Controversial, but interesting, Starbucks released its “Protein Beverages” on Sep. 29, 2025. At first, I didn’t know about the release until I walked into Starbucks one morning to hear a group of girls gossiping about it. I was immediately interested in the fact and decided I was going to do a review the next time I went.
A week before my review, I looked online to see other people’s opinions. The place I decided to check out was TikTok. People are pretty honest on there, and I often see people reviewing the newest items on various menus. I continuously noticed a pattern of the love and appreciation the drinks were getting. It intrigued me more in having the need to try them.
At the Starbucks location on NE Fremont Street, the protein beverages come in two different flavors: vanilla and matcha. You can either get your drink made as an iced beverage or heated up.
For the vanilla latte, a tall (12oz), which is the smallest size you can select, has 22 grams of protein. A grande (16oz), which is known as a medium size, has 29 grams of protein. And the venti (24oz), one of the larger sizes you can get, has 40 grams of protein. The amount of protein is equivalent to about 2 protein bars, or 6 eggs. For the matcha latte, the tall has 26 grams of protein, the grande has 36 grams, and the venti has 51 grams. The protein is mainly incorporated into their cold foam, which they place upon the coffee itself. I was completely surprised by how much protein was provided in these drinks, especially from Starbucks. I had always gone for a sweet drink or cake pop, but never had the idea of returning for a protein drink.
I decided to order the iced vanilla latte and skip the matcha. Since the new Christmas drink menu was out, my friend chose the festive route over the adventurous. When my drink was finally ready, I couldn’t help but take the first sip immediately. I was hoping to have a new favorite drink that also incorporated some protein into it. I’ve tried many different types of protein drinks from various places, but every single one of them wasn’t good. I love Starbucks, so I was hoping I would find my go-to protein drink. But that was NOT the case.
The taste was bitter and pungent, reminding me of something you have to drink before entering the gym. I think it was definitely one of the top two worst drinks from Starbucks. The other one is the Pink drink, which is a combination of the strawberry acai base and coconut. The reason I dislike this drink so much is that when you leave the drink unattended for approximately thirty seconds, the coconut completely curdles, making it unappetizing to finish. Due to the almost immediate reaction to the aftertaste of protein powder. I almost threw it away on the spot, but decided to at least walk out of the building before disrespecting anyone.
As my friend and I drove back to my house, we sat on the couch watching a show. As she was still enjoying her beverage, I had no choice but to at least take one more sip of the drink. As I took another sip, hoping it was just a one-sip thing and a misunderstanding, I realized it wasn’t. My mouth was left with a dull taste. To verify that I wasn’t being dramatic, I had her taste it. My friend can vouch for me after we both left regretting every sip we took.
Unfortunately, I think that protein wasn’t Starbucks’s best friend when it came to drinks because the taste was truly disappointing compared to what was shown in the pictures. Not only was the taste off, but the coloring of the drink was also confusing. As shown in a picture, the iced vanilla protein was supposed to be a darker brown color, but when I got it, it was way too whitened, seeming they replaced most of the coffee with just milk. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend wasting your money on something you could easily make better at home.
