By Bella Ghile and Samantha Ruenzi
During the fall season, Starbucks always comes up with creative drinks and especially this year, everyone is buzzing about it. Especially drinks like the iced chai latte with pumpkin cold foam or the iced white mocha with vanilla sweet cream foam and extra caramel drizzle have been appearing on my For You page constantly. We decided the wait is over and we are going to try and investigate these beverages.
First, was the iced chai latte with pumpkin cream cold foam. I thought this tasted like a normal chai latte, the pumpkin flavor was very subtle. Although the taste was fair, it looked very pretty and presentable. I loved how it was easy to order as well, it wasn’t one of those drinks that you have to say multiple different things. The mild taste of pumpkin and chai could go well with the pumpkin bread or a croissant. You can even try getting it as a hot beverage. My mom also tried it, and she loves chai lattes. She thought the pumpkin flavor didn’t come through, and she wouldn’t order it again. This is definitely a great and easy fall drink that everyone could enjoy. I don’t
understand the popularity of this drink and it wasn’t what I expected. My rating is a 6/10 and my mom gave it a 7/10.
Next I had the iced white mocha, with vanilla sweet cream foam, and extra caramel drizzle. This one was much better in flavor than the iced chai. I was happily surprised by how much I liked it and would honestly get it again. It’s a little bit on the sweeter side, but if you have a sweet tooth like me, this is for you. The white mocha worked really well with the caramel and was brought together nicely with a hint of vanilla from the foam. My mom tried this beverage too and she absolutely loved it. She enjoyed the caramel and all the flavors, but she also thought that it was a little bit sweet. Nevertheless, she said she would totally get it again; she rated this one at a 9/10 and I gave it a 8/10.
I tried the iced caramel macchiato, with extra caramel, topped with pumpkin sweet cream. Right away I tasted the sweetness of the macchiato, it really overpowers the coffee. I tasted a bit of spice due to the pumpkin cream and there was quite a sting of a coffee as an aftertaste. I personally don’t like coffee, so I didn’t favor that part too much, but it was expected from a macchiato. The added caramel doesn’t add on much unless stirred into the drink. The caramel rather seeps in the drink, than being its own flavor. Overall the drink’s taste is appealing. I really enjoyed that there wasn’t too much ice and how it didn’t water down the drink. This macchiato would be great to have with a croissant or another low-sugar snack. A little tip I have is to dilute the drink with your preferred milk to get a more balanced flavor from the drink. The drink costs $4.99 for the tall size, the smallest size, which is pretty overpriced especially as a high schooler. I didn’t hate the drink, but I wouldn’t recommend it, I’d give it a 7/10.