5 Creative Matcha Drinks To Try With Your Next Starbucks Order

Ever since Starbucks revamped its matcha recipe using a sugar-free version for its winter menu, there are even more ways for customers to customize it — many of which aren't even on the menu. With heavenly combinations like strawberry matcha along with drinks like the lavender cream oat milk already available, your combo options are already off to a strong start. But, should you ever feel like branching out and away from the menu, take note of the following five creative matcha drinks to try.

From Dubai chocolate-inspired lattes to a holiday white mocha, or iced peppermint to matcha-infused Refreshers, each of the drink recipes is made using a combination of different syrups and sauces to create something totally unique to anything you'll find listed on the menu — designed to fit into any of your seasonal cravings. Go ahead and add them to your list of secret menu drinks to try so you're ready to order one tomorrow.

Starbucks shared the viral, fan-made Dubai chocolate-inspired latte on its official Instagram page, but it has yet to make it an official menu item. The drink is inspired by the famous Dubai chocolate bar, which is stuffed with crunchy pistachios and crispy khanafeh. This latte takes inspiration by adding Starbucks pistachio syrup to iced matcha and topping it all off with a chocolate-infused cold foam. The layered effect evokes a similar aesthetic to breaking apart the chocolate bar. 

While it's completely acceptable to order this drink the way it went viral, there are many ways to make it even more your own. For instance, instead of substituting the sweetener in the matcha with vanilla syrup like the creator originally did, you might also consider substituting it with Starbucks' brown sugar syrup or possibly even the caramel sauce. This will further help evoke the chocolate bar-like flavors conducive to this secret menu drink's vitality — and who can resist caramel and chocolate together?

It is also totally possible to order the drink dairy-free; just ask for oat, soy, almond, or coconut milk at no extra charge, along with oat milk chocolate cold foam instead of the regular. The pistachio sauce contains dairy, but you'll get a similar taste if you add the non-dairy vanilla or brown sugar syrup.

While the Dubai chocolate bar-inspired matcha latte leans on regular chocolate for its flavor, this one takes matcha and pairs it with Starbucks' white chocolate sauce. In this drink, white chocolate's light and creamy flavor allows the pure, earthy, and delicate notes of the matcha to shine. It also works particularly well served during the winter season as an alternative to your usual hot cocoa. Plus, if you're looking for a matcha-based holiday drink, you can add a pump or two of peppermint syrup to it — which Starbucks always keeps stocked.

Ordered hot with your choice of milk, a white chocolate matcha latte will fulfill all of your cozy cravings during the colder months — and, knowing that the peppermint syrup is available year-round, it can be ordered on any rainy day. However, the only catch with this creative matcha drink option is that it can't be made dairy-free because of Starbucks' white mocha sauce. The most similar alternative you could substitute it with is the regular mocha sauce, notably the only one on the Starbucks menu that doesn't contain dairy. Nonetheless, it will still serve as a delicious matcha drink order during winter. A plain, iced peppermint matcha, on the other hand, will serve you better during the warmer months.

While it might sound like a Saint Patrick's Day special, peppermint syrup in your iced matcha is never a bad idea — or your matcha cocktails, for that matter. But that's especially true during the spring or summer because, served cold on ice and mixed with a pump or two of Starbucks'  peppermint syrup, you get a light, refreshing, and slightly sweet drink that will instantly revive you on the hottest of days. While simultaneously cooling and rejuvenating, an iced, minty matcha latte can also be complimented by the addition of other, warmer flavors as well.

For instance, depending on how many pumps of peppermint your drink comes with (the short size includes two, a tall three, and a grande four), you can ask to substitute half with another warmer flavor. As mentioned before, the white chocolate sauce also pairs well with matcha and will give you a more holiday-like flavor. But you could also ask to substitute one or two of the pumps with toasted, sugar-free, or regular vanilla syrup to balance the cooling sensation of the mint with something warm outside of the holiday season.

Of course, this drink can also be enjoyed hot on any day of the week, but its cooling flavors make it a given order on the warmer ones. Paired with your choice of milk — be it dairy, oat, soy, or coconut — you truly can't go wrong.

Adding to the list of refreshing and rejuvenating matcha drink orders to try during your next Starbucks run is none other than the Refresher, but we suggest you request it with scoops of matcha added in. Starbucks Refreshers come in a few different flavor options, and the summer menu always seems to bring in new seasonal ones. While the spicy Refreshers of the past might not have lent well to the delicate flavors of matcha, most of the others are a safe bet. Classic options like the mango dragonfruit and strawberry açaí have lightly sweet and fruity flavors that perfectly balance matcha's earthy, bitter flavors. 

Depending on your taste, a scoop or two of matcha will only highlight the fruity flavors of these drinks while providing an extra boost of caffeine and calming L-Theanine. But you can also play around with substituting the base with options like lemonade or iced tea. A matcha lemonade is already a Starbucks menu item, and for good reason. Matcha tends to subdue the sweet, tart flavors found in lemonade and provide some balance. However, it'd taste particularly great added to a blackberry sage lemonade Refresher, which Starbucks brought to its spring menu for the first time in 2025. 

Can't decide between a matcha latte or a chai? These two drinks frequently appear on cafe menus as two separate, non-coffee options. But, at Starbucks, you don't have to choose between them because there's a way to make them one. This brings you to your final creative drink option: a matcha chai latte. To order, start with a chai latte base — asking for whatever your preferred milk option might be — and then ask the barista to add matcha to it. This drink can be ordered iced or hot, so go with whatever you might be craving. Either way, the end product will provide you with a drink that looks like your usual matcha but tastes like a chai.

While matcha is earthy and bitter, Starbucks' chai concentrate is sweet and spicy, and together, they will complement one another. With notes of cinnamon and clove, Starbucks chai turns your matcha latte into a hybrid drink, which means you'll never have to choose between the two again. It's the best of both worlds, but it will also pair well with any other Starbucks syrup flavors you might typically add to your chai, including brown sugar syrup, cinnamon dolce, or vanilla, so feel free to make it your own.