The coffee chain Starbucks has launched a new specialty: espresso, caffè latte & co. with a dash of olive oil. But what does the trend promise and deliver?
Cold brew, flat white, lavender latte and now also coffee oleato – a new coffee or espresso speciality regularly spills onto the market, which lasts there for a longer or less long time, but always promises the highest level of enjoyment. While many of the different combinations or brewing methods sound relatable, the Starbucks chain's new creation raises questions. Coffee with a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil – can it taste good and what is it supposed to do?
What is oleato coffee and what is it supposed to do?
Whether as iced coffee or as a caffè latte - a spoonful of olive oil is supposed to make the "oleato" particularly full-bodied. © agefotostock/Imago
A few years ago, Bulletproof Coffee, coffee with butter and/or (coconut) oil, made the rounds among coffee fans. However, the greasy trend has never really caught on for the more hard-boiled. Starbucks, on the other hand, promises a delicacy on the palate with the dash of olive oil - a velvety fine texture that is rounded off by the aromas of the oil. In this way, the new beverage creation as iced coffee & Co. is to conquer the whole world. In addition, one of the reasons for this flavor combination could also be due to the supposedly healthy effect of the coffee oleato. It could promote health thanks to the positive effects of olive oil, among other things on cardiovascular diseases and inflammation.
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Is the olive oil in coffee oleato healthy?
It is known that fat in food and beverages is an important flavor carrier. However, due to the more or less dominant, grassy, slightly bitter-spicy aromas, olive oil is probably more associated with an Italian salad dressing than an enriching ingredient in a mostly sugared latte or latte macchiato. It is precisely this unexpected and the curiosity of coffee fans that this new invention is aimed at.
It has not yet been scientifically proven whether the olive oil in coffee is healthy. There is little to be said for it, simply because the heat of the drink destroys many valuable ingredients such as the cell-protecting antioxidants. But as far as the taste is concerned and the question of whether caffeic acids and grassy olive oil notes harmonize – as always, what tastes good is allowed.
