With Christmas around the corner, people are getting festive with their coffee. It’s tradition for some businesses to make limited time drinks to celebrate the Christmas spirit. Starbucks has introduced three seasonal coffee drinks to their menu for the holidays. Over Thanksgiving Break, I tried the drinks and gave them my honest opinion.

The drinks available were the peppermint mocha, peppermint mocha frappuccino and the  caramel brulée latte. I got my drinks in the tall size, so the peppermint mocha was $4.45, the caramel brulée latte was $3.75 and the peppermint mocha frappuccino was $4.25.

First, I tried the peppermint mocha. I’m not a fan of peppermint in anything other than gum or mints, but I was willing to try this drink. I ordered the mocha with whipped cream and chocolate flakes on top. The flakes added a creative touch. At first taste, the peppermint flavor was overpowering. Eventually, I could taste more of the mocha. Once that unfolded, the coffee became better. I’m a fan of Starbucks’ white chocolate mocha, so the familiar mocha flavor made the coffee just a teeny bit better. In the end, this drink deserves about two out of five stars. I didn’t enjoy the peppermint mocha, although, if you enjoy peppermint flavoring, this drink might be for you. My sister, Gavin Jimenez, also tried the peppermint mocha. She thought it had a very strong peppermint aftertaste, which she didn’t enjoy. She also mentioned that it was a little too sweet, but overall, it deserved a 3 out of 5 stars.

The next drink was the peppermint mocha frappuccino blended beverage. I didn’t know what a frappuccino actually was, so I was surprised to find that the beverage was cold. I find it kind of funny that Starbucks put “blended beverage” in the name of the drink. I think it’s a bit extra since a frappuccino is already a blended beverage. I also got this drink with whipped cream. Like the peppermint mocha, the frappuccino had chocolate flakes on top of it. This drink is basically the peppermint mocha, but cold, which made it better somehow. I don’t know if it’s because of the temperature, or if the amount of ingredients was different, but the taste of the frappuccino was better than the mocha. The peppermint flavor was subtle, which was a relief. This drink genuinely exceeded my expectations. I still wouldn’t buy it again, but it could be a last resort. I’d give it a three out of five stars.

The last coffee I tried was the caramel brulée latte. A brulée is a dessert consisting of custard with a caramelized layer of caramel on top of it. I don’t enjoy the taste of caramel, but I was willing to try the latte. Again, my drink was topped with whipped cream. After just one sip, I could tell this was the best drink out of them all. The caramel flavor was mixed well with the sweet latte. Every sip I took was smooth and genuinely enjoyable. I’ll be giving this delightful drink a four out of five stars.

At the end, the caramel brulée latte was easily the best drink by a longshot. The peppermint mocha wasn’t good, but the frappuccino variant was okay. Overall, I believe a wider variety of drinks could have been better. I’ll give the experience as a whole a three out of five stars.