Olive oil in coffee? New Starbucks line a curiosity in Italy

Putting olive oil in coffee is hardly a tradition in Italy, but that didn't stop Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz from launching a series of beverages that do just that in Milan, the city that inspired his coffee house empire.

The coffee-olive oil concoction has provoked both amusement and curiosity among Italians. While it echoes the keto diet-influenced trend of combining coffee with fats, Starbucks' line of five oil-infused drinks also adds a sugary or oat milk twist.

Gambero Rosso, an Italian food and wine magazine, called the mixing of olive oil with coffee “a curious combination” but said it was reserving judgment, having not yet sampled the drinks.

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It did praise the staple of Italian kitchens becoming a featured ingredient, not just a condiment. It also noted the health benefits of consuming extra virgin olive oil, which many Italians do habitually straight from the bottle.

"Did we need coffee with extra virgin olive oil and syrups? Maybe yes, maybe no," wrote the magazine's Michela Becchi. But the chance to promote Italian excellence is a valuable one, she added.

Martina Lunardi, a student of cultural mediation, was sticking to her standard cappuccino on a recent Starbucks visit but said she wasn't offended by the olive oil combos and might even try one someday.

“Anyway, I know where to get a regular cup of coffee,” Lunardi said.

Schultz came up with the notion of adding olive oil to coffee after visiting an olive oil producer in Sicily and teased the idea as a game-changer in his last earnings call. He worked with an in-house coffee drink developer to come up with recipes, the international coffee chain said.

Schultz presided over the launch of “Oleato” — meaning “oiled” in Italian — last week on the eve of Milan Fashion Week, with a Lizzo performance for an invitation-only crowd at the company's Milan Roastery. The beverages will be rolled out in Southern California this spring and in Japan, the Middle East and Britain later this year.

The La Stampa newspaper in Turin taste-tested four of the beverages, giving them marks of 6.5 to 7.5 on a scale of 10. It noted that the only warm beverage on the menu, a version of caffe latte, “has a strong taste that leaves a pleasant taste in the mouth. Grade: 7.”

“The (positive) sensation is that Oleato could be something to drink all year, but most of all that it could be truly tasty in the summer," La Stampa said because most are served with ice.

Tourists who throng the Milan Roastery are enticed to give the drinks a try by placards around the store and a special menu insert advertising the five-drink assortment, which ranges from 5.50 euros to 14 euros (USD 5.85 to USD 14.85) for a martini version with vodka.

“It's good,” said Benedicte Hagen, a Norwegian who recently moved to Milan to pursue a modelling career. “I'm not a big coffee fan, that's why I like to try drinks like this.”

She was sipping the Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew, which includes vanilla bean syrup, and said she couldn't really taste the oil. Still, she acknowledged asking the barista to add a shot of chocolate to make the drink even sweeter and would have added caramel if it had been available.

“It's not so random,'' Hagen decided.

Kaya Cupial's Oleato Iced Cortado, meanwhile, was in a pretty V-shaped glass and garnished with an orange peel. It's made with oat milk infused with olive oil, demerara syrup and a dash of orange bitters.

“It's like normal coffee, but with orange. It's not strong,'' noted the 26-year-old from Warsaw, Poland, who was travelling with a group of friends. They also ordered the Golden Foam Cold Brew along with a pair of ordinary cappuccinos.

It is not the first time Italy has inspired Schultz. He acknowledges his debt to the Milan coffee bar, which he discovered during a trip to Italy in 1983, as his inspiration for building the now-global coffee chain.

Schultz waited until 2018 to bring Starbucks to Italy, aware that he was treading sacred coffee ground. Italians typically take their coffee standing at a bar, chatting with friends or the barista for a few minutes, before continuing their day. It is not something to be nursed.

Since then, Starbucks has opened some 20 stores in northern and central Italy. The Milan Roastery is often packed, while other locations in the city have shifted in the wake of the pandemic.