Which of the new drinks are worth your time?
It’s that time of year again ladies (and gents). Time to put our worries aside and focus on the themed drinks of the holiday season that make us all oh-so merry. However, before you go and throw your cash at Starbucks employees, let me give you my review of the holiday drinks, and let you know which ones I would and would not recommend. I tried five popular holiday drinks and graded them on a 1-5 scale for my overall rating. I’m sure my preferences are different from yours so feel free to ignore my advice entirely, but if you’re the type to spend three minutes staring at the board as you’re ordering, read on and maybe it’ll save you a little time.
- White Chocolate Mocha (Iced)
-
This drink is an old favorite. It’s a little on the sweet side, which I enjoy, but if you like your coffee to actually taste like coffee this may not be the drink for you. It doesn’t exactly taste like white chocolate as much as it does just an average coffee with creamer, so I had to take off points for the basicness of it all. Would I get this drink again? Yes, in a panic where I forget what I actually want, I would definitely go with this as a reliable option.
Score: 3.5/5
- Peppermint Mocha (Iced)
-
This is another classic holiday beverage, but it depends a lot on personal preference. The coffee taste is a little stronger in this one, but it is balanced out by the very prominent peppermint flavor. This drink is unique to other drinks, which is a reason I like it, but also because I am a big mint person. If you aren’t so much of a mint gal/guy, I would probably stay away from this. So would I get this again? Yes, I would, but I am taking off points because this one is a bit of an acquired taste.
Score: 4/5
- Caramel Brulee Latte (Iced)
-
This one I was excited for. I had never had it before, I think it’s brand new, and I was curious as to what they would do to flavor this. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The drink itself is not bad, it has a stronger coffee taste which I don’t mind, but the caramel brulee flavor was dare I say – not it. It just tasted like a regular coffee, I really was not getting anything interesting here, and the aftertaste was a bit sewage-y. Would I get this again? Probably not, there are other drinks out there that are much more worth my time and money.
Score: 2/5
- Chestnut Praline Latte (Iced)
-
I was nervous for this one. You see, I do not know what a praline is, and I couldn’t remember what a chestnut tasted like. But I prevailed, for the sake of you readers, and thankfully I did. It was delicious! A nice blend of bitter and sweet, and it really did have a nutty flavor that was different from what I’ve had before at Starbucks. I think this is a drink that anyone would enjoy, so would I get it again? Of course, I would, in fact, I’m already planning my trip to Starbucks tomorrow to snag one.
Score: 5/5
- Sugar Cookie Latte with Almond milk (Iced)
-
Now, for the moment I know everybody has been waiting for. The headline maker of this holiday lineup: the sugar cookie latte. The best way I could describe its flavor is this: it tastes almost exactly like if you dipped a sugar cookie in a cup of coffee. They did a good job capturing the cookie flavor, but the problem is that a sugar cookie dipped into a cup of coffee is just straight-up not that good. It’s not bad, but it’s a little off for some reason, and the aftertaste is strange. I am a huge fan of the sprinkles though, and I would like to give Starbucks an A for effort. I do think that it being limited time does help because if this drink was a year rounder it would probably lose its hype fairly quickly. Would I get it again? Hesitantly, I would say that yes, I would.
Score: 3/5
So, this concludes my review of the holiday collection. I know there are some more out there that I missed, but I figured I captured some of the most popular ones with the list that I chose. I would also like to apologize if I slandered your drink of choice, but everybody has their own tastes, right? Whether you do or do not agree, there is one thing we can all agree on, and it is this: I have spent way too much time and effort on Starbucks recently, and I really need to start including some water in my diet.