Starbucks New-ish Iced Matcha Drinks are a Mixed Bag

Image Courtesy of Starbucks

By Anthony Curioso

This is an independently submitted op-ed and does not reflect the views of The Tower.

On February 3, Starbucks introduced the latest two additions to its seemingly ever-expanding lineup of matcha-based beverages, which also previously received enhanced-protein options last September.

I will now rate the iced matcha beverages that Starbucks has introduced since September 2025 which are still available today, nearly six months later. These ratings will be primarily based on my perception of their flavors and the reasons one might choose to order (or skip) them. Please note that this list only includes iced matcha beverages, as some mentioned do not have hot versions.

Banana Bread Matcha: 5/10

Wow, we are certainly getting ourselves off to an interesting start with this one. It’s far from a terrible concept, as I enjoy banana bread and iced matcha beverages. However, when I ordered this, it came out with an unexplainable, slightly grainy texture. Even then, the drink didn’t seem to taste much like banana or matcha, which is kind of a problem, as those are the main advertised flavors. I do wonder if I would have enjoyed this more had I ordered it from a different Starbucks location, though—I suppose there’s only one way to find out.

Sugar-free Caramel Protein Matcha: 10/10

The Sugar-free Caramel Protein Matcha, by a mile, is my favorite of the recently introduced Starbucks matcha beverages. It’s not too heavy, it has lots of protein for those who wish to hit a higher protein goal, and the combination of caramel and matcha flavors is criminally underrated. I have my doubts that any place other than Starbucks would be able to devise a drink like this and still have it taste somewhat decent, but I guess there’s only one way to find out. 

Sugar-free Vanilla Protein Matcha: 9/10

I enjoyed the Sugar-free Vanilla Protein Matcha for similar reasons to its caramel counterpart—namely, the drink’s relative lightness, its higher protein content, and the combination of vanilla and matcha flavors. However, the only thing stopping this from getting a 10 out of 10 ranking is that, when I ordered it, the vanilla flavor was considerably subtler than I would have liked. Perhaps the simple remedy for this would be to order it with extra of the sugar-free vanilla syrup—but then again, that might seem to defeat the purpose of ordering the “sugar-free” version of the drink.

Dubai Chocolate Matcha: 7/10

I know, I know. Dubai chocolate is all the rage—and no doubt many readers have seen this video of a young woman eating the admittedly delicious dessert (which I got to try over Thanksgiving or Christmas break this year). It turns out that infusing iced matcha with the flavors of Dubai chocolate, as Starbucks has done in one of its new drinks, creates a surprisingly pleasant beverage. However, while I was expecting a drink with a decent balance of matcha, pistachio, and chocolate, what I got was one that skewed heavily toward matcha and pistachio, with less chocolate flavor than I would have liked. Had there been additional chocolate flavor present, that would have dramatically increased the similarity between this drink and the dessert for which it is named, and in turn might have increased my rating of the drink. 

Double-Berry Matcha: 3/10

Yikes—this one was a letdown. I expected the drink to feature strawberries and blueberries, which would have made an interesting combination with the matcha and may have added a pleasant sweetness. However, instead of strawberries and blueberries, this drink’s two featured berries are strawberries and raspberries, making it significantly more sour than I would have wanted in a Starbucks beverage. Additionally, due to the density of the strawberry-raspberry puree, most of it sank to the bottom, totally ruining the matcha flavor rather than enhancing it.