For some people, the start of the Christmas season is witnessing the first snowfall, listening to Christmas music on the radio, or shopping the major Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving. For me, and any of my fellow coffee addicts out there, it is the long awaited return of holiday flavored coffee beverages.
I believe there is nothing more perfect than warming up with a piping hot gingerbread spiced latte while dashing in and out of stores Christmas shopping, or enjoying a perfectly spiced eggnog latte while hanging Christmas decorations, and, my personal favorite, sipping on a peppermint mocha while baking Christmas cookies. Obviously all these activities are perfectly enjoyable on their own, but for me, the addition of a perfectly brewed and flavored hot beverage just adds a little something special to whatever I’m doing.
As I mentioned above, the peppermint mocha is my ultimate favorite holiday beverage- could there be a better way to combine all my favorite flavors: coffee, chocolate, and mint? I don’t think so. Anyway, as soon as I saw The Chocolate Bar advertising their holiday beverages, I knew I had to give the peppermint mocha a try. At The Chocolate Bar in Stokes Hall, this delicious concoction is created with espresso, steamed milk, chocolate sauce, and peppermint-flavored syrup, using Peet’s Coffee and Tea products.
Although the mocha portion of this beverage was chocolatey-deliciousness and provided me with the caffeine boost I needed, I found the peppermint flavor to be lacking, which was disappointing, as that is my favorite part! It seemed most of the peppermint syrup had sunk to the bottom, and was not fully incorporated within the entire beverage. Obviously I still enjoyed it, as I had gulped it down within about ten minutes of leaving the Chocolate Bar. I would suggest for those of you like me, maybe ask for an extra pump of peppermint syrup for a stronger taste.
I think this is the perfect beverage to get you into the holiday spirit, even while studying for finals, so give one a try! I know this will be my caffeinated beverage of choice to get my through the last few weeks of the semester. The only thing that could make this beverage better would be some peppermint bark, or maybe some of these…
Photo Sources:
http://www.alaskafromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IMG_2740.jpg
http://www.flyercenter.com/flyer_images/coupon/1322577886565.jpg