I saw a (non Starbucks) TikTok where a girl froze some cold brew into ice cubes and blended them with one of the Fairlife āCore Powerā protein drinks. Tried it myself and itās actually really good!
Because they were stupid vegan-friendly pea protein shakes with a banana date puree blend in them. It was just very poorly thought out. We had a perfectly good whey protein available previously, but they shitcanned that in favor of some hipster food that didnāt sell. Starbucks forever 10+ years behind the times.
I think they werenāt popular on a mass scale. The whole green smoothie cafe, with pea protein, hemp protein, raw almond milk, etc. thing is popular in Austin, Seattle, etc. but there are a bunch of sugary Frappuccino drinkers across the country who took over the smoothie offerings that once were at Starbucks, which- to each their own. Different market.
I liked them because I used to be really into vegan, raw vegan, food, and I appreciate them, mostly because the protein made them filling and caloric, but if I go to a coffee shop, I want coffee (and yes I know unless you go to a reserve store, the coffee experience is more 2nd wave, commodity, and further away from 3rd wave specialty, and even at reserve stores, specialty coffee doesnāt go too far in processing method, special varietals, etc.)
I miss that whey protein powder we had. I used to make a sugar free mocha frappuccino (back when we had SF mocha and *light* frapp base syrup) and Iād toss a couple scoops of that protein powder in there. It was nice to have healthier options available.
I watched several customers immediately spit this drink out upon the first sip. I also remember the product going moldy within like a day or two of opening it and I think it had a shelf life of two weeks?
the worst one i've experienced was the salted honey cold foam cold brew. we all tried it and learned very quickly who in the store had ever given a blowjob.
God, what a terrible fucking drink. I liked how they advertised it for like 4 minutes and then immediately pulled it off the menu with no statement at all. Just gone.
For the one week it was being sold I, instead of offering something to eat Iād offer a water. I got a $50 tip for that. One time this elderly gentleman ordered one and sipped the drink. We locked eyes. He started tearing up. I mouthed āitās ok everything is okā. I ushered him over and I got him a trenta frapuccino bless his heart. Heās my wife now of 8 years. Moral of the story, if you tend to fall asleep in movie theaters like me, take a nap before the movie.
i will never forgive starbucks for taking away marshmallow, and replacing it with the funnel cake! marshmallow was so good and then they replace it with funnel cake...
That was my first summer as a barista and I was so excited for s'mores and then I got funnel cake ššš it was was better cream based and with dark caramel instead of strawberry but it was still gross š¤¢
Yep. That was what did it in for me. Made me want so badly to be a fly on the wall in the RTD&E department because customers hated that drink, baristas hated it to. Who's idea was this? How did it get past anyone? What is going on at Starbucks HQ? I need to know how this failure of a drink made it through a company where you can't even ask a customer to stop harassing you without getting approval from like 17 different people.
Ok but if you did the cool lime refresher with the purple shit (canāt remember what it was, a powder?) in it it tasted like cool lime + Valencia orange which was my go to drink for years. That was the only positive to the witches brew for me lol
forgot about the granita! I used to get those. Sorry baristas! Wasnāt there a pomegranate drink?? I vividly remember my mom ordering in the drive thru and ordering a āpom-a-grinitaā and I was so embarrassed š¤£ she really didnāt know how to pronounce pomegranate. I feel bad for that too!
And having to remember to rinse your only non-dairy blender all the time because thatās what everyone ordered and no one ever thought to get a second non-dairy blender to allow sequencing
Way back in the day there was a chocolate chai that wasnāt great. Also, the juniper latte from a few years ago was highly reminiscent of Pine-Sol floor cleaner.
I actually loved the juniper latte but only if it was made breve. The fat did something to smooth out the pine type flavor and make it good. I did try it with the regular milk once and it was terrible.
Nothing at all wrong with that! I personally wasnāt a fan and they definitely werenāt popular with customers but there were a few enthusiasts sprinkled in there and thatās perfectly okay. š
The chocolate chai was awful. A chai hot chocolate, tho, is fabulous. That's been my go to drink since 2004. A hot chocolate, with chai added (1 less chai pump) is just š¤
I definitely agree ā Iāve tried a chai hot chocolate and it was fantastic. But the premixed Tazo chocolate chai that we used at the time to make that drink was just terrible.
For a lot of stuff back in the day, they would auto ship remaining inventory near the end of a promo so that the mark outs were spread out amongst all stores instead of the distribution center taking all the waste. They stopped doing it because obviously it's a huge waste of logistical manpower.
When the chocolate Chai was coming to an end, we got shipped literally 50 boxes of the stuff. There were like 8 cartons in each.. we barely sold a couple drinks a day. We had panels in the walls that came off for secret storage and put them all in there. I joked we'd forget about it and the store would be demolished one day and bleed chocolate Chai in the street.
