I Tried Starbucks’ New Banana Bread Latte, and It Blew My Mind (Complimentary)

I come from a banana bread family. “What’s that?” you ask. When I was kid, my family made and ate banana bread at least twice a month. Okay, my mom would make it … and then we’d all devour the loaf. I actually used to hope our bananas would ripen more quickly than we could eat them. So when Starbucks announced a new Iced Banana Bread Latte as part of the company’s fall 2026 menu, I knew I had to try it.

I was lucky enough to get a preview of a few new drinks using a gift card Starbucks sent me, and this banana bread-inspired sip really surprised me.

As part of a lineup of new beverages joining OGs like the PSL and the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew on the fall menu, Starbucks dropped two new banana bread-inspired drinks: the Iced Banana Bread Latte and the Iced Banana Bread Chai. These two drinks are part of the year-round menu as of August 25, joining the Iced Banana Bread Matcha that debuted in early 2026.

According to a Starbucks fact sheet shared with Dorm Therapy, the new Iced Banana Bread Latte combines Starbucks Blonde Espresso with banana syrup, milk, and ice. It’s topped with brown sugar cream cold foam and a dash of cinnamon dolce topping. The chai version swaps out the espresso for a chai mix. Both drinks are meant to evoke “freshly baked banana bread,” per the sheet.

I wish I had filmed myself taking my first sip of this latte, because I know my eyes widened with amazement. You see, as much as I love banana bread, I don’t go wild for banana-flavored foods or drinks not made with actual bananas. But right away, this latte tasted like a delicious piece of banana bread. Before I took a drink, I made sure to give it a good whiff, and I mostly smelled cinnamon with a hint of brown sugar, which made the banana bread flavor even more surprising when the latte hit my taste buds.

With each sip, I was continually astonished by how Starbucks made this coffee taste like drinkable banana bread with flavors of ripened banana, cinnamon, and brown sugar — not one sip of this drink tasted like “fake” banana flavoring. As the brown sugar cold foam melted into the iced espresso, the banana bread flavor got even stronger, and it also started to smell more like the mainstay baked good of my childhood.

I’m glad this new drink will be available year-round, because I need more time to figure out exactly how Starbucks was able to make this latte taste just like banana bread! In the meantime, the Iced Banana Bread Latte has earned a spot in my late summer and fall coffee rotation — and I definitely plan on pairing it with a warmed-up piece of Starbucks’ Banana, Walnut & Pecan Loaf once in a while.