Review: The Nespresso X Milk Bar Cereal Milk Latte Bombs Are Worth Trying, But Maybe Not Rebuying

Ah, Nespresso. The now-ubiquitous convenience coffee company is constantly crafting and innovating, something its loyal customers will be all too familiar with. While Nespresso is always coming up with its own creations, something we've seen it do more recently is collaborate with celebrities and other coffee or milk companies (for example, the pod collab with The Weeknd or the NOLA-inspired chicory blend it crafted alongside Blue Bottle). The seemingly never-ending push to curate collections that will make consumers' heads spin may have reached its peak with the latest collaboration: a partnership with Milk Bar that resulted in Cereal Milk Iced Latte "bombs."

I'm always excited to try new coffee creations (and I'm a fan of Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi), so of course I jumped at the chance to try the product. Plus, the concept is just fun — brewing vanilla coffee over a flavor "bomb" that promises to put a nostalgic twist on my favorite beverage? Yes, please. I will admit to being a bit wary of the latte bombs, and my hesitations were not unfounded. On the whole, though, I think they're a pretty unique creation, and I hope to see similar innovative releases from the company in the future. So without further ado, here's what I thought of the toy-like invention, based both on my decade-long experience being a barista and my intimate familiarity with Nespresso's other offerings (some of which you can buy at Costco).

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The iced latte "bombs" are essentially flavor-packed discs that infuse the nostalgic taste of cereal milk into your cup of Nespresso. You're supposed to place the bomb in the bottom of a cup and brew a Sweet Vanilla pod over it, stir to dissolve, and then finish off the drink with milk and ice. The discs come in a cute black box and are supposed to stay refrigerated until you're ready to brew them.

The iced latte bombs were the result of a direct collaboration between Christiana Tosi and the Nespresso brand, and the obvious inspiration was Milk Bar's signature cereal milk flavor, which has already found its way into many other tasty treats. The collaboration makes sense, especially considering the modern penchant for anything nostalgic — given that many of us put milk in our coffee anyways, why not cereal-ify it? Though I ultimately can't call it a perfect attempt (but we'll get to that later), this was a promising step in a new direction that I'd hope to see new iterations of soon.

Unfortunately, the Milk Bar collaborative product can't be found everywhere, and it doesn't seem to be available online. To get your hands on some, you'll have to live near one of the Nespresso Café locations in Beverly Hills, Walnut Creek, Boston, New York, San Francisco, or Seattle; or near certain Milk Bar bakeries in New York City, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. A Cereal Milk Iced Latte purchased at a Nespresso Café location will set you back $6, or you can buy a five-pack to brew at home for $20. They'll be available as long as supplies last, with a projected run until August 2025.

Nutritionally, the iced latte bombs aren't far off from what I'd expect to find in any flavored coffee drink. Each disc contains 100 calories, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 16 grams of carbs, and 13 grams of added sugar. In terms of allergens, the iced latte bombs obviously contain milk, and they have soy, as well. They're produced in facilities that process wheat and peanuts, though they don't directly contain either as an ingredient.

So, one of my main concerns when brewing the drink was whether the disc would actually fully dissolve in the coffee. It's relatively big for the amount of coffee you brew over it, and it's not fine and powder-y — there are clearly thick granules present throughout. I stirred the two together for the recommended 30 seconds and could still feel small crumbs in the bottom of my cup, so I whipped out my handheld milk frother to try to dissolve the remaining bits, and they still didn't fully dissolve. However, to my own surprise, that wasn't a huge deterrent for me.

After doing the requisite mixing (and then some), I topped off my glass with ice and milk before sitting down at my desk to enjoy (just be sure not to make this ice mistake). Upon tasting it, I was pleasantly surprised — there were no unpleasant granules in the sip, and I did get that cereal milk flavor coming through nicely. The drink wasn't too sweet in the slightest (another one of my fears) and though I think it could have been executed better, I still enjoyed it and will definitely finish the box of discs I was sent. In terms of the undissolved granules, they just collected in the bottom of my cup, and didn't make themselves apparent until I was nearly done. Next time I'll probably just use coffee ice cubes to keep the drink from getting watered down, which did happen a little here.

All in all, I enjoyed this unique offering to the coffee scene. It feels like a promising herald of things to come, and I hope that inevitable critiques of the disc not fully dissolving don't dissuade the company from trying something similar in the future. If you do live near a location offering the cereal milk bombs, at least pop into the café for a $6 taste — if you like it, grab some to take home before they're gone. Given their distinct appeal, I bet it won't take long for stores to run through this inventory, so don't sit on them for too long if you're intrigued by the idea.

I also wonder if they'd be enhanced by using something other than the Sweet Vanilla pods, and I'm excited to try it with another pod the next time I brew one (like, for example, the pumpkin spice latte pods I still have from last fall). I'd also be curious to see how they'd taste warm. The flavor palate was neutral enough to accommodate many different pods, so don't feel restricted to the Sweet Vanilla flavor if you choose to try these — you could even try French vanilla, which, yes, is different from classic vanilla.