Usually, when I go to order a coffee, I want the best thing I can get at a particular coffee shop. For me, at Starbucks, that’s the Cold Brew with Lavender Cold Foam. But, I was curious what the worst drink at Starbucks was, so I went on Reddit and asked the baristas.
Hundreds of baristas took the time to respond with what they thought was the worst drink and what you should really avoid at all costs. And, why.
There was an overriding consensus about one menu drink, but they also had opinions about some of the secret menu drinks. Including one particularly unfortunate one made with matcha and salt.
On the other hand, here are some of Starbucks’ best drinks if you are standing in line and wanting to get a coffee.
What Is the Worst Drink at Starbucks?
Oleato is the worst drink at Starbucks, at least according to baristas. The comment “Not one person has said Oleato… do you guys pretend it doesn’t exist?” garnered more than 400 upvotes and plenty of responses.
“Oleahoooo? I ignore and avoid it at all costs”
“I’m not a barista, but I heard a customer tell the barista while I was picking up my drink, that the Oleato was delicious and he hopes it’s around forever…he must’ve been a company plant.”
Though the Oleato was the clear frontrunner for worst drink, the Golden Foam Cold Brew got high marks. Which was exactly our thought as well. You can see that made in the video below.
They recommended trying “Three blonde shots iced in a tall cup with extra ice, two toffee nut pump, 1 white mocha pump, and half an inch of sweet cream golden foam topper.”
@letseatcake We got to try the Starbucks Oleato line last week! Here’s Nick making the Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew. It’s available tomorrow at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries in NYC, Chicago, and Seattle. Then it arrives in LA on March 27th. @starbucks #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #starbucksoleato #starbucksgoldenfoamcoldbrew #coldfoamcoldbrew
What Are Some Other Starbucks Drinks You Should Avoid?
According to Starbucks baristas, some of the other drinks you should avoid ordering.
1. Pink Drinks
One barista said the “Pink drinks taste exactly like amoxicillin.” Another said “I have a coworker that gets a Pink Drink with sweet cream and vanilla bean powder. I tried it once and I swear my blood sugar spiked. That *** was sweet sweet.”
2. Pineapple Passionfruit
Baristas were split on this one. Some felt “The pineapple base tastes like the cardboard container it comes in.”
While others wrote, “I will drink our lemonade uncut right out of the box. I also like unsweet real cranberry juice so it might just be me” and “I made a [Cold Foam] with it and it’s soooo good like Dole Whip.”
3. Juniper Latte
“My vote for worst was gonna be Juniper latte. If I wanted to taste a tree I’d go lick one.” To which someone responded, “I think my mind purged that one for my sanity because yes that one was gross af.”
If you missed that one, it was released back in 2018 as part of Starbucks holiday drink lineup. This personally sounds like it would have been my favorite, but I like really hoppy IPAs.
4. Witches Brew Frappuccino
“The Witch’s Brew Frapp they had for Halloween one year, the slimy chia seeds were vomit inducing.”
I avoid chia pudding for the exact same reason.
5. Cold Brew Lemonade
“Barely anyone at my store except for a couple people remember this but I swear to god there was a training about a Cold Brew Lemonade that was half cold brew half lemonade. There was a button on the POS but it was never advertised or ordered and now there’s no proof of it existing but I know it was real because I made a new hire drink it.”
Apparently that barista wasn’t the only one. “Yes, i remember! it’s because boutique coffee shops were making Cold Brew Old Fashioneds (sans alcohol) with lemon juice and orange peel, so Starbucks was convinced customers would try to recreate that.”
6. Iced Matcha
This Starbucks drink doesn’t make the worst list for flavor, but for the difficulty of making it so that customers are happy.
One Starbucks barista explains: “If you want it mixed well, you have to shake the [heck] out of it compared to other drinks. Otherwise the powder doesn’t fully mix in. But then it gets super foamy and customers don’t like that so you have to skim some foam off the top. It’s just overall annoying.”
7. Shaken Espresso with Cold Foam
Like the Iced Matcha, this one is on the list because of the challenge of making it when the store is busy.
They say that the “cold foam sinks in shaken espresso” and “shaken espressos are meant to be kind of foamy as it is, so when you pour the cold foam on top of the existing foam it just makes a mess due to the existing foam rising out of the cup.”
As a result, one barista wrote, “shaken espresso with cold foam makes me want to scream every time.”
8. Iced London Fog
This tea drink takes at least four minutes to make, so we recommend not ordering it when the store is slammed. Or if you’re in the drive through. (If you’re ordering a hot one, they don’t have to steep it first, but it’s better if they do.)
“It’s double strength earl grey steeped in the hot cup for 5 minutes then poured to the base line in the shaker. Full 3/4/6/7 pumps of vanilla. 2% to the milk line. Ice to the ice line. Shake 10 times.”
“If the drink gets to you in less than 5 minutes from the time you ordered it, they aren’t making it right. If I hear someone order this, i will drop what I am doing and start steeping the tea so its going while we get to the drinks ahead of it. So you could feasibly receive the drink after only being at the window for a few seconds but if you were waiting behind other cars in the stack, your tea was steeping the whole time.
From a non-barista lurking on the thread: “I ordered an iced tea latte once, assuming that meant mixing the pre-made iced tea with milk. I had no idea they were gonna steep hot tea for my drink. And it was in the drive thru! Oh god.”
9. Hazelnut
The baristas are not a fan of the current hazelnut syrup.
One wrote, “I thought there was maybe still sanitizer or something in the shaker when I ordered it, gave it a pass, then the second time was almost worse lol.”
Another responded with, “I tried the new hazelnut oat milk shaken espresso instead of the brown sugar one.. took a drink as I was walk away from the counter and legit almost spit it right back out. The WORST.”
10. Honey Citrus Mint Tea
Also known as a Medicine Ball, this got torn to shreds in the thread. ” Not only is there no medicinal value it also takes forever to make. It gets honey blend, two different tea bags, hot water and steamed lemonade.”
11. Honey Almond Flat White
If you like lattes, then Flat Whites are another drink you’ll probably love. Perhaps not this one, though. Here’s the barista responses about it.
“I love almond milk too. Absolutely disgusting. The honey syrup needs to go.”
“The honey cold brew with almond milk “cold foam” abomination that came out alongside it was ungodly.”
“The almond milk doesn’t steam well for the correct texture and the honey is sickeningly sweet.”
“Oleato obviously but also the Honey Almond Milk Flat White. It smells so bad.”
12. Mango Dragonfruit Secret Menu Drink
“A customer yesterday ordered a Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade with Chocolate Cream Cold Foam, can not even imagine what brought them to think of this.”
Same. (The vanilla cold foam below on the other hand…)
https://www.instagram.com/p/COdYUkBpNs8/
13. Matcha With Salt Secret Menu Drink
We don’t think this is making the official menu anytime soon.
“One time a customer came in and asked me to make her the worst thing I could think of. It was for a brother-in-law she didn’t like. I gave her a venti extra hot matcha made with heavy cream, two packets of salt steamed in, and honey blend. I gave her some of what was left over in the pitcher to try and she gagged when she tasted it.”
I've written or worked for a wide range of lifestyle sites and magazines, including Billboard, Nylon, Parade, Men's Journal, Us Weekly, Stuff, Blender, Beachbody, Alternative Press, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and more. See more on my LinkedIn.
On the baking side of things, I've run my own baking company and competed on Cupcake Wars, so hit me up with your baking questions! I respond fastest on Instagram where you can find me @letseatcakeblog
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