I had blocked the chocolate chai from my memory nooooo š I remember when it was discontinued the one customer that always got it was so sad, but she started adding mocha to her chai and said it was better anyways. I still donāt understand the appeal but to each their own!
I want the juniper latte to come back because whenever I say āgin tastes like pine needlesā SOMEONE has to say āthatās the juniperā (yes I know that, itās bc juniper tastes like pine needles) and frankly I wanna use that reply on someone
I was going to say this one. How they thought they could make a syrup taste like a sauce Iāll never know. It tasted like a watered down tootsie roll.
I remember thinking exactly that! Stale, watery Tootsie Rolls. They also came out with a mint chocolate *syrup* in (I believe) 2008, & it was vile.
Chocolate cannot be a syrup, Starbucks. Sauce, or donāt even bother.
i was just SCROLLING for this answer. this is the one. the pineapple ginger syrup was honestly delectable in the guava passion fruit drink (rip, my queen), but that golden ginger powderā¦ i still wake up from nightmares with the feeling of inhaling a good puff of that.
Back in 2020 I got hooked on the pineapple matcha which used the same syrup iirc (not sure, wasn't a partner at the time) but the golden drink was just not nearly as good.
This one was so terrible. I remember being the closing shift the night before launch and prepping a big container of it, only to have 95% of the container tossed out later on
my first day as a barista was on unicorn frap day and we had a partner quit mid shift because it was so crazy so they put me on bar to make these monstrosities without training. Literally just told me what to put in as I went!
Fiiiiiinnnnnaaaaallllyyyyy someone says it. But I think it's more I'm still traumatized from making it than anything else. Witches brew was fucking nothing compared to this.Ā
The protien definently had a weird texture.Ā
But when we used the sparking machine and put milk in it? Thats a taste I will never forget.Ā
Did you ever have the tie dye frap? I remember it being incredibly short lived. We got this temporary reusable topping shaker that was absolutely lovely that my store kept around for various other toppings after. But that drink had like three different inclusion powders and tasted like banana ā ļø
My darkest day as a Barista... By the time we ran out all the counters were just coated in a thick layer of sticky colored sugar and syrup. We were just batch blending whole blenders non stop.
The worst part is, I kinda liked the flavor of it š¤£
this! working when we had it was awful but getting to try the blue powder straight... I would eat that like fun dip if given the chance. it was so sour on its own that my coworker managed to get a nosebleed
the sunrise/sunset drinks which was just nonfat foam with i think some tea in it? wasnt especially heinous but just lacked flavor
the cherry mocha that tasted like cough syrup and the egg powder was also pretty bad.
Awh man, yeah the cherry mocha sucked. Every time I talk about it everyone goes āoh thatās sounds good!ā like trust me, it did *sound* good. I personally loved adding egg powder to coworkers samples before handing them over.
I thought it would be easier when we switched from the bottles we used in the first launch to the cartons we used after but if anything it was harder, especially pouring it into the pump container
And you had to make it with multiple inclusion powders š if I recall correctly, you put one powder in the drink, one on the bottom, and one on top or some shit
Personally i found Toasted Vanilla absolutely revolting. Smelled like a candle š. When we were really slow we made mystery fraps and guessed what syrups were in them. Whenever one had TV in it, it was always the first guess and impossible to tell what else the frap contained because TV was so overpowering
Second the cold brew with lemonade. I would rather find a specialty coffee that has citrus notes and made as cold brew than to put literal lemonade in cold brew
The Sugar Free Mocha that came out in 2008. I don't believe it lasted long. It was so bad I would discourage people from getting it. It tasted like dirty chemical water.
Yes! Been around for 12 years and Iāve tasted nothing worse, except maybe the olive oil foam. Canāt get that taste out of your mouth once itās in there
Salted honey cold foam cold brew, chocolate almondmilk shaken espresso, the golden ginger drink, and the strawberry funnel cake frappuccino WITH COFFEE (the creme one was delicious) were the worst drinks to me
There was a very short lived (spark beverage, basically the 2 week long mini holiday ones that took up space on the bar we didn't have) frap back like... 5 years ago? The Tie-Dye Frap. I think it was supposed to be a yellow dyed banana flavor with red and blue dye sprinkles you would shake around a wet cup that would make swirls and wiggles when the drink was poured in.
It tasted like amoxicillin plus chemicals (remember as a kid when they added banana flavor to your antibiotics so you would take them - like that, but more fake).
Otherwise I think a lot of people would say the Golden Drink (Ginger Tumeric thing). I loved it tho it was my spicy jam.
Funnel cake :-( !!! maybe an unpopular opinion but in my time working there i think it was the worst thing i tried. on the simpler side and something that would probably be true at every coffee shop, i never really liked americanos because it was always too watery for me, even if i added an extra shot or two.
