an Italian family tradition that inspired him. The Starbucks team tells us that Howard noticed many Italian families would enjoy a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil on it’s own every day. Although the combination of coffee and olive oil is not a classic Italian tradition, Howard enjoyed his morning coffee alongside a spoonful of olive oil — thus the idea for the Oleato was born!
Starbucks Canada
What is an Oleato from Starbucks?
An Oleato (which is Italian for oil or oiled) is an olive-oil-infused coffee drink created by Starbucks. Launching this week are two Oleato drinks — the Oleato Oat Latte, which is available either hot or iced, and the Oleato Golden Foam Iced Shaken Espresso with Toffeenut.
According to Starbucks, the Oleato Oat Latte includes: Starbucks blonde espresso roast infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil and steamed with creamy oat beverage to create a velvety smooth, deliciously lush latte.
Starbucks describes the Oleato Golden Foam Iced Shaken Espresso with Toffeenut as a Starbucks blonde espresso combined with notes of warm toffeenut and creamy oat beverage. Including a lush vanilla sweet cream infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil. It features the new Oleato Golden Foam which can added to any iced drink for an extra creamy touch.
What olive oil does Starbucks use?
Starbucks has partnered exclusively with olive oil brand Partanna. Starbucks says they crafted a highly curated blend of extra virgin olive oil from the finest Mediterranean olives, including the high-quality Nocellara del Belice (also called Castelvetrano) olives from Partanna, Sicily.
You May Also Like: The Ultimate Guide to Buying the Best Olive Oil
Starbucks Canada
Are the Starbucks Oleato drinks good?
We’ll be honest — we were highly skeptical about the Oleato drinks. We’re a sucker for a good coffee, and love trying something new, but something about olive oil and coffee seemed like it wasn’t going to work. Despite that, we were extremely surprised at how much we liked the Oleato drinks.
We tried the hot version of the Oleato Oat Latte, and it was extremely smooth and creamy. The olive oil taste is evident, however it was very mild and not an unpleasant flavour alongside the other ingredients. If anything, the smooth extra virgin olive oil mellowed out the flavour of the oat beverage and made for a delicious blend of flavours. It feels and tastes like a very neutral beverage — which may be surprising considering how odd coffee and olive oil may seem. We know this combo won’t be for everyone, but it definitely worked for us.
In contrast, the Oleato Golden Foam Iced Shaken Espresso with Toffeenut is the complete opposite of neutral. There is a lot going on with this drink but, we kind of love it. This drink is sweet, smooth, creamy and refreshing. The olive oil taste is less evident in this drink, however you can definitely still smell it. In comparison to the Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso, this drink is thicker thanks to the Golden Foam. You still get that mouth feel you would typically get from olive oil, but as mentioned — the olive oil taste is much milder in this iced drink. The flavour is very nutty and the blonde espresso balances perfectly with the creamy and smooth Golden Foam and oat beverage. We were pleasantly surprised with how much we liked this drink, and this is one that will be added to our regular Starbucks drink rotation.
Where can I find the Starbucks Oleato Drinks?
The Starbucks Oleato Oat Latte and the Oleato Golden Foam Iced Shaken Espresso with Toffeenut will be available to order in-store or through the Starbucks app as of January 30. Depending on your region, a grande retails for about $7.