It’s the season for ugly Christmas sweaters, overplayed holiday music, the first snow, and of course, Starbucks holiday drinks. On November 3rd, Starbucks launched its annual holiday drink, offering customers six new celebratory coffee choices. This includes Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulee Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, Irish Cream Cold Brew, and Iced Sugar Cookie Iced Almond Milk Latte. Sounds promising, but I doubt Starbucks holiday drinks are really worth buying.
Peppermint Mocha: 10/10
First, the iconic peppermint mocha, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is one of the most beloved holiday drinks on the menu. This drink has been my favorite drink from the entire list, so it really lives up to that hype. It’s a delicious drink as well.
Caramel Brulee: 7/10
Next is caramel brulee latte. This drink promises a lot by touting the ecstasy of a rich caramel brulee sauce topped with whipped cream, but in reality it falls relatively short of those descriptions. It’s nothing special, and you probably won’t get it again.
Chestnut praline latte: 7/10
Similar to the caramel brulee, this drink looked promising at first sip, but gradually lost its flavor as I continued to drink it. Instead of feeling it all the time, you only feel it the first few times. It’s good, but in the end it feels like a regular hot latte.
Toasted White Chocolate Mocha: 5/10
This was a real disappointment from the first bite. It’s very basic and reminds me a lot of chestnut praline drinks. If I hadn’t picked up the title, I would have thought it was just a regular hot latte.It’s not bad and I’m not saying it was No It’s worth drinking, but I won’t buy it again.
Ice sugar cookie almond milk latte: 7/10
i really wanted to enjoy this. It just sounded great and was made with almond milk. The sugar cookie syrup tasted distinct the first time I drank it, but I remember feeling the sweetness dwindle as I drank it. . It got better halfway through, but the taste is weak and the aftertaste is quite strong, so I don’t think I’ll buy it again.
Irish Cream Cold Brew: 8/10
I didn’t expect this drink to be my favorite, so I was most surprised. I have never had cold brew coffee. it wasn’t mine. But this Irish Cream Cold Brew Delight is my second favorite drink on this list. Everything about the cold brew with Irish cream syrup was addictive, and the vanilla sweet cream foam and cocoa powder line toppings were just incredible. Overall, I would 100% buy this drink again.
Starbucks has been making holiday drinks for 25 years, and even with its absolutely lovely holiday cup design (10/10 overall), the drink as a whole doesn’t live up to its hype and high price. Given that I only really enjoyed two of the six listings, and each one felt like it promised something big, I wouldn’t recommend most of Starbucks’ holiday drinks this season. is quite unfortunate.