As it has become colder, some of our favorite coffee places, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, have released their holiday menus. We decided to try some of their drinks, and see which ones would be our favorites.
Starbucks
Nora:
At first sip I really liked the iced sugar cookie latte. However, the more I drank, I didn’t like it as much. I felt like it was very milky and didn’t have much coffee taste to it. It was more sweet, even if the sprinkles were a fun addition. It comes off very sugary, and I prefer my lattes less sweet and milky. Although I have had it before, I think it tastes much better that way.
For the caramel brûlée latte, at first sip, I honestly hated it. It just came off too strong at first. But then the more I sipped the more I started to enjoy it. It was very flavorful and you can taste the caramel, the coffee, it even seems like it has a bit of a salty taste to it. Then I went back and sipped the sugar cookie again and it made the caramel brûlée latte seem so much better. I think it’s because it wasn’t as milky and watered down, but honestly I like it better.
Haylee:
The first drink, an iced sugar cookie latte, seemed like it was a little bit watery. It also had a very subtle, coffee taste which I liked since I’m not a big coffee person. There was nothing bad about it though.
The second drink, an iced caramel brûlée latte, had a very strong caramel taste, it did have a slight saltiness to it. That is the only complaint I really had about the drink. It had a very big flavor profile. Overall I think that I liked the second drink better.
Dunkin
Nora:
At Dunkin, the first drink I tried was the iced cookie butter latte. It was just okay. I can see how some people would like it, but it’s just not for me. I wouldn’t order it again. It tastes just like the Biscoff cookies you get on airplanes. So it is kind of a fun different flavor but not for me.
I’m usually not a fan of refreshers and never go straight to order them; however, I would definitely get the sangria lemonade refresher again. It was super good and very refreshing. I love the berry and raspberry taste and the lemon taste from the lemonade. It was kind of sour in a way, but I really liked it. I also think it’s fun to have a refresher as a holiday drink. It gives more variety for the menu because not everyone likes coffee. I definitely liked this one better than the iced cookie latte.
Haylee:
The iced cookie butter latte, just tasted like a regular latte to me. The only thing that was different was that it sort of tasted like a cookie. It also had crunchy things on the top that I wasn’t a fan of. They were uncomfortable to chew on. I wasn’t a big fan of this drink. Out of all four drinks, this was my least favorite.
The second drink from Dunkin was a sangria lemonade refresher. It was so good. It had a very strong taste of raspberry in the best way. I think the lemonade made it a little bit sour, but the flavors went well together. Although, it didn’t really give off holiday vibes at all. It tasted a little bit like the summer berry refresher that Starbucks has in the summer time. I really have no complaints about this drink. It was a good drink and I would definitely get it again. Out of all four drinks this one was for sure my favorite.
