After YEARS of begging Starbucks, they’ve finally stopped using sugar-lined matcha. I clearly wasn’t alone in this crusade, because Starbucks doesn’t make majors changes for one person. It’s still crazy to me that they ever used a matcha with over 50% sugar in it! However, now that it’s pure green tea matcha, everyone has thoughts and I’m here to help you navigate them. Let’s dive in to the specifics and how to order the new Starbucks matcha latte.
New Starbucks Matcha Latte Changes
There’s really only one huge, glaring change. The matcha is now only pure matcha powder. Before, their “matcha” was a mixture of matcha powder and sugar. What’s worse, is that 50% of the mixture was sugar. Sugar was the first ingredient listed, noting it’s the most prevalent ingredient in the mixture.
This was TERRIBLE (for your health). However, some are arguing the new Starbucks matcha latte is now tastes terrible without it.
Hot take: if you don’t like how a matcha latte tastes without all of the sugar, you don’t like matcha, you like sugar.
How to Order the New Starbucks Matcha Latte
The answer is simple: however you like. You just need to understand that it’s not loaded with sugar by default anymore. If you want your matcha latte sweeter add some flavoring with classic syrup or sugar-free vanilla (my personal favorite).
New Starbucks Matcha Latte Nutrition
Yes, the nutrition information is in the Starbucks app, but it doesn’t break down where all the sugar is hiding. I like to know the breakdown because I customize my drink, so the nutrition changes. Currently, the nutrition tab doesn’t function as a calculator, and won’t adjust when your customize your drink. (Fingers crossed for the future, though!)
Previously, the old grande recipe had 30g of sugar as seen in my previous post. The new recipe is showing it still has 25g of sugar in the grande recipe. So I ask, what gives?
Well, the new recipe includes three pumps of classic syrup by default, so a majority of that sugar is from the sweetener. But just how much of the sugar is from classic syrup? And what sugar is left in the drink if I take the classic syrup out?
Starbucks Weighs In
After looking online for the answer extensively, I realized the recipe is just too new to be on any blogs yet. So, it was up to me to get it out there for the people. To Threads!
Starbucks graciously confirmed what I suspected about the sugar and milk, but didn’t confirm the sugar in the classic syrup. Another user confirmed that about 15g of sugar is from the classic syrup. If you remove the classic syrup, there’s about 10g of sugar remaining in the default recipe sans sweetener.
I’m not sure how she knows each pump is 5g of sugar, but the amounts do seem to track. When I looked up how much sugar is in one cup of 2% milk it said about 12g. So estimating about 10g for the grande size after ice, syrup, etc. seems fair.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information shared is all an estimate. Actual amounts will vary by drink based on how the barista crafts it. I don’t use this nutritional information for medical purposes, only to track my macros, so these estimations are enough. If you need concrete nutritional figures please contact Starbucks.
How I Order My Matcha Latte
Personally, I like even less sugar in my diet and order mine with sugar-free vanilla instead of the classic syrup. Like we touched on above, if you order your matcha latte with a sugar-free syrup the only sugar in your drink will be from the milk.
For me, I prefer dairy milk lattes so I’m okay with the bit of sugar I consume from it. Depending on the milk you order your specific sugar content may vary.
This is my exact drink ticket from a recent mobile order. I also get a grande drink in a venti cup because sometimes I get a rather foamy latte (still trying to figure out why this is, stay tuned) and don’t want to lose any volume from it.
What does “Matcha Powder” on your ticket mean?
Unrelated to nutrition at all, I do also only get one scoop of matcha due to my caffeine sensitivity. That’s what the “Matcha Powder” refers to, but it’s actually a big issue right now.
Recently, I got a drink that was absolutely not made right, you can tell instantly by the color.
If you look at the bottom of the left drink, it’s SUPER DARK (top is full of foam). Baristas will tell you the new matcha recipe is darker naturally (which is accurate since none of it is sugar now) but that wasn’t why my drink was so dark here. A huge problem with Starbucks’ system is when you select “1 Scoop Matcha Powder” on their app it prints out as “Matcha Powder” on their ticketing system.
NO. IDEA. WHY. This seems like a terrible oversight. I’ve written to Starbucks about it a few times. Newer baristas don’t always know “Matcha Powder” means “only ONE scoop of powder”. They oftentimes either ignore it or add extra scoops, which is my personal nightmare.
I had to ask a barista to remake one recently because I pointed out I asked for just one scoop and she literally said, “well, the ticket just said Matcha Powder”. Like ma’am… I know, but your app says “1 Scoop Matcha Powder”. I hate that poor planning on someone’s part one time now causes so much confusion among those making and purchasing the drinks over and over.
Making a Low Sugar Matcha Latte at Home
A full post on my new homemade sugar-free vanilla iced matcha latte is coming soon! For now, I’m sharing a real insider pro tip on how to make the BEST version at home. Sharing my Reel for you here that will get the job done in the meantime:
While $20 might seem like a lot just think of how much you’re truly saving by investing in the EXACT syrup to make your lattes at home. I’ve only gotten a Starbucks latte once in the past week when I used to be there nearly every day!
Shop everything from my video here.
Have you tried the new Starbucks matcha latte recipe yet? Share your thoughts and favorite drink orders in the comments!
