I think I’ve found my new go-to order.
If you (like me), have ever wondered what 👑Zendaya 👑 orders at Starbucks, today is your lucky day.
Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for HBO
Earlier this week, barista Gwynneth Galarion (@notlikeothrgirls) tweeted that Zendaya walked into her Starbucks and placed an order with her.
i just took zendaya’s starbucks order and idk how i’m gonna function for the rest of the year
Twitter: @notlikeothrgrIs
Naturally, this set Twitter on fire.
She followed up with exactly what she says Zendaya ordered: a Venti iced matcha green tea latte with coconut milk.
Twitter: @notlikeothrgrIs
Now, while I can’t 100% verify the visit or the order, I did notice that the drink seemed to visually match a behind-the-scenes Euphoria photo that Zendaya posted on her Instagram stories.
Here’s a closer look:
@Zendaya / Via Instagram: @Zendaya
It’s Venti…it’s matcha green — I feel like I can visually detect coconut milk??
And honestly, that was enough for me. I wanted to try it.
So I headed to my local Starbucks so I could feel like I was Emmy Award-winning actor Zendaya. I placed my order — a Venti iced matcha green tea latte with coconut milk — before casually telling the friendly barista helping me that my name was “Z.”
Pernell Quilon
I felt like a not-yet-caffeinated badass…until I saw that they put my name as “C.” Oh. Another reminder that I can’t always get what I want.
So, I stepped outside and took my first sip. My eyes widened. The dusty matcha and coconut milk danced on my tongue. Immediately, I felt refreshed, invigorated, and…powerful.
Pernell Quilon
Suddenly every drink I previously ordered at Starbucks tasted like North Texas tap water in comparison to what I was holding in my hand. I have not yet met Zendaya, but in that moment, I got to taste what she probably feels almost every morning: ambition and confidence.Â
And yes, I did take a Sharpie to manually scribe a ‘Z’ on my drink. Because that’s what Emmy winners do, baby.
I already knew Zendaya has great taste, and now I know that skillset extends to what to order at Starbucks. The matcha green tea was an ideal amount of caffeine — enough to get me energized without making me feel wired or activating my anxiousness. And the coconut milk substitution added the perfect amount of weight and sweetness to the overall drink. It felt like something I could sip anytime of the day (or between takes on the Euphoria set).
Before even getting halfway through “The Zendaya” — as it’s been dubbed — and after spilling some of her on my shirt, I knew I’d found my new go-to Starbucks order. It’s light, sweet, and energizing. And the Venti is the perfect size. I was able to drink enough to satiate my thirst and still have some leftover for the rest of the morning. Also, it’s iced, so it’s LGBTQ+ approved.
Pernell Quilon
Is there anything more powerful than an employed gay man holding an iced green drink outside of a Starbucks at 7 a.m.? Lots of things, and I don’t want to hear about them.
After finishing the drink, I got in touch with Gwynneth, the barista who tweeted the details.
“I felt like I was in a dream the entire time I was taking her order,” Gwynneth told BuzzFeed. “It was hard to focus. I was staring at her, but I couldn’t hear anything. My ears were ringing. I didn’t even hear her order the first time, so I had to ask her to repeat it.”
@notlikeothergurlz / Via tiktok.com
She shared all the details of this out-of-body experience on her TikTok, which you can check out here.
As for the drink itself? Gwynneth put her barista hat on to offer her professional thoughts on Zendaya’s drink order: “I have to say, it is pretty good.” There you have it y’all — ‘The Zendaya’ is barista-approved!
Vcg / VCG via Getty Images
“I can’t say anything too sophisticated on the order since this is only my second week working at Starbucks,” Gwynneth laughed. “I usually get my matcha green tea with oat milk, but coconut milk is great too.”
And apparently, I’m not the only one that rushed to their local Starbucks to try out ‘The Zendaya.’ Gwynneth shared: “Another barista, at a completely different location in another state, quote tweeted me and said, ‘Girl, the amount of times I got an order for a Venti iced green tea matcha Latte with coconut milk today…'”
Have you tried ‘The Zendaya’ yet? What are your thoughts on the drink? Let me know in the comments.