Starbucks Vanilla Protein Matcha Latte

The Starbucks Vanilla Protein Matcha Latte starts at £6.75 and carries 215 calories in a Grande with 25.2g of protein, which is the most of any drink Starbucks UK sells. Matcha is steamed with milk and sugar free vanilla syrup, and a vanilla protein cold foam floats on top.

Vanilla is a better partner for matcha than caramel would be. The grassy, slightly savoury edge of green tea sits under vanilla rather than fighting it, and the cold foam adds a custard note that makes the whole drink read closer to a green tea dessert than to a gym shake. The foam holds its shape well on matcha because there is no crema underneath to break it down, so the layer stays visible longer than it does on a coffee based protein drink.

25.2g of protein for 215 calories is the headline, and it edges out the Caramel Protein Latte at 24.4g. Sugar is 14.3g out of 17.2g of carbohydrate, most of it from the pre sweetened matcha powder rather than the syrup, which is sugar free. Caffeine runs 57.5mg in a Tall, 86.2mg in a Grande and 115mg in a Venti. It is also the most expensive drink on the Starbucks UK hot menu.

Matcha and protein is a harder pairing than coffee and protein, and the reason is acidity. Green tea is acidic enough to curdle some protein powders on contact, which is why the foam is whipped cold and floated rather than blended into a hot drink. Anyone copying it at home with a casein blend will see it split. Whey isolate is what holds together, and Starbucks builds the drink foam last for the same reason.

Drink it reasonably promptly. Protein foam thins as heat works up through it, and once it has collapsed into the matcha the drink loses the layer it is built around. It suits a post workout order or a breakfast replacement, and it fills more than the calorie figure suggests. The plain Matcha Latte is the same base at 161 calories in a Grande, and the Caramel Protein Latte is the coffee equivalent.