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Starbucks is Launching Its Olive Oil-Infused Beverages Nationwide (cnn.com) 82

Starbucks is taking its extra virgin olive oil-infused drinks -- which some customers previously complained of sending them straight to the bathroom ï-- nationwide beginning Tuesday. CNN: The lineup, called Oleato, launched in a few US cities last year before slowly expanding to more stores. Tuesday's launch across its US and Canada locations signifies that the chain stands behind the beverage despite subpar reviews from customers and critics. On the Oleato menu are two drinks: An oat milk latte infused with the extra virgin olive oil; and a new toffeenut iced shaken espresso with golden foam, which is vanilla sweet cream infused with extra virgin olive oil into a cold foam. The drinks debuted in Italy in 2023, with a Starbucks executive previously telling CNN that it's one of its "biggest launches we've had in decades."
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Starbucks is Launching Its Olive Oil-Infused Beverages Nationwide

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  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @03:45PM (#64201690)

    Seriously. Why?

    And no, "because we can" isn't a sufficient explanation this time.

    • Because it's the perfect pairing for Lay's Olestra chips [fastcompany.com].

    • Starbucks is merely testing the compliance of its customers.

      I don't drink coffee, and news like this makes me even more glad I don't.

      • Re:Why? (Score:4, Informative)

        by DeathElk ( 883654 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @04:05PM (#64201778)

        Starbucks is not coffee.

        • by dbialac ( 320955 )
          Their blonde isn't bad. It's based on what you'd find in Europe and was created because when they expanded into France, the French hated the flavor of Starbuck's burnt coffee. After spending time in Europe, I found that I hated it too.
          • Their blonde isn't bad.

            Maybe so, but I'm not going to a coffee store for the barista.

            • by dbialac ( 320955 )
              I don't specifically, but I do find some attractive while others are too weird to even consider having a tangible relationship with.
        • Starbucks is not coffee.

          It's a matter of roast preference, really. I'm personally not a fan of medium roast coffee and actually enjoy the dark chocolate and smoky notes of a dark roast. And no, it's not because I drink my coffee with a shitload of sugar and flavor syrups to cover it up. My preferred way to have coffee is with a little half-and-half and that's it. The baristas at Starbucks actually give me weird looks when I tell them I don't want any syrups or sweeteners.

          I have a real pump-driven espresso machine and conical b

          • If you can find green beans, you can roast them in a pan yourself at *exactly* the roast level of your preference.
        • Maybe not, but without Starbucks, I could never have claimed to have a "tall" penis.

      • Re:Why? (Score:4, Informative)

        by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @04:06PM (#64201782) Homepage Journal

        Starbucks customers don't drink coffee either, at least not intentionally. They drink milk and sugar with the aftertaste of burnt coffee.

      • Starbuck coffee is terrible. Starbucks sells mostly milk and sugar, lots and lots of sugar. The coffee at Starbucks is used more like a flavoring, and has to punch through the mostly not-coffee in the cup, they burn it so you can taste it in dilution.

        I like my coffee black, where the quality of the coffee and the roast actually matters. I'd rather die that drink Starbucks black.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by GoRK ( 10018 )

      When you have a coffee shop (traditionally, this is a shop that makes a handful of drinks from milk and coffee) but all of your customers want to buy drinks made with stuff other than coffee and milk, this is what you get.

      Milk foams up because it has loads of fats and proteins in it. If you want to make homogenized oat mash foam up the same way so you can sell it as a $6 cappuccino, youre gonna have to put fats and proteins back in it. IMO olive oil is a pretty good choice for Starbucks demographic.

      If eatin

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

      Because plant "milk" is disgusting - low flavor and no fat. Olive oil is fat, and it improves flavor.

      It's the same reason why you put milk or cream in your coffee: it enhances the flavor of the beverage.

      • Re:Why? (Score:4, Informative)

        by skam240 ( 789197 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @08:19PM (#64202474)

        Because plant "milk" is disgusting - low flavor and no fat.

