Starbucks Just Quietly Brought This International Menu Item to the U.S.

‘Tis the season for “Dessert Lattes.” That’s what I like to call fancy coffee drinks that have gone so far down the sweet treat rabbit hole that they barely register as coffee. It’s a Dessert Latte!

And Christmastime at Starbucks means the A-team of Dessert Lattes, from Peppermint Mocha to Gingerbread to the return of the GLOAT (Greatest Latte of All Time): the Eggnog Latte. Is there any actual coffee in these drinks? Barely. Do I care? No! They taste delicious, and the cups are pretty darn cute, too.

But while I admire the flurry of other festive flavors—such as Sugar Cookie or Pecan Crunch—on the Starbucks menu, I can’t stop thinking about my favorite Dessert Latte of them all. It’s a latte so sweet that I swear my teeth were vibrating—and I wish I could taste it for the first time all over again. But to do that, I’d have to fly back to the United Kingdom.

Or so I thought.

Starbucks quietly (and finally) brought this decadent latte inspired by an iconic Italian dessert to the U.S.—and it’s been hiding in plain sight on menus for months.

Starbucks Reserve Adds New Tiramisu Latte

A coffee dessert-inspired coffee drink seems pretty obvious. And yet Starbucks took a while to offer such a tiramisu latte, with many, many side quest flavors over the years instead. (I’m looking at you, Apple Crisp.) However, tiramisu-flavored drinks have been available in other countries—most notably the U.K. this year, which saw a total tiramisu lineup launched.

I tried the Tiramisu Cream Iced Latte over the summer at London’s Paddington Station while waiting for my train to Oxford on holiday—and the only thing that could make this sentence even more romantic is that first taste of mascarpone cream.

The Tiramisu Cream Iced Latte is the absolute most indulgent latte I’ve ever tried at any Starbucks around the world—and I’m a travel journalist with a sweet tooth, so I answer that Seattle siren’s call at the airport more often than I’d like to admit. It truly tastes like someone put a heaping scoop of perfectly set tiramisu straight through a Portafilter. Even the thick cream top is lovingly dusted in a thorough coating of cocoa powder to mimic a tiramisu.

Sure, America got protein cold foam and raspberry syrup back on the menu this year, but now that I know mascarpone cream is an option in the Starbucks recipe vault, I feel cheated. However, in what seems like a Christmas coffee miracle, there is now a tiramisu offering on U.S. menus. Well, some menus. There’s a big catch.

Starbucks quietly rolled out a Tiramisu Latte this fall during all of the pumpkin spice fanfare. The hot espresso beverage features dark chocolate, tiramisu-flavored cold foam, and dark chocolate mocha powder. Even better? The Tiramisu Latte is already labeled a permanent menu item.

But only select Starbucks locations in the U.S. will get this rich, decadent treat—two, to be exact. The news, just like the latte’s cocoa-dusted top, is bittersweet, as the Tiramisu Latte is only available at Starbucks Reserve locations, the chain’s “theatrical, experiential shrines to coffee passion.” There are only five of these exclusive shops worldwide, and just two locations in the United States: New York City and Chicago.

There was a third U.S. location, in Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle, but, like many other Starbucks stores this year, it was shuttered in September. As a Seattleite, I’m crushed to know that I was *this* close to tasting that beloved flavor once again. But at least I know I’ll only have to fly domestic now to order it again. And unlike the U.K.’s summer tiramisu menu, this Dessert Latte is here to stay.