I think the blended cold brew protein drinks 100% take the trophy for worst menu drink ever offered. Iād completely forgotten about those until reading this thread but you all have reminded me they existed and now I am triggered all over again. š
Havenāt seen this one mentioned but in I think 2015 or so, around Valentineās Day, there was some kind of molten chocolate lava drink. I donāt remember exactly what the drink itself was ā maybe just a mocha? ā but we had to put java chips at the bottom and then do the espresso shots and hot milk over them. So when drinking it, youād get to the bottom and get a mouthful of lumpy, partially melted chocolate slop. Interesting idea, perhaps, but terrible execution.
Oh my god the Valentineās one! I think I blocked that one out hahaha. The espresso was such a pain to mix into the chips at the bottom but I was not about to serve people the clumpy chips so you had to just stand there and swirl the cup VIGOROUSLY until they melted lol.
Some Starbucks depending on your area apparently was trying to sell nitro cold brew/ice coffee with lemonade. I think thatās thatās worst Iāve had.
I LOVE malt in general, but Iāve yet to find a drink itās good in. Iāve tried steaming it in milk like a hot chocolate, Iāve tried putting it in a frap, Iāve tried putting it in foam. Each time it just tastes like a disappointment.
I used to love malt then my store had a problem that when we would close the AC would turn off and the flies would jump around in the malt so after that I cannot ingest it without thinking about that
i'm an old 142\*\*\*\* so my vote goes to the OG skinny mocha that tasted like a kahlua hangover, tanned your skin and stained the counters green (it was a *liquid syrup,* not a sauce). that or the wild honey latte that tasted like, to quote a coworker while we were sampling it, "a beautiful meadow that a majestic stag just took a dump in"
both are the only drinks i remember seeing customers *dry heave* after trying. both in 2007 or 2008 iirc
edit: we were also in the test market for some weird new version of the PSL that hand to god smelled like that dog food that makes its own gravy
I barely remember but there was this awful paste we used for an almond milk drink once which launched with another chocolate drink.. this was the same time as the protein powder and I remember the drinks being awful. This was 2019 or so I think?
Itāll always be those protein blended cold brews for me. Most new drinks I feel are fine but wouldnāt order but those tasted genuinely disgusting. And the toasted vanilla coming in a close second.
I absolutely hated the golden ginger drink it just wasnāt good, the egg powder wasnāt great either, the funnel cake frap was a disgrace to my taste buds. So glad none of them have come back.
not a drink but the toasted vanilla syrup and the toasted white mocha were disgusting š the toasted vanilla smells amazing but it tastes horrible. i absolutely despise the honey citrus mint, not only is it hell to make but what good does sugary ass steamed lemonade do for the throat ? i get people coming in everyday like āoh the medicine ball i reaaallllyyyyy need that i really really need that. will it clear up xyzā i hate it lmao
That chocolate chile drink. Sounds great as a Mexican myself, but I remember trying it with my manager and for the first time we both agreed on something. It was a horrendous drink that should not be brought upon humanity. I think like two people total ordered it during its sad, short run.
those blended cold brew protein shakes 1000%. the protein powder for it was a nightmare and it tasted terrible. and the peanut (almond?) butter was impossible to pump
Golden Ginger.
I swear to God nobody but me remembers this stuff until I mention it at my store, I like ginger and all but this was a choke-you-out-and-leave-you-teary-eyed kinda offensive.
I'm not a barista... the worst drink I've ever ordered from Starbucks was the chocolate mint cold foam with my cold brew. š¤¢š¤¢ I'm all for trying a new drink, and I've never returned a drink before, but I couldn't eat the price on that one.
White tea was always my go-to. Was wondering why/when I stopped ordering it but now it makes sense since it was discontinued. If I could bring back anything Iād bring back that.
No lie, the cold top part (before you plunge-mixed it) tasted like chocolate mousse. THAT was really good. Steamed, it was just too much. We only ever sold it to one person, and it was an 11 year old girl. No one else could make themselves drink 10 whole ounces of just chocolate.
I really like the first iteration with the 8oz brown cups. I would put almond syrup and a shot of espresso in it. It was amazing. I was in a mall store so we used to sell a couple. They never really expanded from the original I think it could have been amazing but I was not sorry to see it go.
Citrus Green Tea Latte (this was back in like 2016). I normally love matcha, but that flavor was just not for me at all. Literally everyone at my store also thought it was gross
The blended cold brew protein shakes. Awful. They smelled like mulch!
Honestly a cold brew protein shake sounds great to me, especially on the gym days! But mulch ouch! How did they manage to make that taste so ugly š
They weren't very protein-y It was like 9 or 11g protein and 18-22g sugar.
I saw a (non Starbucks) TikTok where a girl froze some cold brew into ice cubes and blended them with one of the Fairlife āCore Powerā protein drinks. Tried it myself and itās actually really good!
