Whoever’s in charge of product development at Starbucks must be a Type A overachiever, because the coffee chain stays innovating its food and bev options. On Aug. 21, Starbucks dropped its latest development: Its expanding the testing phase of two new coconut water-based drinks in a handful of cities across the U.S. So, how can you get your hands on a Starbucks Coco Matcha or Coco Cold Brew? Here’s the scoop.
For starters, what are these drinks, exactly? Per Starbucks, they both feature refreshing coconut water over ice and are part of Starbucks’s goal of prioritizing wellness-centric products (same with the brand’s protein cold foam).
As for what they taste like? According to Starbucks, the Coco Matcha layers creamy unsweetened Matcha Cold Foam over top the iced coconut water, lending a tropical and low-key sweetness to the drink. “With Coco Matcha, we wanted to create a drink that feels like a tropical escape in a cup,” Patrick Penny, Starbucks beverage developer, said in a statement about the new bev. “The vibrant, unsweetened matcha softens beautifully when blended into our creamy cold foam. Layered over coconut water, the result is a refreshing, subtly sweet beverage.”
As for the Coco Cold Brew, it features a smooth cold brew foam topped over the coconut water. “Coco Cold Brew is a refreshing twist on a classic flavor pairing — chocolate and coconut — with a modern, energizing feel,” Penny said. “The rich, chocolaty notes of our cold brew foam meet the light, crisp coconut water in a way that’s unexpectedly smooth.”
What Starbucks Stores Will Offer Coco Matcha & Coco Cold Brew?
If you’ve been to New York City at any point since July, you may have already gotten an early taste of these drinks — a select few stores have been testing the coconut water beverages for the past month, as part of Starbucks’s “Starting 5” program, which tests out new products in five coffeehouses before expanding to more stores. Now, these drinks are rolling out to more than 400 stores in order to gather more feedback from Starbucks employees and customers — and, of course, give fans more opportunities to taste these new options. Starting Aug. 21, select stores in New York City, the greater Los Angeles and Chicago areas, and major cities in the Midwest — including Cedar Rapids, Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri; Springfield, Illinois; South Bend, Indiana; and Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin — will have these coconut water drinks available.
If you don’t live near those areas, you’ll have to wait and see if the drinks eventually roll out to the nationwide menus — and if you do live in the areas and like what you taste, be sure to let the people at Starbucks know so they can potentially become more permanent menu options!