The fall season has come and gone, taking away our favorite fall drinks at Starbucks and Dutch Bros. With the fall season over, winter drinks are now here!
Just like Annie and Audrey, we decided to visit Starbucks and Dutch Bros to try their new seasonal drinks.
The first place we tried was Dutch Bros. We ordered the Peppermint Hot Cocoa, Snow Cap Freeze, and Hazelnut Truffle Mocha, all in medium sizes.
We first tried the Peppermint Hot Cocoa. The first thing we noticed was it did not have an overwhelming peppermint flavor. We also noticed that it was not as rich as normal hot chocolate. This is likely because it is made with chocolate milk instead of cocoa mix. As we were tasting it, one of us made the comment that it tasted like a Lindt peppermint truffle. We especially loved how it had a pretty red velvet color. Overall, we both loved the Peppermint Hot Cocoa! It is definitely the perfect drink to get you in the holiday mood, and especially good for those who enjoy seasonal drinks, but don’t enjoy traditional coffee options.
The next drink we tried was the Snow Cap Freeze. As we were trying it, we did not get the same warm, cozy flavors as we did with the Peppermint Hot Cocoa. It had a strong birthday cake flavor, but no holiday spirit. It was more like a slushy with a lot of whipped cream and sprinkles on top. It had a bit of a bitter aftertaste to it, which we weren’t a big fan of. In the end, we realized it was not the drink for us, and we do not recommend it.
Once we finished trying the Snow Cap Freeze we tried the Hazelnut Truffle Mocha. The drink bounces between being too bitter and too overwhelmingly sweet. We did like how it had a good balance of warm winter flavors without the peppermint in it. We would recommend this drink to people who love to drink strong coffee, as it is a good transition drink from fall to winter. Those who do not enjoy pumpkin spice flavors would likely not enjoy this drink.
After we finished trying Dutch Bros winter drinks, we went to Starbucks and tried their new winter drink, the Gingerbread Oatmik Chai. Despite being a chai drink, it still had all of the cozy, winter flavors in it. It had a heavy warm spice flavor to it and tasted just like gingerbread. While we tried the iced version, we think it would taste just as good hot. If you are ready to move onto winter drinks but aren’t quite ready to let go of the pumpkin spice drinks then this drink is for you!
It was a battle trying to decide if we liked Starbucks’ Gingerbread Oatmilk Chia or Dutch Bros’ Peppermint Hot Cocoa better, but, in the end, Dutch Bros’ Peppermint Hot Cocoa was the winner. It has the perfect blend of cozy flavors and just puts you in the holiday spirit! It’s the perfect option to enjoy with your favorite Christmas movie, or to simply warm up on a cold day.
With winter just around the corner, go and grab one of your favorite winter drinks to enjoy the upcoming season!
