It’s Finally Here: Oat Milk at Starbucks

Starbucks super fans and alternative dairy lovers unite. Oat milk is finally here! After much anticipation, Starbucks announced its new partnership with Oatly oat milk — “the original oat milk company from Sweden.” Starting on March 2, customers across the United States can now enjoy the plant-based beverage in all of their Starbucks favorites, including cold brew coffees and hot lattes. The additional dairy alternative is now a permanent menu item, giving customers yet another way to customize their beverages all year round.

Surprisingly, Dunkin’ beat Starbucks to the oat milk market earlier last year. On Aug. 19, 2020, Dunkin’ announced it would be serving Planet Oat oat milk in all stores across the United States — over six months before the Seattle-based coffee company. While Dunkin’ had a short-lived advantage, the news signaled to Starbucks loyalists that an oat milk addition was in close sight, and it’s safe to say it was worth the wait. Social media can’t seem to get enough of the oat milk revelation …

However, the good news doesn’t stop there. Along with the addition of Oatly oat milk, Starbucks also announced it would be rolling out two new drinks: the Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso and Iced Chocolate Almond Milk Shaken Espresso. Both are being featured on its seasonal spring menu for a limited time.

What’s the hype about these two drinks? What sets them apart from your typical Iced Caramel Macchiato or Iced Latte? The key is in the preparation. The espresso in both beverages is shaken together with brown sugar syrup and cinnamon or cocoa and malt, respectively. Then, the foamy mixture is topped off with oat milk or almond milk, making for a mild and creamy, dreamy combination.

VALLEY Tries It

With all of the buzz on social media about oat milk at Starbucks and the new shaken espresso drinks, VALLEY was dying to try an Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso.

It turns out that the famed, new spring drink is wildly popular. It’s so popular that VALLEY couldn’t even snag one at the South Garner Street Starbucks downtown. The Starbucks app indicated that this location was sold out of nearly every featured spring drink this past week.

For this reason, VALLEY ventured off-campus and ordered the famed Oatly oat milk Shaken Espresso drink at the Starbucks on North Atherton Street. For reference, VALLEY ordered a Grande and made no modifications to Starbucks’ original recipe. Here’s how it went.

A Sip In Review

Imagine grandma’s freshly baked oatmeal cookies — semi-sweet with subtle hints of cinnamon and cooled to perfection. Now imagine the boldness of chilled espresso topped off with a cool cloud of creamy bubbles. That’s the Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso.

This drink has all the right balance of flavors. The oat milk is silky smooth and takes center stage in this drink. It makes for a wonderfully creamy and refreshing combination with espresso without hiding the boldness of the coffee. Plus, it’s not overly sweet either. The brown sugar syrup is perfection. This new drink is just begging to read a book with you on the HUB lawn this spring.

However, get ready to dish out a couple of extra bucks for this specialty beverage. Coming in at a whopping $5.45 before taxes, VALLEY is still in sticker shock, but we’re here to say it’s worthy of the price tag.

It’s official. The new Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso is definitely worth the hype and makes for a truly unique coffee experience. If you’re on campus this week, you can try one at the HUB Starbucks or the Starbucks at Paterno Library.

VALLEY knows our Starbucks order for this week. What’s yours? Let VALLEY know and tag us @VALLEYmag on Instagram! Who knows? There may be some oat milk in your future.

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