Starbucks has been slowly introducing a new line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks that it calls its Oleato brand.
And now those who have sampled the oily brews are taking to social media to share their thoughts.
Brace yourself.
“Half the team tried it yesterday and a few ended up … needing to use the restroom, if ya know what I mean,” one Reddit user reported, according to a roundup of responses from CNBC.
“I’m honestly scared to try it because I already have stomach/bowel problems,” she said.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
The Reddit user went on to say that the manager of her local Starbucks “doesn’t want us sharing this info with customers,” which she said is “pretty F’d up.”
Another Redditor noted that “caffeine is a stimulant for your bowels and oil a relaxant.”
“So yeah wonderful idea by Starbucks.”
Yet another chimed in: “Person with stomach/bowel problems thanking you for the heads up.”
And still another Oleato sampler commented that “after drinking them honestly they just felt sick to my stomach.”
CNBC asked Starbucks to comment. The chain had nothing to say.
When I first wrote about this in February, I noted that Starbucks tried to add luster to the notion of blending olive oil with caffeine by testing out the Oleato drinks in Italy (where, presumably, they adore coffee and olive oil, although perhaps not combined).
“During my first trip to Milan in 1983, I was captivated by the sense of community, connection and passion for coffee I found in the city’s espresso bars,” interim CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement.
“It was that trip that inspired me to bring the ritual of handcrafted espresso to Starbucks and to America. Oleato represents the next revolution in coffee that brings together an alchemy of nature’s finest ingredients.”
Judging from initial reactions on this side of the pond, maybe that alchemy isn’t quite working out as intended.
“The cold brew is fine until you taste the foam because it’s two pumps of olive oil,” one Redditor observed.
Said another: “Worst of all was the latte for me. You’re immediately hit with just olive oil and I wanted to throw up after.”
So is the product a disaster? Maybe not entirely.
“The Oleato at Starbucks is a legit laxative,” one person said on Twitter.
So, um, there’s that.
Bottoms up.