        Just a heads up, while taste is absolutely relative to the individual most plant based milk sold in the US is nut based and nuts have fat that ends up in the milk. As an example, almond milk is out country's most popular plant based milk https://www.statista.com/stati... [statista.com] and it has a fat content around that of 2% milk https://www.anytimefitness.com... [anytimefitness.com]. If I'm going to have some cookies I'd prefer whole milk first to go with them but 2% is still an enjoyable level of creamy to me.

        • by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

          Denatured dairy products, like "2%" milk, isn't exactly a glowing recommendation of fat content, IMO.

          What people don't seem to understand is that their "whole milk", in addition to being denatured through homogenization and ultra-pasteurization, is usually skim milk: the milk fat float has been removed to make heavy cream and butter.

          Almond is definitely better than soy and oat "milk" products, but they're all highly processed grossness IMO. Not exactly nutritious, and a great way to mess up your hormones -

          • by skam240 ( 789197 )

            ...but they're all highly processed grossness IMO.

            Highly processed? I dont agree with that claim at all https://minimalistbaker.com/ho... [minimalistbaker.com] .

            Not exactly nutritious, and a great way to mess up your hormones - seen it many times at this point.

            Many times? Really? Are you hanging out with people drinking gallons of it daily or something?

            • by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

              Are you autistic? Clearly I'm talking about the store bought products, not homemade almond milk (which is fairly horrible as well, simply because it tastes like shit).

              • by skam240 ( 789197 )

                Are you autistic

                Hey, you're the one claiming you've seen people form hormonal problems from drinking milk alternatives "many times" when that's impossible with anything other than soy milk and even then you have to be consuming a shit ton. My post at least some grounding in reality and isnt just something I made up.

      • Meh, to each their own. I prefer Soy drink over glandular secretion drink.

    • Same reason as to why Microsoft keeps messing with their victi-, I mean users.

      It's a psychological study on how far corporations can push their consumers.

    • Because its good? I don't get it, like what the heck did you think the answer would be. Different people react to foods differently and have different tastes. News at 11.

      This is the same coffee industry that convinced people having coffee picked out of feral cat poop was the most valuable coffee of all. Once you've grasped that truth, olive oil seems rather tame.
    • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      Fat makes the coffee creamy. The traditional thing is to use actual cream, but people like ordering their lattes "skinny" with most of the fat skimmed out of the milk, or with plant mash substituted for milk, so you have to add other fat to compensate. Things like oat milk typically use canola oil or sometimes sunflower oil, but "EVOO" is trendy, so why not? It's not a bad choice, olive oil probably does have some benefits.

      • Yeah sometimes I use olive oil on my air-popped popcorn, because it is more convenient than melting butter and just as tasty. And butter is perfectly tasty in coffee, though that requires a blender. Olive oil should taste fine in coffee too, at least if it had an emulsifier.

        And now for some reason I'm wondering how well avocado toast in a blender would work as a creamer.

        • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

          I'd leave out the toast, but creamed avocado is delicious. Especially with some lime juice, salt and jalapeños.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Well, I like to have a bit of good-quality olive oil now and then, but putting it in coffee stuff? You would have to use the most weak-assed flavor ones (i.e. really low quality by olive oil standards) or this would just taste completely wrong.

      This is clearly just a money-grab from the clueless with too much disposable income, because it cannot be for taste. And if you want it for health reasons (which would make sense), just get a good quality bottle of olive oil, which you can get for, say $30, and drink

    • Seriously. Why?

      And no, "because we can" isn't a sufficient explanation this time.

      If you've had Starbucks coffee before you'd also be pouring literally anything you can find in the cup with the expectation that the flavour would somewhat improve.

