I like to think of myself as a fairly gastronomically open-minded person. โHere, try this cow tongue.โ โDonโt forget to suck the head of the crawfish. Itโll make you smarter.โ โHereโs some coffee I roasted myself.โ Two out of three of those things are always delights and welcome at whatever table I happen to be gathered around. But this new creation from Starbucks, I just donโt know that Iโm game. The Pepper Nitro with a Jerky Twist is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: nitro cold brew with a big ole hunk of beef jerky in it.
To be fair, itโs not just cold brew and jerky. According to Food & Wine, the drink also contains โmalted pepper syrup, cracked pink peppercorn and layer of cold honey foam on the top,โ which doesnโt sound half bad. Until you add the skewer of grass fed beef jerky like some sort of meaty orange peel, that is.
Only available at the Starbucks Reserve in Seattle, this new concoction made specifically for your friend that still wears t-shirts heralding their love of bacon is โaccompanied by an uplifting backstory:โ
Though a little gimmicky, this monstrosity of a โcoffee cocktailโ is at least highlighting a growing region that is having to overcome significant conflict and isnโt a regular part of most roastersโ offering sheets. Personally, Iโd rather buy the beans, have it made as an โon-demandโ brew, or just as a nitro cold brew, all very beefless alternatives that are available at the Seattle Reserve. But if you want a hunk of dehydrated meat in your coffee, then do you. One personโs Pepper Nitro with a Jerky Twist is another personโs treasure.
Zac Cadwaladerย is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.
*top image via Starbucks