August 22 marked the debut of the 2024 Starbucks fall drink menu. Along with the usual suspects, we were graced with a few new drinks, including the new Starbucks Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai.
Initial Thoughts on the New Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai
Before I even tasted it I was just so happy there was a tea-based fall drink AND it’s apple flavored. (I’m just not a pumpkin girly, never have been). And if you’ve been following me for a while, you may know I can’t have a lot of caffeine/coffee, so chai tea is actually drinkable for me! Even more so because I get it with half the pumps of chai, but more on that later.
For my visual friends, here’s the initial-sip Reel I shared last night on Instagram.
After tasting it… it’s one I’d highly suggest trying. I love that we have a tea-based fall drink for my fellow tea-drinkers! This beverage is primarily chai flavored though, the apple crisp is strictly in the cold foam (or at least that’s the taste I got from mine).
My one knock would be that I’d love to taste a little more apple crisp in the actual drink. However, the beauty of the apple crisp cold foam is that it can be blended into the drink immediately or you can let it slowly dissolve in. Dealer’s choice! For me, I swirled it all around right away to enjoy a beautiful chai/apple beverage.
Is it only available as Nondairy?
Absolutely not! I didn’t even try the fully nondairy version because I don’t really like oatmilk, which is the default milk.
To order it with a dairy-based [or alternate nondairy-based] milk simply swap your choice under the “Milk” tab on the app. Or, if you’re ordering in person, ask them to swap the oatmilk for your milk of choice.
Swapping for a Dairy-based Cold Foam
An important note if you’re swapping out your cold foam for a dairy-based one… it may not actually be worth it.
The nondairy apple crisp cold foam comes with the drink by default, but if you select no nondairy apple crisp cold foam and then go to add the regular dairy apple crisp cold foam, it charges you. It’s not on the main drink menu and charges you for an add-on.
Now, I’ve only tested this on the app, but I imagine it’s the same if you order in-store. Not at the fault of the barista, it’s likely because of the way the cold foam options are setup in the POS system.
However, I used my free drink for this one, so it didn’t make a difference. In the future though, I’ll likely just suck it up and get the nondairy cold foam to avoid the extra charge (which in my area is a whopping $1.25).
How to Order the Starbucks Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai
If you want to try the drink as-is, simply order a ‘(insert size) Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai’. However, if you don’t love oatmilk, which is what comes in the drink as-is, you may want to customize.
For me, I swapped out the oatmilk for nonfat milk, and the nondairy cold foam for the dairy version. Note: the apple crisp cold foam comes in both dairy and nondairy, so there’s options for everyone!
Can I have this if I’m caffeine sensitive?
First and foremost, I’ll never answer this question with a yes unless a drink is 100% caffeine-free. Everyone’s tolerance varies. However, I have some helpful information so you can make a more educated decision based on your own caffeine tolerance.
If you’re caffeine sensitive like me, you may want to get a few less pumps of Chai under the “Tea” option. That’s where the caffeine in this drink is located. Their Chai Tea Concentrate includes black tea, which is a more highly caffeinated tea. It’s still much less caffeine than coffee, but worth noting.
The grande comes with four pumps of Chair and the caffeine content is cited as 95 mg. That said, I order mine with only two pumps of Chai for about half the caffeine, which works for me. So, order as much or as little Chai as you’d like knowing there’s approximately 25 mg of caffeine from black tea in each pump!
Starbucks Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai Nutrition
Admittedly, this drink has more calories than I’d prefer from a tea, so it’s not something I would order everyday. But, a few extra calories for a delicious treat like the Starbucks Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai once in a while is decidedly worth it.
Here’s a screenshot of the Starbucks app’s nutrition information:
The New Raccoon Cake Pop
This adorable forest/sometimes urban critter makes for super cute bakery treat inspiration. My toddler made the cutest noise when she saw this new cake pop!
She was gracious enough to let me take a bite so I can confirm, it was delicious. It’s a vanilla flavored cake mixed with buttercream, coated with a simple icing. Also, it’s labeled as vegetarian in the app for anyone curious!
In addition to my newly beloved Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai there’s also a handful of other delicious fall drinks and snacks that just arrived yesterday. Below are all of the ones as noted in the Starbucks app:
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
- Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai
- Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
- Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin
- Baked Apple Croissant
- Raccoon Cake Pop
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