Starbucks is currently testing Coconut Milk as an alternative milk option. Portland, Oregon customers and Cleveland, Ohio customers will likely find coconut milk available as an option for the beverages, whether hot or cold. The charge for coconut milk is the same as whatever your local soy upcharge is. (Prices can vary a little from region to region). For most people, this will mean a sixty cent upcharge to order a coconut milk beverage.
This is actually the second round of Starbucks testing coconut milk. About six months ago. Starbucks did a very small test of coconut milk in San Diego, California and Everett, Washington. The fact that the test has expanded to a larger area is very promising!
I had the chance to try the coconut milk at a Starbucks in Portland. I should make it clear, I don’t normally order (or drink) any non dairy milks, and don’t even find myself enticed by soy, almond, or coconut milk. I completely understand that lots of people want (or need) to drink a non-dairy milk, but I’m not in that group of customers. I wouldn’t order a coconut milk latte twice. It’s watery and it’s hard to foam to beautiful foam. For some reason, it comes out a lot more bubbly. Several partners in the Portland store I visited mentioned that the coconut milk has been very popular in Frappuccinos – I tried that too and liked it much better than in a latte.
The current coconut milk test is slated to end September 1, 2014.
If you enjoy reading about various Starbucks test beverages and products, click through this category here. Please keep in mind, Starbucks tests many more things than actually make it to a national launch.
(Edit on September 4, 2014: Coconut milk continues to be offered in select cities. The test has performed well enough that Starbucks extended it at least through this fall and winter seasons.)
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This test is one I would hope would go national. I can see many customers taking advantage of this. Happy Mother’s Day to all!
As a regular Starbucks customer who depends on alternative milks (dang lactose intolerance), this gives me hope. I’m not in love with coconut milk (I prefer almond milk at home), but it’d be nice to have some variety besides soy.
I find that coconut and almond milks make terrible espresso drinks, but hopefully this satisfies customers. The constant pleas for almond/coconut/hemp milk are a big reason I gave up visiting the forums on MyStarbucksIdea.
@Gobo – I really question whether there are enough people who want to pay the extra 60 cents to make it to a national launch. But we’ll see. Maybe. And I kind of think it makes for a terrible espresso beverage too. The foam is so bubbly. But if you need non-diary, I can see this would be a great option. We’ll just have to see if there’s >enough< of a demand…
Yes you would want it if you are severely allergic to dairy product. Been paying that damn 65 cents for years. Love that we have more non-dairy option. I am sick and tired of soy milk myself.
This is great news! Hope they adopt it as a permanent menu option.
Hopefully it’s not loaded with carrageenan…
I would like to see the ingredient and nutrition lists of the coconut milk Starbucks is using. The vast majority of the coconut milk out there is not as “pure” as some would have you believe. Same goes for almond and soy milks. A big problem is that to produce the quantities that the market “demands” (without knowing all the relevant facts) the producers are taking shortcuts and making additions to the product.
I envision the usual set of complaints that Starbucks should not charge anything extra for any sort of “milk”.
You don’t want to see it… I was initially excited about them offering coconut milk until I saw the ingredients. They use sweetened coconut milk and it has loads of sugar. Go figure.
I would love to see almond milk as an option. Hopefully it would make up for the absence of almond syrup 🙁
I hope this goes national! I would love a coconut milk iced latte!
Great news and so good for you!
Interesting. I’m glad that they are testing a non-dairy alternative to soy, but what I’m most concerned about is how it will taste in the final beverages. It would be cool to see it rolled out in Hawaii though.
I began living a vegan lifestyle back in 2013. As someone who chooses not to consume animal products I appreciate Starbucks exploring non-dairy alternatives. While I don’t enjoy coconut milk personally, I think it is great that Starbucks is making an effort to try to meet the needs of it diverse customer base. It will be interesting to see where it leads.
MSI is loaded with suggestions for non-dairy alternatives (it seems to me that almond milk gets the most suggestions) but I am reminded of something Howard Schultz said in response to the question of more gluten-free offerings. Howard’s point was that while customers continue to ask for more gluten-free choices, gluten-free items haven’t sold particularly well at Starbucks. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this non-dairy, non-soy option.
To DadCooks’ point, I would be interested to see the ingredients of the coconut milk. Not that I know much about food science but I do know that soy lecithin is a common ingredient used to allow foods to foam. So I am curious as to whether or not it is truly a non-soy option. I only mention this because soy allergies are becoming more common.
