News Desk
ROME: The world’s largest coffee chain Starbucks has announced launching a line of olive oil-infused drinks in Italy.
Howard Schultz, chief executive of the coffeehouse company, says olive oil’s “unexpected, velvety and buttery flavour… enhanced the coffee and lingers beautifully on the palate.”
“Now, there is going to be people who say, olive oil in coffee? But the proof is in the cup,” he said on the company’s website. “In more than 40 years, I can’t remember a moment in time where I have been more excited, more enthused,” Schultz added.
The Oleato range, set to launch on Wednesday in Italy, features an iced shaken espresso and a latte with olive oil “steamed with oat milk”.
There will also be another cold brew coffee in which “a silky infusion of Partanna extra virgin oil with vanilla sweet cream foam… slowly cascades through the beverage”.
Starbucks is one of the major US businesses that have faced hurdles as they tried to expand into the Italian food and drinks market. Italy’s coffee market is known for its independent and often family-run cafes. Starbucks currently has around 20 stores in the country.
Olive oil is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet, with countries including Italy, Greece and Spain heavily incorporating it into their cuisine. Its health benefits are partly due to its monounsaturated fatty acids which contain vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols – micronutrients derived from plants.
Starkbucks plans
Starkbucks plans to bring the selection of hot and iced drinks to stores in Southern California in the US this spring, with the UK, Middle East and Japan set to follow later this year.
The term “drink olive oil” trended on video-sharing social media platform TikTok last year, with supporters saying it had anti-inflammatory properties.
Some Italians called for boycotting Starbucks when it announced plans to open its first coffee house in the country in 2018. At that time, Schultz said: “We are not coming to teach Italians how to make coffee. We are coming here with humility and respect, to show what we’ve learned.”