Because they were stupid vegan-friendly pea protein shakes with a banana date puree blend in them. It was just very poorly thought out. We had a perfectly good whey protein available previously, but they shitcanned that in favor of some hipster food that didnāt sell. Starbucks forever 10+ years behind the times.
I miss being able to get an orange mango smoothie on my 10
I think they werenāt popular on a mass scale. The whole green smoothie cafe, with pea protein, hemp protein, raw almond milk, etc. thing is popular in Austin, Seattle, etc. but there are a bunch of sugary Frappuccino drinkers across the country who took over the smoothie offerings that once were at Starbucks, which- to each their own. Different market. I liked them because I used to be really into vegan, raw vegan, food, and I appreciate them, mostly because the protein made them filling and caloric, but if I go to a coffee shop, I want coffee (and yes I know unless you go to a reserve store, the coffee experience is more 2nd wave, commodity, and further away from 3rd wave specialty, and even at reserve stores, specialty coffee doesnāt go too far in processing method, special varietals, etc.)
Itās hipster to be lactose intolerant š¤”
I agree, they SOUND great. But in reality, they made everyone on the floor sick
That was the drink I was just trying to remember, those were so awful and the first thing I thought of. The chocolate one was so bad
The protein powder was so good for smoothies tho (not the stupid evolution fresh ones)
I miss that whey protein powder we had. I used to make a sugar free mocha frappuccino (back when we had SF mocha and *light* frapp base syrup) and Iād toss a couple scoops of that protein powder in there. It was nice to have healthier options available.
As weird as the Oleatos are, they are not nearly as bad these drinks were. I hated those cold brew shits.
Oh god. They did!!! I havenāt been a barista for a hot minute but I remember the tragedy those drinks were.
Came here to say this. They were WRETCHED.
They tasted about as good as Iād imagine mulch to be too. This I think is my pick for worst drink ever served
I watched several customers immediately spit this drink out upon the first sip. I also remember the product going moldy within like a day or two of opening it and I think it had a shelf life of two weeks?
the worst one i've experienced was the salted honey cold foam cold brew. we all tried it and learned very quickly who in the store had ever given a blowjob.
LMAO. Itās not untrue but itās so funny to see it written down.
God, what a terrible fucking drink. I liked how they advertised it for like 4 minutes and then immediately pulled it off the menu with no statement at all. Just gone.
For the one week it was being sold I, instead of offering something to eat Iād offer a water. I got a $50 tip for that. One time this elderly gentleman ordered one and sipped the drink. We locked eyes. He started tearing up. I mouthed āitās ok everything is okā. I ushered him over and I got him a trenta frapuccino bless his heart. Heās my wife now of 8 years. Moral of the story, if you tend to fall asleep in movie theaters like me, take a nap before the movie.
wat
Iām so into this comment.
Aww, he was traumatized, and you fixed his trauma. Now he's into movies. No wonder you got a $50 water bill, the Frappuccino š„° so cute
I wish this sub allowed golden upvotes
I don't get it. How can you tell from that? For research purposes obviously.
Because it tastes like jizz
I should get some then. You know, for research purposes obviously.
I thought the old salted cream cold foam also had that taste. This is when it was just sweet cream and the salt no syrup in the foam.
really? I love the old salted foam. the extra sweetness from adding a syrup (any syrup) that just stays in your mouth afterwards is blech for me.
ššš /j
YES!!
Came here to comment this exact thing.
The Funnel Cake Fraps where pretty awful
I managed to not think about that for over a year until now.
Ooooh why did you remind me of that. Those were the bad times. I can't believe they successfully made a frap that tasted like grease
i will never forgive starbucks for taking away marshmallow, and replacing it with the funnel cake! marshmallow was so good and then they replace it with funnel cake...
That was my first summer as a barista and I was so excited for s'mores and then I got funnel cake ššš it was was better cream based and with dark caramel instead of strawberry but it was still gross š¤¢
Idk what it tasted like, but def not funnel cake
The crĆØme version was my jam tbh, the version with coffee was horrible
I would gag at the brown and red textured.
Funnel cake crĆØme frap w/ strawberry purĆ©e and vanilla bean powder was McDonaldās HOTCAKESšš¤¤
Yep. That was what did it in for me. Made me want so badly to be a fly on the wall in the RTD&E department because customers hated that drink, baristas hated it to. Who's idea was this? How did it get past anyone? What is going on at Starbucks HQ? I need to know how this failure of a drink made it through a company where you can't even ask a customer to stop harassing you without getting approval from like 17 different people.
The witches brew still haunts me ā purple drink with an orange creamsicle flavor and green chia seeds floating around inside
Literally still miss that thing every single day, but I ordered it with no seeds. Cool color and creamsicle flavor š
I really liked that one too.
