Starbucks has always been a coffee company. That has been the identity, the whole story, since the beginning. But now they are quietly testing a new line of sparkling beverages in about 100 locations across Austin, San Antonio, and St. Louis, and it makes me think about something my grandmother used to say when I would put too much of something in a dish. She would say Marco, you are pushing the boundaries of what this dish wants to be. Starbucks is doing the same thing.

According to Nation's Restaurant News, the tests are running in three markets that tell you something about who Starbucks is watching. Austin is the obvious one, a city known for drinking sparkling water and kombucha. San Antonio brings a different palate, a market with deep Tejano food traditions. And St. Louis brings a working-class background to the test, a different kind of consumer altogether from the other two cities.

This is a smart way to test. You do not learn anything by launching in New York and Los Angeles, where every novelty gets a two-week honeymoon before people move on to the next thing. You learn by putting the product in front of regular people who will tell you the truth.

What interests me is the timing. The carbonated beverage category has become one of the most competitive spaces in food, and Starbucks clearly wants a piece of it. The question is whether people who go to Starbucks for a Flat White will also order a sparkling drink, or whether they will look at the menu board and feel confused about where they are.

I have tasted enough restaurant trends to know that big chains usually enter a category about two years after the interesting work has already happened. By the time a company the size of Starbucks decides something is worth testing, the independent cafes and small bottlers have been living in that space for a while. The small places take risks. The big places take notes. That is just the rhythm of how food business works.

The flavors and the format of these sparkling drinks are still limited to the test markets, so I have not tasted them yet. If anyone in Austin, San Antonio, or St. Louis tries one, I want to hear about it. Tell me if it is real, if it has soul, or if it tastes like a boardroom decided America needed another sparkling thing. I will keep an open mind and an empty glass.