This Divisive Flavor Is Taking Over Coffee Shops — And It's Coming To Your Kitchen

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Today's coffee shops — and supermarket coffee aisles — offer a world of flavor. If there's a taste you love, chances are you can enjoy it with your caffeine fix. The latest option seems to have exploded onto the flavored coffee scene, quickly becoming so ubiquitous it could rival the pumpkin spice latte. That flavor is banana. 

Dunkin's spring 2026 menu went bananas with the banana cold foam-topped Monkey Business Cloud Latte, Banana Daydream Refreshers, Bananarama Matcha with banana syrup, and much more. Starbucks is following suit for fall with an Iced Banana Bread Latte and Chai, while 7 Brew and Peet's have also embraced the flavor. Tasting Table found 7 Brew's Banana Bread Blondie to be the chain's best coffee flavor, and Peet's has worked banana into both cold brew and matcha protein lattes. The trend isn't limited to coffee shops, either: Banana-flavored K-cups and creamers are bringing the combination to home coffee makers, too.

Banana coffee can be traced back to banana milk, which was introduced in South Korea in the 1970s. The drink has remained popular there and eventually made its way to the United States. As brands have continued looking for the next big flavor, banana stepped into the spotlight. It certainly helped that BTS member Jungkook famously adores drinking banana milk, while K-pop mania fueled interest in banana-flavored drinks that only grew on TikTok. As people began posting about banana milk in coffee, then riffing on that with smashed bananas and homemade banana syrups and creamers in their cuppa, brands took notice.

You can absolutely elevate your at-home iced coffee with banana sweet cream, or DIY a banana cold foam. But thanks to the trend's commercialization, it's become just as easy to grab a ready-made banana beverage or product.

Beyond coffee shop menus, banana has started popping up in everything from creamers to the coffee itself. Califa Farms has a Banana Crème almond creamer, and Banana Crème Latte almond milk, while Natural Bliss offers a Caramelized Banana Bread creamer. Coffee Mate also debuted its Banana Bread creamer in July. For those who want the banana flavor baked right into their coffee, there are options like Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC's Banana Cream Keurig cups, Java Factory's I Peel Good Bananas + Cream K-cups, and Paramount Roasters' Banana Pudding-flavored ground Arabica beans, among others.

It's safe to declare banana coffee officially everywhere. But how do coffee drinkers really feel about the flavor's sudden popularity?

"Am I the only one who doesn't want banana flavored coffee?!" asked a commenter on TikTok. It seems like they aren't, as another user remarked, "Banana coffee... yuck. No thanks." But banana definitely has its devoted fans. On a TikTok post from Starbucks about banana protein cold foam, a commenter said, "FINALLY OMG YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG [I'VE] BEEN WAITING FOR THIS." Meanwhile, another commenter on a separate TikTok called 7 Brew's banana flavor "life-changing." Another user said, "Finally someone who understands the superiority of [banana-flavored] things."