I’m lactose intolerant so having non-dairy alternatives is pretty important to me. I generally like soy but sometimes it can be a bit too strong for me. But I’m not a fan of coconut so I wonder how strongly the coconut flavor would come through?
That being said, I would still want to try this. Are all the Starbucks in Portland offering coconut milk? I live an hour away but am in Portland occasionally so if I don’t have to hit up a specific store (and go out of my way), that would be awesome.
Regardless of how terrible many of you believe non-dairy makes coffee drinks taste, many do not consume animal products and do enjoy them. It seems odd that Starbucks hasn’t added almond, hemp or coconut by now given the ever increasing number of folks suffering from soy allergy. I understand from a dollars and cents POV that making sure the demand is there before roll out but aren’t many products/drinks/items geographically specific? There’s hardly a doubt that bigger cities would support the addition.
I tried the coconut milk in an iced Doubleshot today and to me it tastes more like coconut water. In my opinion, hemp milk is a tastier alternative option for espresso drinks.
I tried my usual Monday morning Mocha made with coconut milk. I am a fan. I don’t need to be dairy free, but I wanted to try it. Does anyone know what brand coconut milk they are using? Nutritional information?
The coconut water is in Southwest Ohio already as of last week. It’s part of a fresh juice product line. I tasted Orange (which is the BEST tasting orange juice) and a sample of Green Something (can’t recall the name) but it had lime juice in it. I’m not big on greens but the lime really made it tasty.
Also from the perspective of having non-dairy alternatives, FINALLY something other than soy. I can’t have soy milk because of a rare disease I have but have you noticed that they never had any non-diary creamer either? I guess it’s one step at a time.
please bring coconut milk to Texas!!
just go national with it or almond milk already
Bring coconut milk to Canada! Anything is better than soy milk even almond milk. I’ll pay extra for my health!
Almond milk pls!! Soy is too hard to digest and not good for anyone, same with milk. I think almond milk is less watery and would work better than coconut milk.
Crossing my fingers!
I’d love to see them go for hazelnut milk! It makes the best lattes!
I tried this today in a double tall vanilla latte and it wasn’t bad at all! I’d try it again!
Enjoy a grande latte with coconut right now and I am enjoying it, but I would love to know the nutritional facts.
How about unsweetened almond milk next?
Hi, which store in Portland is testing the coconut milk? Thanks much!
I agree! Almond milk is not only the best substitute for cow milk, it tastes better than cow milk! With what we know about hormones in dairy and all the aversions to milk these days, a coffee shop that does not carry almond milk is going to lose business to those that do. They will lose my business anyway.
BEWARE! Beware of ALL ingredients. I happened to read the ingredients on the back of those syrup bottles, since they were facing me while waiting. NOT GOOD believe me…mostly chemicals and sugar.
As much as I wanted COCONUT MILK, I believe it will be just like the SOY/ALMOND milk sold by SILK. FULL of taste enhancers, chemicals, artificial sweeteners, carrageenan. SOY LECITHIN is an MSG taste enhancer. I bring my own coconut milk and think I better continue.
Is the SOY NON GMO? Doubt it. ALMOND MILK should be only TWO ingredients WATER and ALMONDS. Most commercial SOY/ALMOND milk is the ‘taste of almond/soy’ via a laboratory. BEWARE of what we wish for I WISHED for COCONUT MILK, found it in MEDFORD, Oregon but afraid it’s just a chemical liquid and not true coconut milk like Thai brand or Whole Foods 365 brand. Ask to read the ingredients on those syrup bottles…NOT for the health conscious!
Wow good to know about coconut FLAVORED milk…I do know that the soy milk used at Starbucks in Texas is organic.It may be that way at all stores.
I’m in the Cleveland area and got an iced latte with coconut milk – you can definitely taste the coconut, but not bad! Next, I’ll need to try a hot latte with it.
I love it! I’ve had an iced Carmel macchiato with coconut milk every other day since its been available in Cleveland. Please don’t take it away. I’ve been trying to get the nutritional values of the coconut milk to see if sugar is added with no luck tho. Seems extra sweet.
As someone who is not only lactose intolerant but also soy intolerant, I really appreciate other non dairy milk options. I live in Portland and from independent coffee houses I have been able to enjoy rice, almond and hazelnut milk lattes – all, I thought, were delicious. I am glad to see Starbucks offer coconut milk but I asked the barista there if I could take a peek at their coconut milk package and much to my disappointment, their coconut milk contains sugar in it already. Still, I have enjoyed it in triple grande coconut milk lattes a few times already (and I don’t go to bucks very often) and it is really pretty tasty. Just wish their website would reveal some nutrition info on it.
