Starbucks launches its autumn menu

Starbucks, much like Marmite, is divisive.

Some people love it and will happily pay the global coffee shop chain a visit everywhere they find it (and Instagram the iconic cup, of course).

Whereas others wouldn’t dream of setting foot in such an establishment, preferring their local independent brew spot, where bearded, man-bunned baristas serve up 20,000 different types of coffee. But whether unicorn frappes or pumpkin spice lattes, Starbucks knows how to whip up excitement about their beverages.

One thing the company hasn’t typically been known for, however, is its food - but that’s changing.

Starbucks launch their new autumn menu. Their team of food developers has been working on it for almost a year, and the aim is to bring more variety to the menu.

It’s been inspired by the company’s US heritage, and is also clearly catering to our growing interest in healthy food.

We managed to get out hands on every item on the new menu and tried it all. In the name of journalistic research, you understand.

Here’s our ranking of everything on Starbucks’ new menu, from worst to best.

Pumpkin spice loaf

Step aside, pumpkin spice latte, there’s a new PSL on the block. (Except don’t really because we love pumpkin spice lattes too.) This is quite simply autumn in a cake. The pumpkin flavour isn’t too strong but the spices make you feel fuzzy inside. It’s fluffy and moist and would be a dream warm.

It’s a good haul from the coffee behemoth, and the autumn menu is set to expand with Swedish buns and an avocado smoothie bowl soon too.

Mango and coconut smoothie bowl

This smoothie bowl is so velvety smooth, it’s almost like a purée and certainly not icy like a sorbet. It has the same undertone as coconut yoghurt and is a refreshing, summery flavour to contrast with the rich spices of the rest of the autumnal menu.

Lemon loaf cake

Starbucks has reduced the sugar in its lemon loaf cake by five per cent, along with many other products. It’s still sweet and pleasingly fluffy, but it’s a bit drier than some of the other cakes. The lemon drizzle is wonderful though.

Latte with turmeric

The turmeric flavour isn’t actually too strong in this latte, which we consider to be a good thing. It’s lightly spiced and there’s a hint of sweetness.

Salted caramel cake

Starbucks has redesigned many of its slice cakes as mini layer cakes to make them - you guessed it - more Instagrammable. They’re the same size and under 300 calories. This one is very sweet but thankfully the hint of salt stops it being too sickly. The layers of icing mean it’s delightfully moist too— it’s just about small enough to get your mouth around.