I taste test every new Starbucks drink, and this light, delicate chai is the perfect fit for spring.
I Tried the Starbucks Iced Cherry Chai—Here’s My Honest Review
Published on Mar. 04, 2025
When I’m at work, I rarely veer from my routine of eight ounces of black coffee in the morning and eight more ounces of black coffee in the afternoon. But when the weekend rolls around, I want a drink that I can’t make at home.
That’s when I turn to a cortado or, more recently, a chai tea latte. My mom got me hooked on chai, and I order that as often as I order espresso drinks. So, of course, when Starbucks released its Iced Cherry Chai on March 4, I placed an order.
What’s in the Iced Cherry Chai?
The new Iced Cherry Chai at Starbucks starts with black tea infused with warming spices like cinnamon and clove. The spiced tea is then combined with milk and ice. Baristas top the iced chai with cherry cream cold foam, then garnish the drink with a sprinkle of cherry crunch topping.
How does the Iced Cherry Chai compare to classic chai?
I’d pick the cherry chai over Starbucks’ regular iced chai latte any day! The cherry cream cold foam was delicate, not cloying. I sipped the iced chai at the bottom for a bit before I swizzled the cup to mix in the cold foam. I should have mixed it together sooner! The sweet cherry notes didn’t overpower the spiced chai flavors, and it was oddly reminiscent of bubblegum.
Lovers of a true masala chai would probably think the Iced Cherry Chai tastes synthetic, as it’s not strong on the fresh ginger, black pepper and cardamom notes. I went into this tasting knowing the cherry-flavored drink wouldn’t taste like a true masala chai, because the regular chai at Starbucks doesn’t hold up to a classic chai either. That said, I loved the pink-tinged drink in its own right.
You can order the cherry cream cold foam on other drinks, and I need to know how it tastes over an iced mocha.
What else is new at Starbucks?
In addition to the cherry cream cold foam, customers can also order lavender cream cold foam. The lavender drink line is making a return, including the Iced Lavender Cream Oat Milk Matcha, Iced Lavender Oat Milk Latte and Lavender Crème Frappuccino.
For coffee drinkers who keep things simple, there’s a new blonde roast in rotation. The Sunsera Blend is even lighter than the Veranda Blend. I tried a cup since I’m partial to black coffee and found it to be super easy on the palate. I’d order Sunsera over the medium-bodied Pike Place every time.
