Starbucks is testing a highly anticipated product, possibly a new Frappuccino or cold brew. You're wrong. This new product is ice, which is swirled into cold drinks.
Starbucks has been testing nugget-shaped ice cubes for weeks, according to social media speculation. This week, a Starbucks employee
posted a photo of a large tank of nugget ice on Reddit, indicating their location was one of three serving it. TikTok also has the claims.
Ice innovation may not seem relevant to some consumers, while others think shape and texture matter in drinks. Nugget ice, or "good ice," is popular among ice lovers.
Size and texture distinguish nugget ice from ice cubes. Pressed ice flakes make the little, cylindrical pellets softer and easier to chew than
ice machine cubes. According to Helen Rosner's 2021 New Yorker article "Pellet Ice Is The Good Ice," the ice's flaky layers resemble a
"well-laminated pastry" with "crevices and tiny caves into which your drink can penetrate, and a yielding texture perfect for chewing.
Starbucks hasn't confirmed its nugget ice experiments, but many customers were excited by the change.