  • They ran out of PSL so I just blurted out the first thing I saw in the menu on the wall. It tasted just like it sounds. Not real good. I can't see where they got the idea of this thing but oh well...
  • by Somervillain ( 4719341 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @04:17PM (#64201834)
    Among coffee enthusiasts, Starbucks is not well regarded. Should you care? Maybe?...maybe not...drink what you like. However, for the same price, you can get a much better cup of coffee from any 3rd wave coffee shop. My local shop is even a few cents cheaper and they roast onsite. Why do coffee nuts dislike starbucks?
    1. 1. They use cheap beans. They mask this by overroasting it, so starbucks flavor is a very dark roast that kills most flavor and makes a strong bitter cup of coffee that is more noticeable when you dump a ton of sugar or flavorings into it.
    2. 2. They don't guarantee beans to be fresh. Good coffee shops print a roast date. Starbucks used to for their CLOVER coffee, which was really excellent, but discontinued. Your coffee, while premium-priced, could be from month old beans or year-old beans
    3. 3. They are about everything but the coffee. Want a single-batch cup of coffee?...sorry, we no longer do that, you can choose between espresso drinks or a cup from a giant vat of coffee made sometime during the day.....but we have a wide variety of syrups and gimmicky additives to make your drink into a dessert plus olive oil???

    For me, I can walk down the street and my local nice coffee shop can offer me a nice cup of single-origin coffee roasted locally that tastes better than I ever realized coffee could taste. If you don't have a good local shop, blue bottle is an excellent franchise. Check your local coffee shop to see if their bags have:

    1. 1. An origin...do you care about Yirgacheffe vs Chanchamayo?...maybe not, but if you're going to pay $6 for a cup of coffee, why not get a good one? Good coffee growers and roasters put an origin on the label.
    2. 2. A roast date...same reason as above...if you're going to pay good money, you might as well get something fresh. Starbucks doesn't print them because they just don't care and they know you'll buy it anywya
    3. 3. Pourovers...love them or hate them, if a coffee shop offers pour-overs, it means they have nice coffee and they want you to taste it at its very best.

    Honestly...if you're not going to go 3rd wave...you either want a dessert drink (and there's nothing wrong with that...PSLs are nice) or just get the cheap shit for the gas station...if you like pure coffee, Starbucks is not well regarded and I've largely stopped going there. Sure, sometimes you're trapped in an airport and that's all that's available, but if you're not, there are many many better options...or many many cheaper options. Starbucks is charging you premium prices for the Starbucks experience...again...nothing wrong with that if it's your thing....but I'll wager that if you live in a metropolitan area, you have a dozen better places vying for your dollar.

    • by Pascoea ( 968200 )
      I can get a better cup of coffee with a Folgers pre-grind and my drip machine than you'll ever get out of Starbucks. I don't understand how Starbucks' garbage got so popular.
      • by aitikin ( 909209 )

        This.

        I gave up getting coffee at shops a few years back when I was tightening my belt for a few months and never ended up going back. I'll occasionally end up in a local coffee shop and getting a decent cup, but, the sheer quantity of coffee I drink, making a pot in the morning makes more sense for my regular fix.

        I will get a cup of Starbucks on longer road trips solely because it tastes so bad and has so much caffeine that the combination ensures I won't be falling asleep.

      • You have no idea how bad post-WW-2   coffee tasted and how long that lousy tasting coffee prevailed in the retail market. At home Father made Navy-coffee ...  boiling it for 3-days until a change of beans. Into the 60s-80s diner coffee ( I drove lots ) retained the bitter tasteless flavor that made it famous. STARBUCKS  for my generation was a step up.   
        • by Pascoea ( 968200 )
          I mean, I've definitely had coffee that was worse than Starbucks too. Nothing like you've described, though. Still doesn't make sense that people will pay $6 for a coffee that's worse than what you can get out of a convenience store. I don't think "post-ww-2, 60s and 70s diner coffee drinkers" are Starbucks target market. It's basically a place for tweens and young adults who don't like coffee go to get coffee.
        • I still fondly remember the 80s US Army MRE coffee my dad would let me have...but anything in an MRE was fucking cool when you're a kid. I loved the Army and Air Force bases I spent time on as a kid...but that was just me being a kid in the 80s from a small town who though the military was the coolest thing ever. But that said...yup, Starbucks is better than the local gas station in most cases, but our local gas station is 1/3 the price.

          Honestly, shitty coffee has it's place. I'd find it weird to have
    • by dbialac ( 320955 )
      Truth be told, though, the reason you care about these things likely has its roots in Starbucks. Coffee shops serving the kind of coffee we have today generally served terrible coffee not that long ago. Starbucks, burnt coffee or not, changed that.
      • Truth be told, though, the reason you care about these things likely has its roots in Starbucks. Coffee shops serving the kind of coffee we have today generally served terrible coffee not that long ago. Starbucks, burnt coffee or not, changed that.

