This Starbucks News Is Even Better Than Mini Frappuccinos

Essentially an iced white chocolate mocha made with blonde espresso topped with matcha cold foam and brown butter sprinkles, one Starbucks barista revealeda tasty (and festive!) new way to enjoy the chain’s offerings in lieu of St Paddy’s: the Pot Of Gold!

The spirited drink starts with 4 pumps of white mocha sauce, which is then combined with 2 blonde espresso shots. Starbucks’ blonde espresso has a smoother effect than their traditional shots, so expect this sip to bring on the sweetness!

From there, you can order the drink with your choice of milk – and it’s a total bonus that Starbucks is no longer charging extra for alternative milks like oat, almond, coconut, and soy milk!

The next step is to order the drink with the chain’s vanilla cold foam, adding 2 scoops of matcha powder in the process.

Note: this secret menu item was shared before Starbucks reformulated their matcha powderto be unsweetened, but the cold foam should still have some sweetness, thanks to the vanilla.

Finally, the Pot Of Gold matcha drink is complete, boasting a satisfying layer of green on top of a golden latte. The barista who came up with the drink topped their bev with Starbucks’ brown butter sprinkles, which is in cafes for a limited time alongside their pistachio-flavored coffees.

If your local Starbucks is out of the brown butter sprinkles, a dusting of cinnamon or chocolate curls could also be so tasty!

With this secret menu hack, you’ll be sipping your way through a delightful sweetness and plenty of caffeine from both the matcha powder and espresso shots. If you prefer to have less jitters in your drink, you could easily order it ‘half-caff’ or with decaf espresso shots.

For quick reference, here’s how to order the Pot Of Gold drink. Ask for:

• A grande iced latte
• With 2 blonde espresso shots (or your preference for ‘half-caff’ or decaf)
• With your choice of milk
• Topped with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam with 2 scoops of matcha powder
• Add brown butter topping

And voila! This drink is such a fun way to ring in St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re craving an iced blended beverage, I also tracked down some pretty delicious-looking secret menu drinks for a Lucky Leprechaun Frappuccino and a Pot Of Gold Frappuccino.

Check ‘em out – and happy St. Paddy’s!

In a January earnings call, Niccol noted that both of Starbucks’ beverage and food offerings would be impacted.

The first items to be slashed from the menu are all beverages, according to a Starbucks statement.

This bold move is just another bullet point on the list of changes Starbucks has made over the last months in lieu of their Back to Starbucks initiative.

The chain also recently announced a new policy on free refills and brought back the beloved condiment bars so customers can add their own creamer and sugar. Plus, baristas will start writing on cups again, just like the good old days.

Additionally, their latest menu drop that hit stores on January 3 introduced a never-before-seen drink, the cortado, and completely transformed the process for ordering and preparing matcha beverages.

These are the drinks that are being removed from the Starbucks menu:

• Iced Matcha Lemonade
• Espresso Frappuccino
• Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino
• Java Chip Frappuccino
• White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino
• Frappuccino Crème Blended Beverages
• White Hot Chocolate
• Royal English Breakfast Latte
• Honey Almondmilk Flat White

According to Starbucks, these menu cuts will take effect on March 4.

Starbucks customers and employees are equally relieved yet up in arms about the coming menu cuts. Some sounded off in this Reddit thread detailing the changes:

“I for one am so pleased,” one person commented. “The menu right now is just chaos.”

“Good! As a 9 year partner, the less the better!” another person said. “I remember when people would just order their drinks without all these complications. Those were the days.”

“Finally, they're going to try and prioritize in-store customers over the mobile orders that aren't even there,” one more person wrote. “That should've been built-in since day one!”

While plenty of people were elated about the news, many more were concerned about their menu faves being gone forever.

“Just don’t cut my overpriced egg bites,” someone pleaded.

“This is probably the end of my Spinach Feta Wrap and I just can’t handle the thought of losing it,” another said.

“If they discontinue the lemon loaf I will riot,” one more person noted.

We'll keep you posted about any more potential Starbucks menu cuts as soon as we know. Until then, we'll be manifesting that the Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso isn't affected. 👀

John Lithgow was "surprised" by 'Harry Potter' role.

While promoting his new movie The Rule of Jenny Penn, John Lithgow told ScreenRant in a video interview that he's going to be playing the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter TV show.

"It came as a total surprise to me. I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it's going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I'm afraid," the actor said. "But I'm very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That's why it's been such a hard decision. I'll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I've said yes."

Now HBO hasn't officially announced the news yet, and added that while they "appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation," they'll "only confirm details as we finalize deals."

One detail we do know? The show should start filming this summer at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, so we might see some very familiar sets!

Ben Barnes and Andrew Garfield are two very popular fancasts (as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, respectively) — and they’ve both actually talked about the roles! Andrew told BBC that he "will consider any role offered, how's that?" when asked about a potential role in the reboot, while Ben told Us Weekly in February 2025 that “You wouldn’t believe the amount of Harry Potter books I’ve signed or Gryffindor scarves I’ve been given as gifts,” adding “the amount of fan fiction that I’ve been drafted into very enthusiastically is incredible.”

“It’s been going on for 20 years that people have been very kindly saying that they would’ve liked me to have played a young version of the Sirius Black character in Harry Potter, but now it’s been going on so long that I’m now the age of the actual character in the books,” he joked.