The Absolute Best Starbucks Drink To Wash Down Your Ham And Cheese Baguette

If you ever get overwhelmed looking at the Starbucks menu, you're not alone. Not only does the chain offer tons of drinks, but there's a substantial food menu as well, serving everything from desserts to breakfast pastries to sandwiches, including the ham and Swiss. The sandwich pairs ham and Swiss cheese with French Dijon mustard on a baguette, and while it's a pretty unassuming sandwich, it's a lunchtime staple for a reason. If you plan to have a Starbucks ham and Swiss sandwich on your lunch break, consider pairing it with Starbucks' flat white.

A flat white is a simple beverage crafted with only steamed milk and espresso (in Starbuck's case, ristretto shots specifically). Tasting Table wrote about the six best Starbucks drink and food pairings, and we recommended sipping a flat white while having the chain's ham and Swiss sandwich. The smoky ham and slight zing from the Dijon pair perfectly with the warm, milky, and understated flat white. The taste of an overly sugary drink could make it hard to appreciate the rich ham and cheese, so a simpler drink like the flat white is perfect. In addition, the hit of caffeine from the espresso is great for a midday pick-me-up.

While the flat white is an especially great ham and cheese pairing, there may be times where you want a bit less caffeine, especially if you've already had a coffee for breakfast. After all, you can see some pretty negative side effects after having too much caffeine, and the flat white has 130 milligrams. In this case, there are a few options that contain less caffeine but still let the sandwich's flavor shine.

Starbucks' chai latte, which has only about 95 milligrams of caffeine, is a richer drink with notes of cinnamon and other spices. This would make it a good pairing with the smoky ham and tangy Dijon, as the spices of both items can come together as you eat. For even less caffeine, you can choose one of Starbucks' hot or iced teas, which have 40 or less milligrams on average. The Royal English tea would be a particularly good pairing, with its complex blend of black teas devoid of other flavor add-ins.

For a beverage with no caffeine that still adds some extra spice to your sandwich, consider the Caramel Apple Spice, which Tasting Table ranked our favorite non-caffeinated Starbucks beverage. It features steamed apple juice and cinnamon syrup, and if the syrup makes the drink a little too sweet for your taste, you can always ask for a pump or two less. The bold cinnamon and apple juice will play well with the ham's smokiness.