Starbucks Olive Oil Coffee Launches for Three Days! Italian Youth Can't Take It Anymore!

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Starbucks Unveils Olive Oil Coffee Series

On February 22nd, Starbucks unveiled its "major attraction," launching a coffee product that the entire coffee industry, and even Sicilians from Italy, had never dared to imagine: the "Oleato" (meaning "with oil") series - olive oil coffee!

This includes olive oil latte, olive oil shaken espresso, olive oil foam cold brew, and the Milan Roastery will also offer olive oil deconstructed coffee and olive oil coffee martini.

Just from the name alone, it's enough to make one frown... Regarding the inspiration for the product, interim Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz stated that it came from his trip to Sicily, Italy last year, where he observed local people's daily habit of drinking olive oil. Thus, he began trying to drink olive oil while drinking coffee daily and decided Starbucks should attempt to mix the two together. The three regular beverages are priced between $4.8-$6.9 (approximately 33-47 RMB).

The product series uses Partanna extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade in the olive oil classification. Because this is a habit of Sicilians from Italy, Howard chose to launch the new product first in the Italian region. However, in the three days since its launch, this new product has been criticized by Italian netizens, who unanimously stated that the taste is too greasy!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Characteristics

People from Sicily, Italy mentioned that olives used for making olive oil are typically bitter and astringent, not suitable for direct consumption, yet this is exactly the kind of fruit needed for olive oil production. The production process involves adding a small amount of water to olives, then crushing them into a paste in an environment not exceeding 27 degrees Celsius, followed by separation through a centrifuge to separate water and extra virgin olive oil. Therefore, the greatest characteristic of extra virgin olive oil is that it doesn't feel greasy in the mouth, while being rich in antioxidants, thus having a slightly bitter taste, and feeling spicy in the throat after swallowing - the spicier it feels, the higher the antioxidant content.

Since extra virgin olive oil contains no cholesterol and is rich in monounsaturated fats, it helps prevent cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, in the entire European region, some children and elderly people drink a spoonful of this olive oil before breakfast to warm their stomachs.

Consumer Reception and Reviews

"But this new Starbucks product is really too greasy!" said one netizen. Two of the olive oil coffee series are cold drinks. The cooling effect of ice leaves the oily sensation in the mouth, which is not the same as the taste when we normally drink olive oil directly - it's extremely rich.

The olive oil shaken espresso uses large amounts of ice, olive oil, and hazelnut syrup shaken together, with an appropriate amount of plant-based milk added before serving. Due to the barrier created by ice cubes, the olive oil cannot better integrate with the espresso, resulting in oil remaining oil and coffee remaining coffee, with the syrup's taste also being prominent. Although the texture has distinct layers, it feels somewhat discordant.

The olive oil foam cold brew is more acceptable than the olive oil shaken espresso. Because the olive oil is added to the foam of cold brew coffee, it can more fully integrate with the cream during the preparation process, thus eliminating the greasy feeling of olive oil. Although cold brew coffee has a higher concentration, the unique aroma of olive oil itself remains quite noticeable.

There's also a hot drink, the olive oil latte, where olive oil is added while frothing the milk foam, allowing the olive oil to better emulsify. The olive oil taste is less noticeable in the final product compared to cold drinks.

In addition to professional reviews from netizens, most other evaluations still find it too oily, with Italians not particularly liking this texture, describing it as strange and discordant.

There were also local consumers who, when interviewed by media, expressed: "This way of drinking coffee is a strange idea. From her perspective, this product appeals much more to foreigners than to Italians."

Regarding the feedback from Italian consumers over the past few days, Carlo Marchelli, deputy manager of Starbucks Milan Roastery, explained that the idea was to create "an alchemy, a multi-sensory experience" that combines two typically contrasting Italian rituals: taking a sip of olive oil before meals to warm the stomach, and taking a sip of coffee after meals to aid digestion.

Image source: Internet

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