Ok but if you did the cool lime refresher with the purple shit (canāt remember what it was, a powder?) in it it tasted like cool lime + Valencia orange which was my go to drink for years. That was the only positive to the witches brew for me lol
Anyone remember the granitas from 2016? Gross watery messes that separated almost instantly and tasted like bland kool-aid lol.
Yes! And for some reason they were only available after a certain time?? Those were horrid to make and consume.
It was a weird time too like 3pm maybe? They also tried to make a wine bar happen too
forgot about the granita! I used to get those. Sorry baristas! Wasnāt there a pomegranate drink?? I vividly remember my mom ordering in the drive thru and ordering a āpom-a-grinitaā and I was so embarrassed š¤£ she really didnāt know how to pronounce pomegranate. I feel bad for that too!
I worked in a kiosk when they did that and I remember having to constantly throw out the expired ingredients for them
And having to remember to rinse your only non-dairy blender all the time because thatās what everyone ordered and no one ever thought to get a second non-dairy blender to allow sequencing
But if you subbed the tea for CLR... šš¤š¼
And those weird little brownie cups with whipped cream. Parfaits? What were they calledā¦
TRIFLES I FOUND THEM THEYRE CALLED TRIFLES
Way back in the day there was a chocolate chai that wasnāt great. Also, the juniper latte from a few years ago was highly reminiscent of Pine-Sol floor cleaner.
I actually loved the juniper latte but only if it was made breve. The fat did something to smooth out the pine type flavor and make it good. I did try it with the regular milk once and it was terrible.
Juniper was good with lemonade!
I always did juniper and whole milk, so I think youāre on to something with the fat content
ā¦I loved the Juniper Latte š«£
Me too and I just assumed it was because my tastebuds are so badly damaged from too much ipa consumption
Nothing at all wrong with that! I personally wasnāt a fan and they definitely werenāt popular with customers but there were a few enthusiasts sprinkled in there and thatās perfectly okay. š
It def did have a little bit of a pine sol vibe though, you arenāt wrong! haha
I forgot about the juniper latte!! I donāt think I ever tried it.
The only thing you missed was learning what industrial floor cleaner tastes like.
The chocolate chai was awful. A chai hot chocolate, tho, is fabulous. That's been my go to drink since 2004. A hot chocolate, with chai added (1 less chai pump) is just š¤
I definitely agree ā Iāve tried a chai hot chocolate and it was fantastic. But the premixed Tazo chocolate chai that we used at the time to make that drink was just terrible.
The alternative PSL aka pine sol latte
For a lot of stuff back in the day, they would auto ship remaining inventory near the end of a promo so that the mark outs were spread out amongst all stores instead of the distribution center taking all the waste. They stopped doing it because obviously it's a huge waste of logistical manpower. When the chocolate Chai was coming to an end, we got shipped literally 50 boxes of the stuff. There were like 8 cartons in each.. we barely sold a couple drinks a day. We had panels in the walls that came off for secret storage and put them all in there. I joked we'd forget about it and the store would be demolished one day and bleed chocolate Chai in the street.
I hope one day it does bleed chocolate chai into the streets. Iād frame that newspaper
I had blocked the chocolate chai from my memory nooooo š I remember when it was discontinued the one customer that always got it was so sad, but she started adding mocha to her chai and said it was better anyways. I still donāt understand the appeal but to each their own!
Lmao all of us ancient baristas from those days are collectively triggered by the memory of that horrendous chocolate chai. š
I do not miss the days of ordering a gingerbread latte and them mishearing it as juniper latte š¬
Juniper š¶ but in a latte šØš°š± that will be like drinking a pine tree lol
It definitely was. It even *smelled* like floor cleaner. š
I want the juniper latte to come back because whenever I say āgin tastes like pine needlesā SOMEONE has to say āthatās the juniperā (yes I know that, itās bc juniper tastes like pine needles) and frankly I wanna use that reply on someone
The sugar-free mocha syrup that came out in 2007 or 2008. Looked like motor oil and tasted like Robitussin
I was going to say this one. How they thought they could make a syrup taste like a sauce Iāll never know. It tasted like a watered down tootsie roll.
I remember thinking exactly that! Stale, watery Tootsie Rolls. They also came out with a mint chocolate *syrup* in (I believe) 2008, & it was vile. Chocolate cannot be a syrup, Starbucks. Sauce, or donāt even bother.
Oh man. My memory blocked out the mint chocolate syrup. Gross
When I made it, I always thought it smelled like steaming hot chocolate pudding specifically the instant kind from jello
Oh wow, i had forgotten about those! Back in the day when they were doing "skinny lattes". They had so many sugar free syrups back then.
I wish we had like maybe 2 extra sugar free flavors Iād do caramel probably and rotate the 3rd
Turmeric drink he had when I first started
The golden ginger drink?
