Starbucks’ new oil-infused coffee panned: ‘Is this a joke?’
Asking customers to like this new blend might be a tall order.
Starbucks is rolling out its Oleato line — coffee infused with extra virgin olive oil — but the slick concoctions are prompting café lovers to do a spit take.
Crowning the partnership “the worst thing I’ve ever tasted,” caffeine addicts are sharing their distaste for the latest menu additions online.
The Oleato offerings include a Caffé Latte, Iced Cortado, Golden Foam Cold Brew, Oleato Deconstructed and Golden Foam Espresso Martini.
TikToker @bananashrooms showed off her unique order, an iced latte with a heavy pour of olive oil swimming between cubes, to more than 744,000 viewers last week.
The viral video prompted a chorus of disgusted users to offer up some unsavory comments.
“A drink most foul,” declared one TikToker.
“Starbucks really serving lard coffee,” snarked a user.
“Is this a joke? Is that not a cup of bacon grease,” volleyed another.
“They want to clog our arteries faster,” quipped someone else.
“The train derailment sludge,” spat one person.
“It looks like someone spat a giant loogie into your drink,” commented another.
While users had fingers crossed it was an April Fool’s prank, their hopes would be for naught.
The coffee giant announced its olive oil additions in February, beginning with Milan before migrating to select North American locations.
A Starbucks spokesperson told The Post on Wednesday that the Oleato beverages have been in available in the US since March 23.
The exclusive line can be ordered at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, as well as certain Starbucks Reserve locations in New York, Seattle and Chicago, the spokesperson noted. Customers can also purchase an Oleato drink at select Starbucks stores in Seattle and Los Angeles.
“The inspiration first came when our founder, Howard Schultz, visited Sicily in the summer of 2022,” Starbucks said in its statement to The Post.
“Italy’s romance with coffee, food and connection has served as an inspiration for the Starbucks Experience since the company’s earliest days, influencing our coffee, food, and store designs, as well as our reverence for artistry.”
Schultz’s Sicilian vacation unearthed a longstanding Italian “family tradition” of consuming a spoonful of olive oil every day. Cue the Partanna extra virgin olive oil drizzle on a Starbucks brew.
“Now, there’s going to be people who say, ‘Olive oil in coffee?’ But the proof is in the cup,” Schultz said in a February statement.
“In over 40 years, I can’t remember a moment in time where I’ve been more excited, more enthused that demonstrates the pride, the quality, the passion, the heritage and the craft of what Starbucks can do.”
Scoring over 552,000 views, another Starbies enthusiast gave his own take on the drizzled delicacy: “What the hell,” he wrote in a TikTok caption.
The user, Franco Gravante, panned to his milky java, complete with a thick layer of seemingly solidified olive oil on top.
“It tasted like s–t,” he wrote on the clip, as users in the comments chimed in.
“As a barista we hate it too,” offered one person. “Idk why they came out with this.”
Some customers denounced Starbucks’ decision to terminate fan favorites from its menu — such as pistachio flavoring, almond milk cold foam, raspberry syrup and the cool lime refresher — while lamenting the choice to introduce olive oil as a menu staple.
Others vouched for the bizarre combination, explaining that the oil separates in iced beverages and should be “steamed in with the milk” in a hot cup of joe.
Cambri Guest, a health influencer on TikTok, posted a clip praising the Oleato line.
While she said she’s never had anything quite like it, she claimed she couldn’t even taste the olive oil after swirling her plastic cup.
The fitness guru also touted the benefits of olive oil, as it’s been shown to reduce inflammation and improve heart health.
One TikToker shared her green-looking Oleato order — a blonde shaken espresso with a pump of toffee nut syrup — admitting she was “enjoying” the “fun” drink.
“I want to try the cold brew with the olive oil foam next,” she declared — “nauseous” viewers be damned. “I think that would be even better.”
