Starbucks Launches a New Fall Drink Called Apple Crisp Macchiato: Here’s What It Tastes Like
The hot and iced versions are really different.
Chelsea Kyle/Photo courtesy of Starbucks
Step aside, Pumpkin Spice Latte, there’s a new fall drink available at Starbucks and it’s damn good.
One day after announcing the return of the wildly popular Pumpkin Spice Latte for the eighteenth year in a row, Starbucks has unveiled a brand new autumnal drink called the Apple Crisp Macchiato. It’s available at all Starbucks locations in the U.S. and Canada beginning August 24, and like the PSL, the ACM (just go with it) is available hot or iced. Yet unlike many Starbucks drinks, the two iterations of this drink taste very different.
According to Starbucks, both versions of the Apple Crisp Macchiato are made with steamed milk and “marked” (that’s what macchiato means) with Starbucks signature espresso. Additionally, both drinks also sport a caramelized-spiced-apple drizzle (resembling the lattice on top of a pie) up top. This syrup, which I’d love to drizzle over a waffle or a bowl of oatmeal, might just be what makes the Apple Crisp Macchiato the new must-have drink of the fall.
However, just because the drinks are prepared with the same ingredients, doesn’t mean they taste the same. While the hot drink resembles a slice of warm apple pie fresh from the oven (and thankfully boasts just the right amount of sweetness), the iced macchiato seems like it tastes different with every sip. As the syrup and the coffee continue to combine, the flavor of the iced macchiato gets richer and more complex.
As the coffee giant put it in a press release, “If the hot version is like warm apple pie, the iced version is like apple pie a la mode, with the warm flavors of apple and brown sugar combined with milk and ice, and also topped with apple caramel drizzle.”
While an iced Apple Crisp Macchiato is ideal for those early fall days that feel more like summer, a hot Apple Crisp Macchiato is perfect for those brisk ones that require Uggs and some flannel.
“Creating an ingredient with a spicy baked apple flavor was crucial to be able to bridge an autumn red apple to espresso,” said Raegan Powell, senior manager on the Starbucks research and development team who helped perfect the ACM over several months. “Consider how well a delicious slice of warm apple pie pairs with a cup of coffee or how well the combination of Starbucks roasty signature espresso pairs with warm spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.”
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