Get excited for Wyatt and Frida’s inside scoop on the latest new Starbucks drinks! Combined, we tried five of the latest drinks and one food item.
Frida was able to try the Caramel Brulee Latte, the Peppermint Mocha, and the Snowman Cake Pop, while Wyatt was able to try the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher, Glinda’s Pink Potion, and Elphaba’s Cold Brew.
On November 7th when the holiday menu was released, we blasted every Christmas song known to mankind and headed on over to get some sort of Hallmark-Christmas-in-a-cup tasting beverage.
The Caramel Brulee is an infectious, caramelly-sweet espresso with steamed milk, caramel brulee sauce, and a caramelized sugar topping, which can be served as an iced, hot, or blended drink. We got this as an iced latte and at the first sip, we were met with the creamy, toffee-caramel taste, which was delectable. It is not bitter, and for stronger coffee loving people, this drink might fall short in providing that caffeine kick, however it wasn't overly sweet.
We recommend this to people who can't stomach strong espresso, but don't want to be overloaded with a sickeningly sweet drink. The Caramel Brulee Latte is a perfect fall transition to Christmas because of its not-so-in-your-face holiday taste, unlike peppermint flavored treats, say goodbye to Halloween and giving a warm welcome to Winter. We rated the Caramel Brulee Latte an 8.5/10.
The Peppermint Mocha is an ancient Starbucks holiday relic, it is a timeless favorite drink during the Holidays—where would we as a society stand without a Peppermint Mocha to look forward to every New Year? Peppermint Mochas consist of Starbucks’ Signature Espresso, steamed milk, mocha sauce, peppermint-flavored syrup, and whipped cream that is topped with dark chocolate curls. Personally, this drink warms our hearts, even with the cold weather outside. The coffee taste is a bit stronger than the other holiday drinks, but this is because it is mixed with the mocha sauce, which adds a darker, richer flavor to the espresso. This darker espresso is brightened with a fun peppermint taste. This cult classic drink has Frida and Wyatt ready to go to the North Pole! We rate the Peppermint Mocha a 10/10 with love and Christmas cheer.
With that said, we are transported to white, winter snow in the North Pole with Starbucks’ new Snowman Cake Pop. The Snowman Cake Pop is a vanilla cake mix with buttercream frosting, dipped in white chocolate. The taste of the buttercream frosting meshed well with the vanilla cake mix. The thing that ties the taste all together is the use of white chocolate instead of regular milk chocolate. It was delightful. Overall, this treat left us with a holly-jolly feeling. We rated the Snowman Cake Pop a 10/10.
The Cran-Merry Orange Refresher is a drink you can get three different ways; with lemonade, coconut milk, or just the refresher form. We were able to try the version with lemonade, it had a cranberry orange base with natural flavors, citric acid, cranberry juice, blood orange juice, lemonade, ice, and freeze dried cranberries. We personally felt that the cranberries gave this drink a fun festive twist—being able to taste the sweet cranberry flavors with the lemonade was amazing. Our only complaint was that they publicized that there would be some kind of citrus orange flavor, but we were not able to taste any of the orange at all, so for that we gave the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher an 8/10.
With the new Wicked movie coming into theaters on November 22, Starbucks knew they had to deliver with these drinks and dropped Glinda's Pink Potion and Elphaba’s Cold Brew in late October.
Glinda’s Pink Potion consists of a Mango Dragon Fruit Refresher with coconut milk, non-dairy strawberry cold foam, with the add-ins of ice, freeze-dried dragonfruit, and the Oz dusting of magic, also known as sprinkles. We personally felt that this drink fell short—the coconut milk mixed in with this refresher ruined the drink and gave it an unsettling type of taste. The only pro we would say about this drink would be the strawberry cold foam that added a nice sweet taste to the drink, but you couldn’t even reach that flavor until the end. And because of that, we would give it 5/10. We both think this beverage won't be popular 'cause it’s got an awfully long way to go!
Elphaba’s Cold Brew consists of standard Starbucks Cold Brew, with peppermint flavored syrup, topped with a silky smooth non-dairy matcha cold foam, and the Oz-dusting of magic (more sprinkles). This drink was the better one of the two, even though it may look gross in the pictures. Surprisingly, the matcha and peppermint worked so well together and you could barely taste the coffee! We are both not big matcha stans, but we felt that this was just enough matcha, and that it wasn't too strong. Overall, we would rate this 9/10.
Wyatt and Frida both feel like it's time to trust our instincts. It's time to try defying gravity with this drink.