        No, the reason he cares about these things is that he's likely had any cup of coffee in a country other than America. Starbucks didn't invent the concept of good coffee, they saw it somewhere else, and then failed to replicate it in America and then proceeded to throw marketing at the failed result.

        The things he lists are well known around the world and long pre-date the arrival of Starbucks. Starbucks didn't change anything in America, good coffee has spread around the world despite it, not because of it.

        • by dbialac ( 320955 )
          So give me a list of American coffee shops in the US in the 1980s that didn't serve crap coffee. My statement isn't world-view, it is American view. It should have been obvious to you that I was referring to that and that most Americans had no exposure to good coffee. You seem to just be arguing for the sake of arguing.
          • I'm not disagreeing with the affect, I'm disagreeing with the cause. US coffee was shit in the 1980s (many argue it still is). Your statement is an American view, but you're ignoring that it wasn't caused by America, it wasn't caused by Starbucks. Starbucks is a symptom of coffee culture developing the world over, and just because you are sheltered doesn't mean everyone is.

            America does import culture from other parts of the world. Coffee developed and improved the world over, it has zero to do with Starbuck

      • Truth be told, though, the reason you care about these things likely has its roots in Starbucks. Coffee shops serving the kind of coffee we have today generally served terrible coffee not that long ago. Starbucks, burnt coffee or not, changed that.

        You're right. Prior to Starbucks hitting the mass market...coffee was cheap stuff brewed in giant batches that may or may not have tasted good and was generally just something you suffered with to wake you up. Starbucks pioneered luxury coffee. In fact, their Clover coffee was AMAZING. I loved it so much...but I guess not enough other people did. Had they kept with it, I would be spending a lot more money there and probably never have noticed their 3rd wave successors. However, Blackberry pioneered th

    • Sbux is mostly now an excuse for adults to drink milkshakes at any hour of the day or night. It has become Pottery Barn with a coffee bar. Clover was (is?) the only compelling thing there. Decaf or regular verona in a clover needs neither milk or sweetener, which is remarkable if you regularly use either. As for Oleata, strong coffee and hot liquid fat in one drink? Whoâ(TM)s backing this, the plumbers union?

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Starbucks coffee is terrible, and they support genocide. The hipsters who used to go there have reached their 40s now so it's not cool anymore.

      • by RedK ( 112790 )

        "people in their 40s cannot ever be cool, only young people are cool".

        My god. No wonder you think Hamas starting and keeping a war going is somehow's a coffee shop's fault.

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          People in their 40s can be cool, but for the most part the next generation wants to be different to their parents and won't go to the same places they went when they were kids.

    • Absolutely correct info, just wanted to add that they also roast beans to almost charcoal to intentionally mask most of the flavors so they can keep cycling through whatever the cheapest and crappiest possible beans are at the moment. Lots of roasting destroys, among other things, almost all individual characteristics of beans from vastly different regions so you end up with the same one dimensional goop that is only drinkable with lots of cream and even more sugar.

    • by dfm3 ( 830843 )
      Even better, buy your own espresso machine (I have a Breville Barista Express [breville.com]) and make your drinks at home. A good quality machine will set you back several hundred dollars, but if you buy a lot of coffee shop drinks it can pay for itself within a year. You can also find them on the used market or sometimes even find a used machine from a local cafe.

      Then, buy whole beans from your local coffee shop or roaster (most of them that roast in house will sell them by the pound) and before long you'll be able to
  • Starbucks coffee is not good, so naturally they'd offer more add-on crap that makes it even worse. I feel in advance for the baristas on toilet duty because the projectile diarrhea is about to commence...
  • The only thing I ever order at Starbucks is their nitro cold brew, because it still tastes like coffee and gives you a good punch.. and I don't order it very often. I live in Los Angeles, where they've been testing it for months now. I bought this awful Oleato crap out of curiosity, once. I love olive oil, its in my DNA, but this hot mess was just awful. Anyone who thinks this tastes good needs to have their taste buds and insides brushed, because they can't taste. I'll stick with olive oil in my gree

  • by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @04:46PM (#64201960)

    Starbucks is taking its extra virgin olive oil-infused drinks -- which some customers previously complained of sending them straight to the bathroom ...

