The Good: Generally good flavor, Decent ingredients
The Bad: Weaker peppermint flavor than I'd like, Comparatively expensive
The Basics: Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is a limited edition espresso beverage that does not quite thrill fans of the promised flavor as much as one might hope.
When it comes to prepared beverages, I only occasionally make an effort to hunt down coffee drinks. I love my fresh-brewed coffees at home and bottled coffee beverages seldom satisfy me the way my home brew does. But, quite a while ago, I saw some bottles of Starbucks Cookies & Cream espresso and I did not pick them up. It was, apparently, a limited edition flavor and it was gone before I could ever get it (having passed up buying it the one time). So, when I was out yesterday and I saw a single bottle of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso at my local grocery store, I bought it right away.
I suppose in my rush to make sure I didn't make the same mistake twice, I overcompensated. The limited edition Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso Beverage is all right, but hardly as extraordinary as its price and limited edition nature might make one think.
Basics
Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is an Espresso Beverage Coffee Drink, though it is more milk than coffee. Unlike a sports drink which is targeted to replace specific nutrients the body loses while working out, Espresso Beverages like this are intended to provide an alternative to hot coffee products. The Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso comes in a 14 fl. oz. plastic bottle.
The 14 oz. bottle is a single serving of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso and it is very easy to drink it down in a single sitting.
Ease Of Preparation
Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is a liquid in the 14 oz. bottle which is best served chilled, though that is not essential. The Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is mixed easily by shaking the bottle firmly and that insures that if the contents have settled one gets a homogeneous fluid.
Taste
Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso, oddly, has virtually no aroma to it. There is a very faint scent of coffee when the espresso beverage is closer to room temperature, but almost none when it is cold.
In the mouth, Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is instantly flavored with chocolate and coffee. The chocolate mocha flavor blends nicely with the coffee in the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso, but the chocolate flavor is definitely more powerful than the coffee portion. The espresso beverage finishes with a light, cool mint flavor. The mocha is definitely the dominant flavor, with the peppermint flavor being more of an afterthought as opposed to an up-front aspect of the flavor palate.
Even in the aftertaste, the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is dominated by the mocha aspect of the drink. The peppermint flavor hits on the aftertaste, then transitions to a more dry chocolate flavor of the mocha. The dry chocolate aftertaste endures in the mouth for about four minutes after the last of the beverage is consumed.
Nutrition
As an Espresso beverage, Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is made primarily of Reduced fat milk, brewed Starbucks coffee and sugar. There are natural flavors, but no noticeable preservatives. For a change, for a bottled drink, it seems like there is not much that is actually bad in the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso.
Nutritionally, Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is nothing one wants to try to live off of. Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso has 240 calories, 40 of which are from fat. The Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso has 41 grams of carbohydrates, 35 of which are just sugar. As well, there are 120 milligrams (5% RDA) of sodium in each serving and nine grams of protein. The only significant nutrient in this beverage is the 25% RDA of Calcium.
Storage/Clean-up
Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso comes in a plastic bottle and it does not need to be refrigerated to stay good, at least not until it is opened. The limited edition Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso has a decent shelf life; the bottle I found yesterday would not have expired until April 15, 2018, had I not drunk it up first.
This drink is an opaque brown color, but if it gets on light fabrics it will certainly stain them. Consult a care guide for your clothes, though I suspect light clothes would need bleach to get this out. Still, the drink wipes off surfaces easily with a cloth, assuming they are impermeable.
Overall
Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Espresso is good, but not as minty as I'd like, making it not much of a loss when the limited edition flavor disappears.
For other coffee drinks, please check out my reviews of:
Starbucks Via Colombia coffee
Illy Issimo Mochaccino
Folgers Gourmet Selections Sugar Cookie Coffee
5.5/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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