This drink looked thick and creamy, precisely what I would want, but it ended up being a bit more watery than I thought.
Ultimately, it felt like I was drinking bitter, watery green tea. The chain uses unsweetened powder, which I think threw me off.
Starbucks confirmed that in January 2025, it switched from sweetened matcha powder to an unsweetened one to give customers more customization options.
Once I shook it up and stopped drinking from the straw, the latte got better, but it still wasn’t for me.
Of the three chains I visited, Starbucks easily had the most options to customize its drinks, and it has the most expansive matcha menu, with 16 different types, including Dubai chocolate, banana bread, and lavender cream. Clearly, the chain is responding to customer demand for its matcha.
In the future, I think I would add vanilla syrup or try another flavor combination to reach my preferred level of sweetness. But as it stands, I didn’t love the basic option.
Onto the next!
