Starbucks Creates 'Cold Bar' Coffee Menu

SEATTLE — Starbucks Corp. is launching a new line of cold beverages that will serve as the foundation for a new "cold bar" of coffee and espresso products. By focusing exclusively on the cold coffee portfolio, this menu affirms Starbucks' ongoing investment in the category of iced beverages, the company said.

The new line follows up on the 2015 launch of Cold Brew coffee at all company-owned U.S. stores, which Starbucks called "highly successful." Along with bringing handcrafted vanilla flavor to Cold Brew coffee, Starbucks will also launch a handcrafted Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice espresso beverage and introduce Nitro Cold Brew in select cities.

"For [more than] 40 years we have perfected the craft of roasting and brewing the finest hot coffee and while we have always offered our customers new options in cold coffee, nothing will compare to the pace of flavor, craft and brewing innovation we will see in the next few years," said Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz. "The opportunity to create an entirely new cold coffee experience is limitless and our customers are already telling us that they want to meet us on this journey as cold coffee is now becoming a go-to drink."

Iced coffee consumption has grown by 75 percent in the past decade and Cold Brew sales grew 338.9 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to Starbucks.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, Starbucks reported a 20-percent increase in its overall iced portfolio after the introduction of Cold Brew in its retail store. Nitro Cold Brew is currently the second highest selling beverage at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle.

The expanded core "cold bar" menu available at participating Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada includes:

• Cold Brew
• Cold Brew with Vanilla Sweet Cream
• Nitro Cold Brew
• Traditional Iced Coffee
• Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice
• Caramel Iced Macchiato