To me, it’s officially Christmas time when Starbucks releases its holiday drinks. This year, that day was November 2nd so naturally, I had to go visit a Starbucks and try one of them. Let me tell you, I’ve never had to wait so long in a Starbucks line as I did that day… I definitely should have done a mobile order. Since my first visit on November 2nd, I’ve already tried all the most popular holiday drinks, (rest in peace my bank account) and I wanted to share my thoughts on them. Spoiler alert: they were all amazing.
Peppermint Mocha
I put this one first because I have to admit that it is my favourite. It has everything that you need in the perfect Christmas drink. Coffee, hot chocolate and peppermint. This combination of ingredients creates the perfect drink. Also, for no explainable reason, I feel so productive each time I have this drink. I like that the caffeine gives me energy, but since it’s a mocha it’s not too overpowering. Maybe drinking it just makes me feel happy because it reminds me of Christmas and that itself gives me energy.
Caramel Brûlé Latte
This drink is also a classic. It’s just a regular latte but it comes with Starbucks’ famous Caramel Brûlé sauce. The word “brûlé” is a French word that literally means “burnt.” Based on this definition, the drink is supposed to have a burnt caramel kind of taste. I would say that this is accurate as it doesn’t have an overly sweet caramel flavour, but instead has a deep and rich caramel flavour that hits the spot. This is definitely a drink that encompasses the holiday spirit and makes you feel like Christmas is tomorrow.
Chestnut Praline Latte
I believe that this drink is a new addition this year! This one reminded me of some of the cookies that we make at my house for Christmas, so I obviously fell in love with it. It definitely tastes like chestnuts and pralines so if you’re not a huge fan of those nuts, I wouldn’t buy it. The nut flavour almost made it feel healthier though (which I know is totally false). It’s different than most other drinks at Starbucks because of the flavouring, so that was a nice change!
Sugar Cookie Oat Latte
This is Starbucks’ most popular drink right now. It was sold out at the locations near me in the first week. This drink was pretty good. It wasn’t too sweet and really did taste like a sugar cookie, which happens to be the perfect Christmas vibe. The oat milk didn’t have the strongest taste, which is good if you’re a dairy drinker and don’t tend to gravitate towards non-milk options. Finally, I would say that the iced version is better, but with vanilla sweet cream cold foam.
Starbucks has done a great job this year with its holiday drinks. They’ve kept some fan favourites and introduced some new drinks that have become very popular. I can say with full confidence that if I ever needed a little pick me up, any of these holiday drinks would make me feel better. So if you haven’t already tried them, I would definitely go to Starbucks as soon as you can to get into the Christmas spirit.