Blogmas 2014: Picking a Star(bucks)

Maybe I'm becoming a basic white girl, but I love me some Starbucks. Something about it makes me feel very grown up. Stopping before work to pick up a latte. Taking a break at work and walking with a coworker to our little on site shop. Finally knowing the terminology and not feeling like an idiot when I place my order.

However, since I'm fairly new to coffee, most of the Starbucks menu is unexplored territory. It would take me weeks to try everything, so I started smaller and more festive: the seasonal Christmas menu. My goal was simple: try all five flavors and pick a favorite.

• Gingerbread Latte - the only one I've already tried. It's quite tasty and Christmasy, but it didn't taste enough like the gingerbread baked good. Yes, the creamers I buy at the grocery store are always pastry flavored, like cinnamon bun or snickerdoodle, so I expected a fancy $4 coffee to realllllly taste like a cookie.
• Caramel Brulee Latte - the one Starbucks screwed up. This may have been quite tasty, but I'm pretty sure my local Starbucks left something out. Maybe the correct version is yummy, but I'm not going to waste more money hoping that is the case.
• Peppermint Mocha - my first mocha. Why didn't anyone tell me mocha is basically coffee hot chocolate? Mmm so tasty. Is it a dessert? Is it a breakfast drink? Who cares, it was delicious.
• Chestnut Praline Latte - a latte with some nuts on top. It's simply a caramel latte with some crushed up nuts on top. Eh.
• Eggnog Latte - the first time I tried eggnog. Maybe they don't actually use eggnog, but this is the closest I've come to it yet. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. However, it was just a latte with a bit of a kick. Something tangy in there. I wouldn't call it especially festive or Christmasy.

So, the winner was definitely the Peppermint Mocha. It is now my signature holiday drink. And I'm fully embracing the 'basicness' of this declaration.