Starbucks is now serving a drink with a skewer of beef jerky on top
On Monday, the coffee giant announced that it would begin selling a new beverage in its Seattle Roastery that contains significantly more meat than the average caffeinated beverage.
The drink, Pepper Nitro with a Jerky Twist, infuses nitro cold brew with malted fennel black pepper syrup. Baristas then top the beverage with honey cold foam, cracked pink peppercorn, and "a bamboo skewer of natural beef jerky made with grass-fed beef."
"With the first sip, you get a hint of the honey cold foam and the aroma of the pink ground peppercorn," Raegan Powell, a member of the Starbucks R&D team who helped create the drink, said in a statement. "The real surprise is the salty savoriness of the jerky garnish, an exciting complement to the smooth and sweet finish of the nitro cold brew experience."
The beverage is supposed to highlight Starbucks' latest small-lot coffee, grown in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since the drink will only be served at Starbucks' Seattle Roastery, most of the US will not be able to sample the beverage. Typically, the Roastery is a space for Starbucks to test out more experimental drinks, such as whiskey barrel-aged cold brew.
However, some beverages that start out as Roastery-only items eventually end up on menus across the country and world.
Affogatos, an Italian treat made with espresso and ice cream, were originally only available at the Roastery. However, due to their popularity, the chain began serving variations on its Affogato menu at more than 100 stores across the US in February.