![]() ![]() “The original Spanish beverage combines cinnamon and lemon zest, with a frothy texture which inspired us to reinvent the beverage as a macchiato,” said Erin Marinan, from Starbucks research and development team. Starbucks’ latest addition to its permanent menu is the Cloud Macchiato, a coffee-based drink inspired by the Spanish drink leech merengada and made with “Cloud powder,” which includes egg white powder to give the drink a meringue-like texture. Now, It’s getting a twist and some help in the promotions department from Ariana Grande. So, I guess, the $10 I spent on a review no one asked me to write couldn’t have been a total waste.The original macchiato was introduced to the Starbucks menu in the late 1980s. In conclusion, I don’t love these drinks but I wouldn’t say no to another Iced Cloud Macchiato. I did not need to order two of these to understand the Cloud Macchiato, and drinking both was a mistake that made my afternoon more uncomfortable than it had to be. Who the cinnamon version of this drink is for isn’t immediately apparent to me. The dash of cinnamon made the entire thing taste like aromatic ash, but the absence of sickeningly sweet caramel thankfully made it a more mellow affair. The cinnamon version of the Ice Cloud Macchiato wasn’t much different from its caramel brother. Also, the caffeine buzz is intense, and provides a sustained, numbing headache. ![]() Its saving grace is the bitter espresso, which doesn’t taste great but cuts the searing sweetness of the rest of the drink. The drink is marketed as a “cloud in a cup,” but after the first few sips feels like a brick in the stomach. Once I began to drink it, it became clear that the airy substance has the same texture as beer foam, without the advantages of alcohol. ![]() But in walking back to my office to drink the cloudy macchiato at my desk, the consistency began to crumble under the weight of the caramel resting atop the drink. I had the most beautiful drink in the whole place. On an aesthetic level, I was thrilled as it left the barista’s hand and hit the counter. The signature characteristic, the cold foam, looks wonderful. There is a surplus of wow - it lands like an effervescent punch on first sip - which is both the drink’s appeal and its downfall. The Iced Cloud Macchiato is like a ticking time bomb of sweetness and, eventually, doom. *Cloud foam contains egg whites /TyiAGKgGQO So light and fluffy they’re basically a cloud in a cup. Introducing new Iced Cloud Macchiatos in Caramel and Cinnamon. Would these taste like Max Martin beats, break-up anthems or soulful appropriation? Grande certainly secured the bag, but how much of her heart is invested in the cloud concoction? Does Ariana make her own coffee? Below is a review of the drinks, which were judged based on the same criteria: flavor profile, mouthfeel, wow factor, quality of caffeine high and Grandeness. As I waited at the closest Starbucks for the two tall beverages to arrive, curiosity and skepticism began to creep in. ![]() It’s a logical partnership, and one that worked on me - I just needed to see Ariana and Starbucks tweeting at each other to know, deep down, that I was going to drink that cloud. Starbucks is a multi-billion dollar company in need of young consumers with an affinity for sweet drinks and an insatiable appetite to post said sweet things to Instagram, when they’re photogenic, to entice more young consumers with affinities for sweet drinks. Ariana Grande is the face of Starbuck’s “Cloud Macchiato.” It’s synergy made in marketing heaven: Grande loves cloud emojis, is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet and has millions of young fans who presumably love sugar and caffeine in equal measure. ![]()
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