McDonald's Australia quietly launches new menu item
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McDonald's Australia has quietly added a much-anticipated item to its McCafe menu – and it's already generating huge excitement among their customers. Some diners have already spotted the new Matcha Latte range - including the hugely popular strawberry matcha flavor - at selected stores. The fast food restaurant chain is now selling a classic Matcha Latte ($4.60), an Iced Matcha Latte ($5.20) and a trendy Iced Strawberry Matcha Latte ($6.05).
When FEMAIL contacted McDonald's Australia to enquire about the new match range, a spokesperson remained tight-lipped but offered a vague confirmation. 'Seeing green? Macca's is currently trialing a special treat in select restaurants across NSW and Victoria,' the McDonald's Australia spokesperson told FEMAIL. 'While we can't confirm anything further yet… We can say: stay tuned.'
Sydney food blogger Nina was one of the first to break the news on social media about the little-known Matcha range spotted at Wynyard Station. 'Guess what?! McDonald's Australia has released matcha lattes. Finally matcha available at Macca's,' Nina said in her video. Nina said she purchased a medium iced matcha with oat milk for $6.40. 'Although they use syrup, the matcha flavor was strong with no bitterness - but it was very, very sweet,' she said in her verdict.
'Not very traditional, but the sugar sure was a great pick me up in the morning. To be honest I think I'll be buying this again.' The Sydney-based foodie posted a six-second video that has already been viewed more than 750,000 times, which showed her spotting the item on an in-store menu. The video shows the McDonald's store at Wynyard Station - along with a sign confirming the matcha range won't be around for long. ''Hurry limited time,' the sign read.
Nina couldn't contain her excitement, saying: 'OMG! Macca's sells Matcha!' She herself is then seen in the video holding and tasting an Iced Matcha Latte. The food content creator shared her brutally honest verdict of the drink, saying: 'On the sweeter side, but really good'.
The video has already notched up over 40,000 likes, and received hundreds of comments from excited customers. 'FINALLY MY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE,' read one excited response. But the top-liked comment expressed disbelief about whether 'this is actually true'. This warranted skepticism stems from an incident last year when a 'fake' Macca's matcha drink caused a frenzy and disappointment among customers.
Last year, two Melbourne friends filmed themselves apparently ordering a 'Strawberry Matcha' from a McDonald's Drive-Thru window as part of a social media prank. The staged video quickly sparked confusion among McDonald's customers, who soon reported being unable to find the drink anywhere in stores. The misinformation about the Macca's Strawberry Matcha got so out of hand that McDonald's eventually released a statement confirming the product did not exist.
In addition to the Wynyard Station, some other NSW locations where the range has quietly launched included Thornleigh, Bondi Junction, Wyong and Haberfield. In Melbourne, one fan noted that they'd seen it in the Doncaster store. Macca's fans from other major Australian cities like Perth, Brisbane and Darwin revealed they were yet to find the elusive Matcha drinks in their local store. One person who had already got their hands on the drink offered their review. 'I had the strawberry matcha and it's on the sweeter side,' read the reply. 'So like a 6/10 from me'.
Matcha lattes – and in particular strawberry matcha lattes – have soared in popularity in the last few years. The trendy iced strawberry matcha lattes are understood to have originated from Asian tea specialty stores, and became prolific on social media. The striking visual appeal of iced strawberry matcha lattes is one of the reasons why the drink went viral. Matcha is known for its health benefits, with the green tea powder renowned for being rich in antioxidants. It also contains fibre, vitamin C, chromium, magnesium, selenium and zinc.
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