    Starbucks executive previously telling CNN that it's one of its "biggest launches we've had in decades."

    Okay: This followed by the word, "SpaceX".

    Not Okay: This followed by the word, "bathroom."

    • by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Starbucks is taking its extra virgin olive oil-infused drinks -- which some customers previously complained of sending them straight to the bathroom ...

      Starbucks executive previously telling CNN that it's one of its "biggest launches we've had in decades."

      Okay: This followed by the word, "SpaceX".

      Not Okay: This followed by the word, "bathroom."

      "Starbucks is taking its extra virgin olive oil-infused drinks -- which some customers previously complained of sending them straight to the SpaceX"

      Erm, I'm not sure that works.

    • If you don't think the concept of destroying coffee is news worthy for nerds then turn in your non-existent nerd card.

  • I seem to remember some outrage that some major fast food brand milkshakes were oil based...was that real?
    • Most franchise food places do use oil, but they dont call them milkshakes but just shakes. Also not really oil based since that implies that is the main ingredient. they all still use some form of ice cream or ice milk.
      The excelption for this is shake shack which does milkshakes.
  • I'm not going to drink slime, and I'm sure as hell not going to pay $10 for a cup of it. Good luck!
  • Thanks goodness I live in a country (NZ) that has REAL COFFEE, not the BS crap "with tears for a virgin marmot" or some other shite.
  • by redback ( 15527 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @05:22PM (#64202098)

    whatever happened to "news for nerds, stuff that matters"

    • by skam240 ( 789197 )

      I feel like with a user number this low you should be familiar with the fact that Slashdot has had plenty of articles about coffee over the years. Computer nerds drinking coffee is kind of a thing.

  • They go and hire some people who name it Oleato, did they not have any marketing classes and learn anthing about olestra and the hassle of that. The next think they are going to do introduce New Starbucks.

    https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/619261/olestra-fat-free-snack-controversy-1990s
    • They go and hire some people who name it Oleato, did they not have any marketing classes and learn anthing about olestra and the hassle of that. The next think they are going to do introduce New Starbucks.

      While this is news for nerds, I have told people the story of olestra and most had no clue what I was talking about. Unless you're into dieting or watch a lot of late night TV (Jay Leno had a ton of bits about it), I don't think Olestra is common knowledge. Also, when did you last see those? They were discontinued in my area for like 20 years now.

      I actually liked those chips. I didn't have any side effects and they had lower calories and tasted good. Granted...they came out when I was in my late te

  • Can someone explain this to me? I must not be getting something.

    • ... be getting something.

      Steamed fat sweetens the coffee. (Think, dried pig skin, AKA pork crackling.) Traditionally, it is cream or whole milk. Milk is used to increase the size of the drink and to create foam.

  • The whole non-fat milk thing leads to this.

    You took the fat out of milk without a very good reason (just a hand waving fda) and then you put oil in your coffee, demanded extra cheese on your egg sandwich...
  • in other news: price of olive oil goes up again because starbux is instagramming... what? oleato?

    On second thought, SELL olive oil stock
    isn't that a pharmaceutical? like wegovy or something? oleato 500 mg, extra strength.
  • Horrible company, expensive, weak, sugary water served by company that avoids taxes in Europe. Putting something in that will send me to the shithouse doesn't change my mind either.
  • All that sugar was not enough. Customers were gaining weight and diabetes too slowly. Must add more fat to the drinks, and tell them it's healthful.

  • Despite what some others have written, I have personally tasted the Japanese version of the Starbucks Oleato iced shaken espresso, and as an extra virgin olive oil connoisseur (I am very picky about the olive oil that I use in my cooking), I actually preferred it to their other cold drinks, including their Frappuccinos.

    (Just for the record, I'm just a customer who occasionally drinks Frappuccinos, but who prefers Oleatos to Frappuccinos.) Here, they have a version reserved for Starbucks stores (primarily S

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