The Gift:

Tis the season to try some of Starbucks’ long-awaited products. They brought back some of their fan favs while also incorporating a new seasonal drink for 2023. During the month of November, Starbucks has a “gift for you.” On November 16, they gave out their free reusable red cups. To get this gift, customers must order a handcrafted holiday beverage such as the Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte and the new Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai. These drinks can either be hot, iced, or blended; the cup is 16 ounces, which is a Grande. The best part of this offer is when you bring the cups back to Starbucks for another drink, you can get a $.10 discount, and if you are a rewards member, you can get 25 bonus stars. With this offer Starbucks aims to reduce waste by 50% by 2030 using the reusable red cups.

Review:

Beverages: This is my personal take on these Starbucks drinks; however, I do not really drink coffee, which is ironic because I am doing this review. But I will say that I was shocked that I actually really liked some of the drinks.

~Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte (iced)

I would rate this drink a 7/10. I really liked that this drink came with red and green sprinkles, however it did not taste much like the name suggested. It was more like a regular latte, but with sprinkles.

~Caramel Brulée Latte

I thought this drink was similar to the Chestnut Parline, but it was okay. I rate this a 7/10 because it was sweeter than the Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte, but it just tasted like a normal latte, nothing to crazy.

~Gingerbread Latte

I thought this drink was pretty good compared to the other latte’s, it had a spice flavor to it. It reminded me of the Pumkin Spice Latte. I would give it an 8/10.

~Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai

This drink was really good; however, I still think the Pumpkin Chai Latte is superior. It tasted more like milk than gingerbread, but I would still give it a 10/10.

~Peppermint Hot Chocolate/ Peppermint White Hot Chocolate

I thought both drinks were incredible! It was weird because I thought it would taste like toothpaste with hot chocolate, but it was better than I thought. The Peppermint White-Hot Chocolate was a bit sweeter, but I liked both, so it does not matter. 10/10 would recommend.

~Peppermint Mocha (Iced)

I would rate this a 11/10, it was definitely the best thing on this list. The peppermint was not strong, so it did not distract from the mocha. This drink was well balanced, and the little chocolate chips add to it. This is my new signature drink now.

Holiday Treats: 

~Snowman Cookie

The design of the cookie was cute, but it was a bit plain in flavor. I give it a rating of 8/10.

~Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop

10/10, I did like the design, and it was like the other cake pops, with a hint of peppermint.

~Cranberry Bliss

2/10, I am being generous, it looked good, but I did not like it. It was a mixture of sweet, cheesy, and sour, not a good combination.

~Gingerbread Loaf

This was decent, dry but it was fine. The frosting was good, so I would give it a 9/10.

~Sugar Plum Cheese Danish

I liked that it was cheesy, but not too much like the Cranberry Bliss. I would give it a rating of 8.5/10.

Overall, I liked these items, but I think the fall drinks were better. Please don’t come for me, I understand that I am uncultured, but I am learning. If I did not like your favorite drink, I am sorry.

Our Gift:

We gave Santa Maria High School Students a chance to win a 15-dollar gift card if they followed us on Instagram. To win, students had to repost, like, tag a friend, and follow. We also wanted people to follow our Tik Tok, so maybe we will do another give away. This year’s winner though was Felicity Hernandez!! Congratulations to her for winning a free Starbucks gift card.

Poll: 

We surveyed people at our school on what holiday drink they liked the most at Starbucks. Check out the results-