I tried Starbucks' new oat milk drink that's taking over TikTok, and I thought it was worth the hype (2024)

Advertisem*nt

On March 1, 2021, Starbucks unveiled its new line of spring drinks, including the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. That weekend, I trekked to my local Starbucks to try it.

What exactly is in the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso? According to Starbucks, it's "Starbucks Blonde espresso, brown sugar and cinnamon [shaken] together," topped with oat milk and ice. The recipe calls for four pumps of brown sugar syrup, Oatly oat milk, three shots of espresso, and cinnamon powder.

A grande retails for a cool $5.95. The drink also comes in at 120 calories, which is actually low compared to some Starbucks drinks.

Advertisem*nt

Immediately, I was taken with how good this drink tasted. Reader, it's definitely worth the hype.

Full disclosure, I was prepared to dismiss this drink, especially after seeing all the hype it was getting on TikTok. But I was immediately won over.

Starbucks drinks have a tendency to be overwhelmingly sweet, which I don't always mind, but the shaken espresso wasn't too sweet. It was just a rush of brown sugar and cinnamon, mixed with the creamy texture of oat milk.

Advertisem*nt

This is what it looked like after the drink was blended a bit more.

Once the syrup, coffee, and milk had blended together more, I had a better sense of how the oat milk reacted with the coffee — as an oat milk fan, I enjoyed the taste.

As I finished my new favorite Starbucks drink, I was already daydreaming about when I could get my next one ...

I was legitimately sad to be finished with my drink.

Advertisem*nt

This turned out to be a bit of a struggle. I went home to Long Island for a couple of days, only to find the two Starbucks in my town were both sold out of the drink.

Instead, I had to drive two towns over to get my brown sugar fix. However, when I was able to secure the drink, I found it tasted different.

Advertisem*nt

When I finally got my hands on one, it looked more like a traditional Starbucks drink, with no discernible cinnamon topping or foam.

This second drink wasn'tquiteas good as I remembered. I couldn't taste any cinnamon, and the brown sugar syrup had less flavor than my first one — potentially because it had fewer pumps, or perhaps because it had been shaken a different way.

Overall, it was still tasty, but not in a "change my Starbucks order forever" way.

Advertisem*nt

Here are the two drinks compared.

I think it's reasonable to assume that Starbucks employees are still learning the best way to prepare the drink – it's just a couple of weeks old.

However, I enjoyed it both times I ordered it and would easilysay the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso lives up to the hype. I'm probably going to order it again this weekend.