You'll never guess the flavours.

It’s safe to say that I am a fan of coffee. My daily caffeine consumption is of such a level that I slightly lie to medical professionals about it. Rarely does a day go by without at least one latte, my beverage of choice.

Over the course of my coffee shop visits, I have noticed an alarming trend. Is it just me, or are latte flavours getting out of hand?

This summer, Pret released two limited edition iced lattes: Ube Brûlée and Spirulina Macaron. Bright purple and bright blue respectively, adverts for the drinks certainly made a splash.

Pret is far from the only coffee shop chain to be offering unusual flavoured lattes, with companies developing new and ever stranger products in a constant race to stand out from the crowd.

Alex Hayes from food consultancy firm Harris and Hayes suggests that matcha is to blame. “It can be traced back to the ‘Goop effect’ about a decade ago,” she explains, referring to the Gwyneth Paltrow’s (questionable) ‘wellness’ empire. The actress has been singing the powder’s praises for years, promoting various green-hued recipes and products. “Hot drinks have become much more inventive since then, with customers increasingly demanding innovative flavours.”

Although chains like Starbucks were offering customers matcha as early as 2006, but the drink really took off outside of Japan over the last decade. According to Japan’s agricultural ministry, matcha production was up almost threefold between 2010 and 2023, and brands have been capitalising on its popularity with endless variations of the tea.

“A drink is a spend that you can take a gamble on. Consumers are more willing to take a risk and try something new and different on a drink than a main meal.”

Yet beyond swishy marketing, it’s hard to get an idea of what these actually are. What does a spirulina macaron taste like? Why would I want it in a latte? It sounds perilously close to labubu-matcha-dubai-chocolate territory.

I had to investigate.

Bracing myself for the £4.45 charge to my card, I went about the humiliating process of ordering a menu item with so many........

© HuffPost