Hold on to your grande no-foam half-caf latte: Starbucks will launch two new menu items in January, and Health got a sneak peek.
If you’ve been ordering the coffee chain’s egg sandwiches and tossing the bread, you’re not alone. Beginning January 10, you’ll be able to order Sous Vide Egg Bites—which remind us of Health‘s crustless Frittata Muffins—in two flavors: Egg White with Monterey Jack & Roasted Red Pepper and Bacon & Gruyere. (Sous vide, pronounced “soo veed,” is a trendy cooking technique in which vacuum-sealed foods are placed in a temperature-controlled water bath.) The Bites are soft and creamy, but without any cream or milk added. They’re also wheat-free and high in protein. We liked the bacon-gruyere version better, but both were luscious and very flavorful. They come two per order; pair them with a piece of fruit, and you have a perfectly balanced breakfast on the go.
When you order the Sous Vide Egg Bites, you could also try Starbucks’s new Cascara Latte. Cascara, which means “husk” or “shell” in Spanish, is the dried skin of the coffee cherry, the fruit of the tree (the beans are inside the cherries). Starbucks combined cascara extract with cane and coconut sugars to create the syrup that goes into this new espresso drink. The latte has a maple-y, brown sugary flavor, and is less sugary than some of the company’s other drinks. So if you prefer lightly sweetened coffee over candy-bar-sweet Frappuccinos and lattes, this may be your new regular order. As with other Starbucks beverages, the Cascara Latte is customizable, so you can swap a different kind of milk or have more or less syrup according to your own taste.
These aren’t the only new healthy offerings coming from Starbucks in 2017. Later this spring, Starbucks will unveil a certified gluten-free breakfast sandwich, and the chain is also beginning to roll out organic soups. Meantime, we’re looking forward to the morning of January 10.