Does anyone know if they will be testing the coconut milk option in the Chicagoland area? I haven’t been able to drink my daily Starbucks mocha due to my lactose intolerance and soy allergy. I have been waiting for a coconut milk or almond milk option for a long time! 🙂
I don’t understand why we have to have sugar in everything! I buy the unsweetened Coconut Milk, but it seems Starbucks (and other coffee houses) simply don’t believe anything tastes good without sugar. Good idea to have alternatives, though. I never have liked Soy, so look forward to trying other options – IF they forego the sugar if requested.
I need to be soy free and dairy free for health reasons. I love starbucks, but I can no longer enjoy my favorite lattes. I live in the philly area and would love to see this come my way. I drink coconut milk on a regular basis as an alternative and love the taste. I feel that this change would appeal to a wider range of consumers who are in the same boat as myself.
I’m with you Lauren, I also cannot use soy or dairy and at the moment, cannot use almond milk (although I may get it back eventually). I’m a mocha latte fanatic and I’m dying out here in Kansas with no alternatives! I used to take my unopened rice milk which the Starbucks here would use but today they turned me down saying they aren’t allowed?! I was crushed 🙁
I’m allergic to dairy and soy, so I usually travel out of my way to a shop that serves almond or coconut milk. Only if I’m desperate will I swing through a Starbucks for a black coffee (yuck). Your offering coconut milk would make me a regular.
For those still interested in this test, Starbucks has extended it through the Fall promo. Coconut milk is Portland OR (and possibly parts of Salem, OR) through Fall promo.
Yeah check out the ingredients in it:( Where do they come up with this stuff? Coconut milk? Really?
I personally love the coconut milk option. I do not react well to dairy and I refuse to drink soy (or eat anything with soy for that matter.) I’ve been drinking the latte’s and fraps with coconut milk here in Oregon and I like both. It may not “foam” as the same as milk, but it tastes good and I’m not sick afterwards. And, a lot of their competition already offers it as well. If Starbucks stops, that just means if you need a dairy alternative, you’ll go elsewhere.
I can’t consume dairy and since trying the coconut milk latte, I am now a regular Starbucks customer. I am sooo happy. Please keep it on the menu, Starbucks!
I love it in my lattes. So yummy! I hope this becomes a permanent option. Almond and soy are yucky when warm.
I am a Starbucks barista and by law you can ask for the ingredients list on any product and they have to give it to you to look at. also I was told that they tried the almond milk in a few stores a couple years ago and too many people complained of the almond nut allergy and since we use it on Steam wands we couldn’t go past the testing …so far there has been no one complaining about coconut milk allergies!!
I’m lactose intolerant AND allergic to soy! So coconut milk would be an amazing option for ME!!
Come on Starbucks, WHAT’S WITH THE (LOADS OF) SUGAR IN EVERYTHING??! Organic cane juice is just plain sugar. Seriously, to go all out, making sweeping gestures to provide options for lactose intolerant, organic, etc & not offer a healthy sugar free option is patently ridiculous…and I don’t mean with aspartame, honey, or any other form of sugar….just none, period…what about diabetics? We can ALL add sugar if we want it. The molecular make up of sugar is one just molecule away from cocaine and just as addictive! No joke! I’m sure I sound like a zealot, but I’ve tasted all unsweetened alternatives (soy, almond, hazelnut, coconut, hemp milks or any combo, with or without vanilla, yet still unsweetened) are MUCH better for us than those with glorified names for dreaded sugar! It may take getting used to, but those who don’t drink/eat the sugar drug are just screwed! …something tells me Starbucks wants us doubly addicted…coffee AND sugar! Unacceptable…just sayin’…
Love the coconut milk! Almond milk is too thick and chalky, but the almond milk is great. Finally a good alternative for the lactose intolerant! I never thought much about how many people there are with milk issues, but now that I have the issue I’m researching alternatives and see how many people are affected. Glad to see Starbucks working on alternatives. Thanks
The coconut milk is such in name only. At the top of the package it reads “2% juice.” There are a host of other ingredients including cane sugar and preservatives I was hopeful but will continue to bring my own:(
Tried Coconut Milk latte’s in Florida LOVED them! Bring Coconut Milk to Canada please!!