Starbucks took the curse of indecision out of the hands of those who have trouble deciding between tea and coffee first thing in the morning with this Matcha Espresso Fusion ($6.00 for tall, iced) in late February after it was first made available to their Asian market.
The drink was a beautiful green to brown ombre colour with layers of matcha, milk and espresso. Consumed iced and unmixed, the matcha at the bottom has a very prominent syrupy vegetal sweetness, while the espresso at the top has mellow flat white flavour. Mixed, the drink was a khaki green colour with the matcha notes remaining evident and the sweetness more balanced with a bitterness in the background from the espresso. Surprisingly, the espresso came through only as the bitter undertones with none of the bold flavour expected.
Overall, this fusion tastes much like a lightly sweetened matcha latte. With the ombre colour being a major drawcard, it’s not worth getting it hot (as it comes in an opaque cup) but certainly appeals to those who find the matcha latte at Starbucks too sweet.
Matcha Espresso Fusion was purchased at Starbucks in Sydney, Australia in February, 2019.