If we measured time in specific food trends, I can confidently recall the past three years through the vanilla, cherry, strawberry, pistachio, and matcha eras. They seemed to be suddenly everywhere all at once—at least in beauty—with such furious uptake that it almost invited suspicion of industry planting (though a rapid TikTok-driven wave of virality is the more likely explanation). All the while banana has been slowly sneaking its sweet, candied aroma into beauty products for the past two years. Ole Henriksen heroed out banana in its Banana Bright collection. Prada Beauty released its banana lip balm, and Glossier did too. Marc Jacobs Daisy Wild Eau So Intense features a prominent banana accord, as does Juliette Has a Gun’s Banana Rush, Abel’s Miami Split, Borntostandout’s Nanatopia, 27 87’s Hakuna Matata, Kayali’s Maui in a Bottle Sweet Banana, Ellis Brooklyn’s Banana Milkshake perfume mist, and Nette’s Mochi Banane. Phew, that’s—well, bananas.
Last year was a big one for the medium-size fruit, at least in beauty. But don’t count it out quite yet. It’s now time for the fruit to return to its humble roots (of being edible), as seen in your latte.
I was first introduced to banana milk through a hair appointment with K Beauty World last month. In the hairstylist’s chair, a publicist asked me, “Have you ever tried a banana latte? It’s viral from Korea!” She procured a Capri-Sun–style pouch of premade iced coffee, a juice-box container of Binggrae banana milk, and a cup of ice. I’m not usually a sweet-drink type of person—but boy, did I suck down my first banana latte in one big sip. And I was immediately feral for more. The milk is sweet (more creamy than sugary) with a bright, almost bubblegum-like banana-juice flavor. In coffee, it’s an addictive candy-cream combo.
Like all trends that seem to aggressively dominate global relevance, of course, the #bananalatte trend can be traced back to South Korea. It’s a convenience-store cocktail that mixes the classic Korean Binggrae banana milk into a cup of ice filled with a premade iced-coffee pouch. (Lots of Asian convenience stores will have a cup of ice you can buy to mix with whatever packaged beverages they have.) Emma Roberts recently made a Reel concocting her own banana-milk latte in Seoul (but I found this video from TikTok user @feliciaaveklew from June 2025). BTS’s Jungkook had been spotted holding Binggrae’s recognizable moon-jar-shaped bottle of banana milk on several occasions, which helped it take off internationally again.
Despite its recent surge in popularity (thanks, social media), Binggrae has been making banana milk since the 1970s, when the Korean government sought to encourage milk consumption for its nutritional benefits. Plain ole milk just wasn’t appetizing, and bananas were considered a luxury at the time, so flavoring milk with banana boosted uptake. Finally, some government propaganda I can get behind.
Newly fiending for banana lattes, I went to my nearest H Mart and found a soy version. (It’s delicious, but the Binggrae is superior, in my opinion.) My Trader Joe’s bottled cold brew wasn’t quite as strong as the Korean iced-coffee pouches, but pouring it over a double shot of espresso with ice does the trick. Finally, a way to break my daily $8 latte habit, now that we have banana lattes at home.
Luckily, for the lactase challenged, most banana milks are found in the alternative milks aisle, which is great because it’s time that section of the grocery store got exciting. Sir Bananas, Banana Wave, Mooala, and Almond Breeze offer their own takes on the Binggrae-created milk, in both dairy and nondairy versions. Even more surprisingly, these versions offer as much potassium as you’d find in their fruity counterpart.
Now, if only our US 7-Elevens could level up their beverage selection to match their global counterparts. I’ll cheers to that with a banana latte.
