In case you somehow missed the memo, protein is all the rage right now. From Khloé Kardashian’s Khloud protein popcorn to influencers sharing their favorite protein-packed snacks on TikTok, the food group has seriously taken over in recent months. Now, Starbucks is hopping on the trend, with the coffee chain revealing it’s testing out protein cold foam in hopes of bringing it to stores nationwide — but I got an early taste of it, and I’m happy to spill the tea (well, coffee) on how it actually tastes.
Starbucks is still currently in the testing phase of this new innovation, in which the company is partnering with five select cafes to tinker with the recipe and get it just right. Eventually, the plans are to make it so that any cold foam can be customized to add about 15 grams of protein to it. Starbucks is *also* toying with banana flavors — which is why when I got to try out the protein cold foam, it was a banana protein cold foam, served atop an iced caffe latte.
Friends, it slapped.
Mind you, I love the taste of banana and I actually like the taste of most protein powders, so this banana protein cold foam was pretty much right up my alley. Neither flavor is super strong, though, so even if you aren’t the biggest fan of either but want to get your protein in, you can still try it out and see if it’s for you. Plus, you can always mix the cold foam into your drink of choice to see if the flavors mix well together, or if the flavor of your drink ends up masking the flavor of the cold foam altogether.
If Starbucks ends up going forward with its plans, you’ll be able to add protein to whichever flavor of cold foam is your favorite, and top any drink you’re able to add cold foam to — which, in a new development, will also include Frappuccinos. (Starbucks recently announced its rollout of the Strato Frappuccino, which is a Frappuccino layered with cold foam, yum.)
So, whether you’re counting macros or simply trying out the latest wellness trend, Starbucks is the latest brand that allows you to do so.