design: Zan Saavedra
Most people have probably heard of Starbucks before, guessing from the fact that it’s literally one of the most recognized coffee businesses in the world. In the holiday spirit this month, Starbucks has a wide variety of festive drinks ranging from flavored, hot, iced, frozen, caffeinated and even decaffeinated.
This has already gained a lot of popularity online, but most people don’t have the time, money or an open mind to try these new drinks. That’s why today I’ll be tasting some of the more popular festive drinks at Starbucks and rating them from most favorite to least favorite.
Starting this off, I should also make it known that I personally do not like coffee nor do I like hot drinks, so these ratings are more than likely going to be based on a scale of how good they taste under said conditions, so that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t try some of my least favorites.
The first drink I will try is probably the most well-known and well-liked drink, according to the populace: the peppermint mocha. The peppermint mocha, in a grande size, is usually made with four pumps of mocha syrup, four pumps of peppermint syrup, two shots of espresso, two percent milk heated to 160 degrees, whip cream and dark chocolate curls.
The peppermint mocha is a good drink at its base. I personally think that the peppermint and mocha cancel out the taste of the coffee with a hint of the coffee taste. I will say that it gives off the sense of comfort and coziness when I’ve had it, and I would very much recommend it, especially to those who don’t entirely enjoy the harsher taste of coffee. I rate this drink a ⅘ stars.
The second drink I’ll be looking at is a more unappealing drink to the common folk: the eggnog latte. The eggnog latte is quite a basic drink, in a grande size. It’s usually made with just two shots of espresso, half eggnog and half milk heated to 160 degrees, whip cream and nutmeg sprinkled over top.
The taste of the latte is quite bitter and honestly very similar to the Starbucks original latte with a slight difference. Personally, I find it to be a much more mature drink, and I wouldn’t recommend it to those who like drinks with a sweeter taste to it. However, I would recommend the Frappuccino counterpart, made without coffee, which is by far the most delicious holiday drink in my book. I rate this drink a ⅕ stars.
The third and final drink I’ll be reviewing is a more underappreciated drink, the Irish cream cold brew. The Irish cream cold brew is quite similar to the other cold foam cold brews when being made. In a grande size, it’s usually made with two pumps of the Irish cream flavoring, cold brew up to the third cup line, Grande scoop of ice, vanilla sweet cream foam poured over and a thin line of cocoa powder on top.
This drink has quite a sweet taste to it but not an excessive amount. The foam and cocoa powder mixes almost perfectly with the Irish cream flavoring and gives off this sense of holiday joy when I take the first few sips. For those that are of age or have a more comfortable family, it has a similar taste to Bailey’s Irish Cream. I personally would recommend this drink to anyone that likes a bit of joy and holiday spirit in their lives. I rate this drink a 4.5/5 stars.
