Starbucks begins testing cold pressed espresso as preference for cold beverage soars

Starbucks is coming up with new cold beverage offerings as the demand for cold drinks has increased and overtaken the hot beverages. The coffee chain company revealed its plans to begin testing its new Cold Pressed Espresso so it can be launched soon.

introducing the new cold espresso

Starbucks’s chief executive officer Kevin Johnson shared about the company’s plans for the new cold beverage variant, and its testing in selected cafe outlets will start by the end of 2021. The CEO said that Starbucks has been getting more orders for the cold drinks, and in fact, the earnings from these beverages make up more than half of the sales in cafes.

As per CNBC, the Cold Pressed Espresso is already available in high-end Starbucks locations, and it was observed that younger customers highly favored the cold beverages. Their preference for these drinks played an important part in growing the coffee chain outlets’ same-store sales in recent years. Based on the records, in the last three years, Starbucks customers have spent over $1 billion on its cold drink lineups.

“More than 50% of the beverages that we sell at Starbucks are cold,” Johnson told CNBC during the “Halftime Report” on Wednesday.

Starbucks heading to make its green coffee carbon neutral

Moreover, Starbucks also reiterated its plans to make its coffee carbon neutral by 2030. As part of its plans to achieve this goal, the company is preparing to open one of its first sustainable roasting plants next year.

This will be set up in China, and its $150 million funding has already been decided. With the amount it marked Starbucks' biggest investment in Asia and outside of the U.S.

“It’s this one thing that we’re doing to not only reduce our carbon footprint, ultimately to get to net zero, but ultimately to store more carbon than we emit,” the Starbuck’s CEO said. “That’s our long-term agenda, and we’re committed to that.”

Meanwhile, on its route to becoming eco-friendly, aside from the plant in China, Starbucks also started releasing new beverages. Before the Cold Pressed Espresso, the coffee house already debuted two plant-based Iced Shaken Espresso drink variants.