Taste-testing the new holiday Starbucks drinks
This holiday season I went and taste-tested four holiday drinks at Starbucks. The drinks that I tried were Cran-Merry Orange Lemonade Refresher, Cran-Merry Drink, Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, and the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chia. Both of the Cranberry drinks are new this season to the regular holiday menu and give the non-coffee drinkers a chance to try a holiday special. The Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte and the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chia both include coffee in them. All of the flavors in all of these drinks are extremely different and hit the top holiday flavors of the season. Depending on what your taste buds enjoy you may want to consider any of these drinks that are reviewed below.
If you are always on the lookout to be in the holiday spirit but do not like the taste of coffee, this is the drink you should try. This drink is like any traditional refresher at Starbucks with the fruitful lemonade taste but mixed with cranberries and orange juice. The cranberries were berries in the drink, which gave a natural flavor. The berries did have an artificial taste if you ate them instead of letting them just float in the drink to infuse flavor. The orange idea to this drink is very minimal and more of an aftertaste than the true bold flavor you will taste. The orange felt almost out of place at times because it was a minimal flavor left in your mouth after the drink was finished. Overall, this was a tasty holiday drink but the flavors did not seem to be the best combination together as it was a random jumble of berries in your mouth.
For all of the pink drink lovers, this is the holiday twist you do not want to miss out on. There was no coffee in this drink, as it was another rendition of Starbucks refreshers. This one has cranberries mixed with coconut milk and a light Pink Drink base to bring it all together. In this drink, the cranberry flavor definitely was the main taste that was in your mouth. It tasted like Pink Drink but with replacing the strawberries with cranberries. If you are not all about the idea of having the orange and cranberry flavor mixed together this is a better option. There is not an artificial aftertaste left behind in your mouth compared to the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher. This one felt like a basic Starbucks drink instead of a poorly mixed refresher with a disorganized mess of random favors that do not match.
If sugar cookies are your favorite holiday treat, do not get your hopes up for this drink as the name was misleading to me. It comes to a surprise that this drink is really not a sweet one. It had a faint cookie flavor but was more of a basic latte with almond milk than really a holiday-flavored latte. The coffee in this drink was not overpowering and to a non-coffee drinker was rather enjoyable. Yet, the most seasonal part about it was that it had red and green sprinkles on top of it. There was not much to this drink as for the overall flavor but if you want a subtle sweetness to your average latte this is the best option for you.
When you want to build a gingerbread house but rather pick up a drink to get your gingerbread flavor this is a perfect option. The whole top of the drink is layered with gingerbread cold foam that floods your mouth with a warm and delightful holiday favor. The coffee in this drink is another faint flavor that just enhances your tastebuds slightly after you break through the layer of cold foam. The oat milk taste in this drink was the foundation of the drink and stronger than the coffee found in this drink. It was also much sweeter than the Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, so if you want more powerful holiday sweetness this is the best option. The name of this drink accurately describes what you are going to taste when you take a sip. If your favorite flavor of the holiday season is gingerbread, then you should try this drink to fill your holiday spirit.
Your donation will support the student journalists of GlenOak High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.