REVIEW: Summer is ‘mint’ to be and is about to go ‘nuts’ with two new Starbucks drinks

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Photo illustration by Jacinda Hall

The Java Mint Chip Frappuccino and the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew from Starbucks.

It’s summertime. Well, not really, but according to Starbucks’ new menu, the season is already in full swing. 

The popular coffee chain has added two new coffee beverages to its summer menu this year: the Java Mint Chip Frappuccino and the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew. 

Java Mint Chip Frappuccino

The Java Mint Frappuccino was the first drink to be released for this year’s summer menu. It’s the same as the Java Chip Frappuccino, but with mint flavor added to it and topped with mint chocolate chip cookie crumbles. 

I had my doubts about this drink. I’m not a huge fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I was worried that it was going to taste like that, but this drink exceeded my expectations. 

Rather than tasting like mint chocolate chip ice cream, it tasted like a blended Andes Mint, which is something I enjoy. The drink had the right amount of both mint and chocolate flavor and one didn’t overpower the other.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew

The White Chocolate Macadamia Cream cold brew was the second drink added to this year’s summer menu. As soon as I saw this drink pop up on my home menu in the Starbucks app, I knew I had to try it. 

This beverage is Starbucks’ original cold brew topped with White Chocolate Macadamia Nut flavored sweet cream cold foam, topped with cookie crumbles. I am all for this drink as my favorite cookie is white chocolate chip macadamia nut. 

Upon trying this drink, I could taste the flavor of the foam, and it tastes exactly like the cookie. It’s a mixture of sweet, salty and crunchy. 

The foam itself is sweet with the flavors of a white chocolate and macadamia nut, but the cookie crumbles the foam is topped with is both crunchy and salty, perfectly balancing out the drink itself. 

Of the two drinks released, I liked the cold brew more. While the frappuccino was good, the cold brew stood out because of the balanced flavors, and it tastes like my favorite cookie.