On August 26, Starbucks released their new fall drinks and food to all of their locations in the U.S. This includes many past items, along with the addition of a new Italian sausage egg bite and a pecan oatmilk cortado. Before ordering from such a limited menu, consider which purchases are worth it.
Italian Sausage Egg Bites ($5.45) 5.5/10
[Photo 1: Italian Sausage Egg Bite photo via Starbucks.com]
Starbucks describes this new eggcellent bite as “Crumbled Italian sausage, sun dried tomato pesto, basil and Monterey Jack cheese folded into cage-free eggs and cooked using the French ‘sous vide’ technique to create a velvety texture that’s full of flavor.” However, this biased description doesn’t accurately describe the taste. The first taste is the overpowering sausage. The pesto, the Monterey jack cheese, and tomato are all nonexistent when being overpowered by the intense sausage flavor. Other than the sausage, nothing is particularly unique when compared to the other egg bites. They all include some sort of meat followed by a cheese, which is beginning to feel repetitive. If Starbucks releases some sort of egg bite again, it should be innovative, not just the same mundane recipes that every other breakfast business has.
Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai (Grande-$6.25) 9.5/10
This is a yearly favorite. Labeled as “A rich and creamy Iced Chai– our blend of black tea infused with cinnamon, other warming spices and milk, topped with a sweet pumpkin cold foam and a dusting of pumpkin spice topping.” Unlike many drinks and snacks that don’t live up to the description, however, this one does. This is one of the few drinks that follow the description and go beyond it’s definition. The perfect mix of pumpkin cold foam and the perfectly balanced hints of cinnamon which make it emulate fall. There isn’t anything that should be changed to make this drink exceed the higher level. This drink is the closest to perfect anything could be.
Pecan Oatmilk Cortado ($4.95) 8/10
The new Pecan Oatmilk Cortado adds an interesting spice to the regular Starbucks menu. Standing out among the fruity and caramel filled drinks, the cortado offers a unique blend of rich coffee, creamy semi sweet oat milk, and pecan. The cortado is a perfect drink for a rainy fall evening and is sure to provide all the caffeinated energy you need for a long night of studying. According to Starbucks, “Our Pecan Oatmilk Cortado starts with three ristretto shots of Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast to give a smoother, sweeter and richer espresso profile, combined with flavors comforting pecan and perfectly steamed oat milk for a creamy and rich yet balanced taste. Finished with a pecan crunch topping and served in an 8 fl oz cup for a pick-me-up that is small but mighty in espresso flavor”. This drink is almost exactly as described, tiny but packing a very strong and somewhat bitter though not acidic taste of coffee. Although the bitterness of the coffee is somewhat of an acquired taste, the cortado serves as the perfect cozy fall drink for coffee lovers.
Baked Apple Croissant ($3.95) 5/10
The returning Baked Apple Croissant was a pitiful feature to the Starbucks fall menu. I was initially excited to try this seasonal pastry, until after suffering through a mouthful of doughy disappointment. The Starbucks description promises “Layers of croissant dough wrapped around a warm apple filling, topped with sugar and baked to a golden finish,” however all I was met with was an overpriced roll severely lacking in flavor. I was hoping for a palatable, flavorful sweet apple filling, but unfortunately there was a very small amount of overly bland filling. The vision for a warm apple fall desert was promising, yet this treat was horribly executed in both texture and flavor. This bland apple croissant makes the McDonald’s apple pie look like a delicacy.
The Starbucks fall menu features both new and classic treats, some good and others more questionable. Overall, it is worth it to pay a visit to Starbucks and try out these new fall flavors for yourself, or at least try the drinks and leave the egg bites and apple croissant for people who don’t know any better.
