We Need To Talk About WTF Is Going On With All The Trendy Latte Flavours

You'll never guess the flavours.It’s safe to say that I am a fan of coffee. My daily caffeine consumption is of such a level that I slightly lie to medical professionals about it. Rarely does a day go by without at least one latte, my beverage of choice.Over the course of my coffee shop visits, I have noticed an alarming trend. Is it just me, or are latte flavours getting out of hand?This summer, Pret released two limited edition iced lattes: Ube Brûlée and Spirulina Macaron. Bright purple and bright blue respectively, adverts for the drinks certainly made a splash.Pret is far from the only coffee shop chain to be offering unusual flavoured lattes, with companies developing new and ever stranger products in a constant race to stand out from the crowd.Alex Hayes from food consultancy firm Harris and Hayes suggests that matcha is to blame. “It can be traced back to the ‘Goop effect’ about a decade ago,” she explains, referring to the Gwyneth Paltrow’s (questionable) ‘wellness’ empire. The actress has been singing the powder’s praises for years, promoting various green-hued recipes and products. “Hot drinks have become much more inventive since then, with customers increasingly demanding innovative flavours.”Although chains like Starbucks were offering customers matcha as early as 2006, but the drink really took off outside of Japan over the last decade. According to Japan’s agricultural ministry, matcha production was up almost threefold between 2010 and 2023, and brands have been capitalising on its popularity with endless variations of the tea.“A drink is a spend that you can take a gamble on. Consumers are more willing to take a risk and try something new and different on a drink than a main meal.”Yet beyond swishy marketing, it’s hard to get an idea of what these actually are. What does a spirulina macaron taste like? Why would I want it in a latte? It sounds perilously close to labubu-matcha-dubai-chocolate territory.I had to investigate.Bracing myself for the £4.45 charge to my card, I went about the humiliating process of ordering a menu item with so many words in it.Rather than the fun, swirly drink advertised, I received a sludge-brown substance that looked more mocha than purple potato. A few grains of purple sank ominously to the bottom of the cup, refusing to dissolve despite the most determined of stirrings.It tasted like an iced latte with added dirt.The brûlée element is presumably represented by the sugar included in the ube sachet, but has little presence in the drink. Perhaps it’s a little sweeter than a standard latte, but not to any noticeable degree. The ube factor is entirely absent, only making an appearance in the graininess that sticks to the back of your throat after a sip. Disappointing, but perhaps not surprising.At smaller chain Redemption Roasters, a peach iced tea spritz and watermelon iced matcha are on the seasonal menu alongside vanilla and sea salt cold foam, which can be added onto any iced drink.On an iced latte, the latter special will set you back £4.95. The foam itself, leaning into the ‘swalty’ (sweet and salty) flavour profile trend, is pleasant – salted caramel’s sophisticated cousin – but combined with the inherent bitterness of coffee it’s a little too much for a traditionalist like me. It’s something I can see people enjoying, though, and offering it as an add-on makes it an easy purchase risk for consumers. The concept is familiar enough to be comforting, but unusual enough to stand out.“We try to match up our seasonal drinks into complementary trios and create drinks that can be repeat purchases rather than one-time gimmicks,” Ursula Runacres, head of marketing, shares.“We have a drinks co-ordinator who looks at trends, social opportunities and aesthetics of the drinks.” Social media and the lure of virality play a major role in the development of these drinks. Trending flavours or foods provide touchpoints of inspiration – tiramisu lattes have been making a name for themselves, as have pistachio. ‘Flavourmaxxing’ (shoving a bunch of different flavours into a single item) and general maximalism have also made their way into the beverage world.“Visually, it’s all about colour,” Hayes says. “Drinks development needs to focus on the full rainbow spectrum. With the added pzazz of changing colour effects, toppings, foams and beyond, more is definitely more!”Pret’s fun purple and blue offerings seem ideal for this, but judging by Instagram comments I don’t seem to be the only one let down by the drink I received. Even in their own advertising, some photos are almost entirely absent of the gimmicky colour.Blank Street, another brand known for experimental flavours and a strong social media presence, launched an international ice cream-themed campaign this summer. In the UK this takes the form of a honeycomb latte, with a rocky road option available in the States.Summer, ice cream, and non-standard, attention-grabbing flavours culminate in a product with enough sugar to knock out a small child, while the chunks of honeycomb on top add some visual appeal, if nothing else. To call it a latte may get coffee purists’ hackles up – the coffee element all but disappears – but it works. They’ve kind of nailed it, if ‘it’ is an Instagramable, vaguely palatable drink.The ice cream motif fits into a nostalgia trend also noticed by Redemption Roasters. Previous seasonal specials at the shop include a banoffee iced matcha and a bakewell matcha.“These have been two of our bestselling seasonal drinks,” Runacres notes. “We are looking to bring these back into the menu at some point, following consumer demand.”Annual seasonal drinks have become a trend in themselves. The return of Starbucks’ pumpkin spiced latte is welcomed each year with a sigh by fans as they settle into autumn, and Costa is making a push for the autumnal crown with its maple hazel range – described as a “fan favourite” and “autumn’s most delicious flavour”.“Limited-time offerings are a surefire way to bring excitement and to trail new and out-there flavours,” Hayes says of this strategy. “Companies are borrowing new product development strategies from challenger and disruptor brands.”I may be wondering whether the world of latte flavours has gone too far, but Big Coffee is just getting started. Hayes expects to see even bigger and bolder moves as time goes on.“We’re seeing contrasting flavour profiles coming together in new ways — swalty and swicy (sweet and spicy), for example,” she observes. “There’s also a growing focus on texture, with yogurt drinks coming over from Japan, and cloud coffees from South Korea.”Pret declined to comment on its flavour development process, and Blank Street didn’t respond to my flurry of questions, so whether they’ll be rolling out these kinds of drinks anytime soon is a mystery.Despite the drinks I’ve seen being neutral or very sweet (looking at you, Blank Street), Hayes also anticipates a wave of savoury drinks in line with larger health trends. “Sweet potato or five-grain lattes, and more premium iced drinks that use things like quality jams rather than ultra-processed syrups,” she says.I can’t say I’m not intrigued by these concepts, and it will be interesting to see which trends stick. For now, though, I think I’ll keep playing it safe with a boring, normal latte.Related...Food Influencers Are Making Uncomfortable Eye Contact With You – And They're Doing It On PurposeAre Food Influencers Going To Make Restaurant Critics Obsolete?We Ranked The Food Trends Brits Say They Can't Escape Right Now

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