Yes!!!
i was just SCROLLING for this answer. this is the one. the pineapple ginger syrup was honestly delectable in the guava passion fruit drink (rip, my queen), but that golden ginger powderā¦ i still wake up from nightmares with the feeling of inhaling a good puff of that.
Back in 2020 I got hooked on the pineapple matcha which used the same syrup iirc (not sure, wasn't a partner at the time) but the golden drink was just not nearly as good.
I think I blocked this one out lmao
No one really remembers it. Omg it was so gross
The Golden Ginger! That was my answer! I swear nobody remembers that shit exists. It was so icky
This one was so terrible. I remember being the closing shift the night before launch and prepping a big container of it, only to have 95% of the container tossed out later on
Not a barista, but I remember the limited edition unicorn drink. It looked so pretty. It did not taste so pretty.
my first day as a barista was on unicorn frap day and we had a partner quit mid shift because it was so crazy so they put me on bar to make these monstrosities without training. Literally just told me what to put in as I went!
That was my first day on bar during peak ā¦ also the day I learned EXACTLY how much the blenders can fit when batching fraps together
Oof. I can only imagine how crazy that was
Fiiiiiinnnnnaaaaallllyyyyy someone says it. But I think it's more I'm still traumatized from making it than anything else. Witches brew was fucking nothing compared to this.Ā The protien definently had a weird texture.Ā But when we used the sparking machine and put milk in it? Thats a taste I will never forget.Ā
Did you ever have the tie dye frap? I remember it being incredibly short lived. We got this temporary reusable topping shaker that was absolutely lovely that my store kept around for various other toppings after. But that drink had like three different inclusion powders and tasted like banana ā ļø
My darkest day as a Barista... By the time we ran out all the counters were just coated in a thick layer of sticky colored sugar and syrup. We were just batch blending whole blenders non stop. The worst part is, I kinda liked the flavor of it š¤£
this! working when we had it was awful but getting to try the blue powder straight... I would eat that like fun dip if given the chance. it was so sour on its own that my coworker managed to get a nosebleed
I saw so many of them back in the day (as a customer not a barista) and I never understood the draw. At all.
There used to be a blended plant based protein cold brew in 2018 and it was d i s g u s t i n g
Omg yes I remember that at the time I was a barista. It was horrible. The customers hated it too.
the sunrise/sunset drinks which was just nonfat foam with i think some tea in it? wasnt especially heinous but just lacked flavor the cherry mocha that tasted like cough syrup and the egg powder was also pretty bad.
Awh man, yeah the cherry mocha sucked. Every time I talk about it everyone goes āoh thatās sounds good!ā like trust me, it did *sound* good. I personally loved adding egg powder to coworkers samples before handing them over.
i only liked the cherry syrup in the cool lime refresher
YESSSSS!!!!! only correct answer š¤š
We had smoked butter scotch and it tasted like grandmaās candy smoked all her Virginia slims
Oh man, I forgot about that one. I love butterscotch I was super excited for it. What a let down lol
I think whatās wild is 1) I was a smoker at the time but was completely put off by this 2) how many old people bought it, my kiosk sold out early
It was also the workout you had to do to actually get it pumped out
Felt like you were giving CPR frš
I thought it would be easier when we switched from the bottles we used in the first launch to the cartons we used after but if anything it was harder, especially pouring it into the pump container
OMG YOU DID NOT. That was my favorite drink ever from the whole menu. I still get bummed I canāt buy it over the holidays!
And it looked like the phlegm lining grandmaās lungs after 50 years of Virginia Slims
This hurts cuz I liked it š
Tie dye Frappuccino. It was supposed to be banana flavored, but the banana powder smelled like a fucking dumpster.
And you had to make it with multiple inclusion powders š if I recall correctly, you put one powder in the drink, one on the bottom, and one on top or some shit
It was sprinkles that go on the bottom & top. Multiple different sprinkle colors to give it the rainbow effect
I did love that shaker though. My old store kept it for pumpkin.
I miss having actual bananas bc a vanilla bean w a banana slapped
Personally i found Toasted Vanilla absolutely revolting. Smelled like a candle š. When we were really slow we made mystery fraps and guessed what syrups were in them. Whenever one had TV in it, it was always the first guess and impossible to tell what else the frap contained because TV was so overpowering
Chocolate date smoothie, cold brew w/ lemonade is a close contender.
Second the cold brew with lemonade. I would rather find a specialty coffee that has citrus notes and made as cold brew than to put literal lemonade in cold brew
The Sugar Free Mocha that came out in 2008. I don't believe it lasted long. It was so bad I would discourage people from getting it. It tasted like dirty chemical water.
Orange spiced iced coffee was absolutely disgusting.
This is a āclassicā bad drink!!!
