Starbucks holiday drinks bring seasonal gloom, not cheer

The first sip definitely packed a punch in terms of the pumpkin flavor, but it was overwhelming. The latte had a pungent smell of freshly ground cinnamon and ginger, like an edible pumpkin pie candle, and had an interesting silky texture. However, it left us with a slightly bitter aftertaste. We rate it a 7/10.

On first impression, the Irish Cream Cold Brew was surprisingly sweet, but then it had a cold, bitter aftertaste. To sum it up, this drink was like a sickeningly sugary scoop of whipped cream with hints of coffee. The flavor was just too much, even for people with sweet tooths, and we wouldn’t order this drink again. It wasn’t horrible, but there wasn’t anything majorly wrong except for the sw...

Interestingly, the pumpkin cream cold brew tasted like a pumpkin spice latte without enough pumpkin. Although the drink lacked the holiday fun we were promised, we still enjoyed it, because the combination of the sweet cream and the bitter coffee created a well-balanced drink. If you aren’t a big risk-taker, this drink is definitely a safe choice! We rate it a 8/10.

The Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte definitely left a deep impression on us: a bad one. Despite the cheery and festive sprinkles on top, both the hot and cold versions of the drink were disappointing. The cold latte had a flat almond milk flavor with a pinch of sugar and a lingering aftertaste that reminded us of the taste of Play-Doh. The hot version had an uninviting, strongly artificial smell of a ...

Out of all the drinks we tried, this one was our definite favorite. Right off the bat, the sweet scent of roasted chestnuts filled our noses, giving off a welcoming feeling of the holidays. The latte had the perfect balance of sweetness and a chestnut flavor, both relatively mild but still noticeable. The texture of the drink was similar to the other Starbucks lattes, but with a more powerful milky ...

This drink was average at best. The taste was only different to that of a basic latte in that it contained an excessive amount of sweet, sugary syrups. The toasted white chocolate taste was so mild it was barely prominent, which brought down our rating of the drink. In addition to the almost non-existent taste of white chocolate, the taste reminded us of an overly sweet sugar cookie. The missing facto...