Starbucks Debuts New Cascara Latte

Starbucks starts the year by introducing the new Cascara Latte, which purports to highlight the flavors of the fruit of coffee cherry (whereas coffee beans are its seeds).

Cascara is Spanish for "husk" and is also the name for coffee cherry tea. Cascara here seems to refer to the dried skins of coffee cherries, which is also used to make coffee cherry tea.

Starbucks' Cascara Latte consists of espresso, steamed milk, and cascara syrup, sprinkled with a line of cascara topping (cascara extract and cane sugar) that, when viewing from the top down, is meant to look similar to the inside of a coffee bean. The latte is described by the chain as having a "dark brown sugar and maple flavor that is subtly sweet."

Along with the new drink, Starbucks has also brought back the Smoked Butterscotch Latte for a limited time. It features espresso, steamed milk, and smoked butterscotch sauce with a sprinkle of smoky butterscotch topping.

The two drinks are available throughout the winter, while supplies last.

Photo via Starbucks.