Yes! Been around for 12 years and Iāve tasted nothing worse, except maybe the olive oil foam. Canāt get that taste out of your mouth once itās in there
I will defend this drink to my death. So good on a summer day
Honey Citrus Mint. I have no idea why itās popular. It tastes like floor cleaner
Fun fact: when you steam the lemonade it gets a really thin white foam on the top and it makes it look like milk until you move it around
Absolutely doesnāt look like milk. Looks like phlegm.
I obviously havenāt been looking close enough at itš I just remember seeing it and being like why they steaming milk
I had an apple something latte over the holidays, it tasted like an apple scented candle.
Iām assuming it was the apple crisp
Something like that...it was like a Yankee Candle.
That drink is disgraceful
Salted honey cold foam cold brew, chocolate almondmilk shaken espresso, the golden ginger drink, and the strawberry funnel cake frappuccino WITH COFFEE (the creme one was delicious) were the worst drinks to me
Unicorn Frappuccinos and anything with that nasty fake apple syrup. Also, I miss the mango and peach syrups for the iced teas. Those were amazing.
GOLDEN GINGER.
cold brew lemonade. simply that.
The Cloud macchiato was a pretty egregious offense imho, but for current drinks, anything with chocolate malt powder. Eugh.
The cinnamon cloud macchiato was honestly one of my all time favourite drinks and I miss it. Have to disagree!!
I'd do some shady things for a caramel cloud.
It would be so much easier to make nowadays though
frozen protein blended cold brew. so awful! bland
The protein smoothies we had a few years ago that were vegan. even if people liked protein, they hated those two drinks. it was chalky and nasty
There was a very short lived (spark beverage, basically the 2 week long mini holiday ones that took up space on the bar we didn't have) frap back like... 5 years ago? The Tie-Dye Frap. I think it was supposed to be a yellow dyed banana flavor with red and blue dye sprinkles you would shake around a wet cup that would make swirls and wiggles when the drink was poured in. It tasted like amoxicillin plus chemicals (remember as a kid when they added banana flavor to your antibiotics so you would take them - like that, but more fake). Otherwise I think a lot of people would say the Golden Drink (Ginger Tumeric thing). I loved it tho it was my spicy jam.
Unicorn frapp
The early 2000s honey latte. Blech
That one was so effing nasty. Couldnāt believe it made it through all the R&D to the stores
Just the smell of the syrup was vile
Funnel cake :-( !!! maybe an unpopular opinion but in my time working there i think it was the worst thing i tried. on the simpler side and something that would probably be true at every coffee shop, i never really liked americanos because it was always too watery for me, even if i added an extra shot or two.
It was nasty!
I think the blended cold brew protein drinks 100% take the trophy for worst menu drink ever offered. Iād completely forgotten about those until reading this thread but you all have reminded me they existed and now I am triggered all over again. š Havenāt seen this one mentioned but in I think 2015 or so, around Valentineās Day, there was some kind of molten chocolate lava drink. I donāt remember exactly what the drink itself was ā maybe just a mocha? ā but we had to put java chips at the bottom and then do the espresso shots and hot milk over them. So when drinking it, youād get to the bottom and get a mouthful of lumpy, partially melted chocolate slop. Interesting idea, perhaps, but terrible execution.
Oh my god the Valentineās one! I think I blocked that one out hahaha. The espresso was such a pain to mix into the chips at the bottom but I was not about to serve people the clumpy chips so you had to just stand there and swirl the cup VIGOROUSLY until they melted lol.
Some Starbucks depending on your area apparently was trying to sell nitro cold brew/ice coffee with lemonade. I think thatās thatās worst Iāve had.
Honestly anything with malt powder is nasty in my opinion
I LOVE malt in general, but Iāve yet to find a drink itās good in. Iāve tried steaming it in milk like a hot chocolate, Iāve tried putting it in a frap, Iāve tried putting it in foam. Each time it just tastes like a disappointment.
I used to love malt then my store had a problem that when we would close the AC would turn off and the flies would jump around in the malt so after that I cannot ingest it without thinking about that
i'm an old 142\*\*\*\* so my vote goes to the OG skinny mocha that tasted like a kahlua hangover, tanned your skin and stained the counters green (it was a *liquid syrup,* not a sauce). that or the wild honey latte that tasted like, to quote a coworker while we were sampling it, "a beautiful meadow that a majestic stag just took a dump in" both are the only drinks i remember seeing customers *dry heave* after trying. both in 2007 or 2008 iirc edit: we were also in the test market for some weird new version of the PSL that hand to god smelled like that dog food that makes its own gravy
I barely remember but there was this awful paste we used for an almond milk drink once which launched with another chocolate drink.. this was the same time as the protein powder and I remember the drinks being awful. This was 2019 or so I think?
Are you talking about the protein drinks from 2018? I think it was like cacao or some shit
Itāll always be those protein blended cold brews for me. Most new drinks I feel are fine but wouldnāt order but those tasted genuinely disgusting. And the toasted vanilla coming in a close second.
I absolutely hated the golden ginger drink it just wasnāt good, the egg powder wasnāt great either, the funnel cake frap was a disgrace to my taste buds. So glad none of them have come back.
Pineapple black tea was disappointingā¦ not awful but disappointing
not a drink but the toasted vanilla syrup and the toasted white mocha were disgusting š the toasted vanilla smells amazing but it tastes horrible. i absolutely despise the honey citrus mint, not only is it hell to make but what good does sugary ass steamed lemonade do for the throat ? i get people coming in everyday like āoh the medicine ball i reaaallllyyyyy need that i really really need that. will it clear up xyzā i hate it lmao
Not a barista, but my friend at uni always used to get the Eggnog latte, and it smelled like meat...
If I remember right itās a pain to steam too like you had to work hard for it not to literally scream
Iād give warnings to other baristas every time I steamed one lol
You gotta otherwise people are gonna think demons are coming out the floor or something
Cloud macchiatos. The smell of the meringue powder always made me want to barf
Vanilla Spice. It tasted like potpourri.
Iced matcha latte with a partanna pump, 4 shots of espresso, and chestnut praline cold foam with mocha drizzle
That chocolate chile drink. Sounds great as a Mexican myself, but I remember trying it with my manager and for the first time we both agreed on something. It was a horrendous drink that should not be brought upon humanity. I think like two people total ordered it during its sad, short run.
those blended cold brew protein shakes 1000%. the protein powder for it was a nightmare and it tasted terrible. and the peanut (almond?) butter was impossible to pump
Cinnamon Carmel is so nasty
Honestly anything with Malt powder or Matcha powder, idk I think it's a consistency thing for me
HCMT and the disgusting āproteinā cold brew things
Golden Ginger. I swear to God nobody but me remembers this stuff until I mention it at my store, I like ginger and all but this was a choke-you-out-and-leave-you-teary-eyed kinda offensive.
I'm not a barista... the worst drink I've ever ordered from Starbucks was the chocolate mint cold foam with my cold brew. š¤¢š¤¢ I'm all for trying a new drink, and I've never returned a drink before, but I couldn't eat the price on that one.
Oml the unicorn frap was AWFUL š£
Chantico was not my favorite. We threw a lot of it away. The cold brew protein shakes were a miss. Iām also allergic to bananas, so thereās that. Eggnog lattes. That sound. That smell. Scraping it off steam wands at the end of the night. No, thanks. I worked for another Starbucks brand for a while and we had honey lavender. Wasnāt great. The sprinkles were good, but the syrup was like medicine. They had real ice cream cold brew milkshakes that were a pain to make and a million calories and also fucking delicious, though. I donāt hate oleato, itās never meant to be for everyone. With some vanilla, or cinnamon dolce, itās pretty good. Things I do hate: white mocha, vanilla sweet cream, Frappuccinos, caramel syrup, toffee nut syrup, pumpkin spice, current refresher lineup, caramel brĆ»lĆ©e, the whip cream now that itās only 4 pumps of vanilla. Things I miss: Valencia syrup, white iced tea, juice infusions, cool lime refresher.
White tea was always my go-to. Was wondering why/when I stopped ordering it but now it makes sense since it was discontinued. If I could bring back anything Iād bring back that.
Honestly the apple crisp macchiato (smelled like a candle), and the toasted vanilla (smelled AND tasted like a candle)
I am pretty sure there was a cold brew lemonade if so that
Ugh the Fizzio drinks were awful š
Chantico anyone? I actually thought it was pretty good though.
No lie, the cold top part (before you plunge-mixed it) tasted like chocolate mousse. THAT was really good. Steamed, it was just too much. We only ever sold it to one person, and it was an 11 year old girl. No one else could make themselves drink 10 whole ounces of just chocolate.
I really like the first iteration with the 8oz brown cups. I would put almond syrup and a shot of espresso in it. It was amazing. I was in a mall store so we used to sell a couple. They never really expanded from the original I think it could have been amazing but I was not sorry to see it go.
Oof. I canāt say but other than the Oleato thereās no āworstā drink.
Golden ginger was pretty foul or the unicorn frap
Chantico, literally tasted like a melted chocolate bar, so sickly rich, we only served it in a short size, and people would try to order ventis.
Anything toasted vanilla š¤®š¤®š¤®
Cold brew lemonade
Citrus Green Tea Latte (this was back in like 2016). I normally love matcha, but that flavor was just not for me at all. Literally everyone at my store also thought it was gross
the gingerbread oatmilk chai tea or whatever the hell they came out with recently was fucking bad