Love is in the air when you walk into Starbucks on a chilly February morning. The store’s Valentine’s day menu, released on Feb. 4, features multiple love themed drinks and pastries with festive red and pink color schemes and sweet flavors.
Starbucks releases a Valentine’s menu annually but has never before included a matcha drink. This year’s version of the menu offers an Iced Banana Bread Matcha, a Double Berry Matcha, as well as a more traditional Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino and a White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew. Out of the four drinks, I chose to have the grande Double Berry Matcha ($6.25) and the grande Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino ($6.25). The food menu also offers multiple pastries that are completely new to the store, and I tried the Cookie Croissant Swirl ($4.25).
Before even trying the drinks, I was impressed with their presentation. The appearance of the drinks definitely emulated Valentine’s vibes as each one included festive pink and red colors. The blended beverage was capped with whipped cream and beige colored shortcake crumbs.
The Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino immediately drew me in with its appearance. I enjoyed how the drink utilized traditional Valentine’s day colors to capture a festive vibe. The drink is a blended beverage similar to a regular Strawberry Creme Frappuccino which is included on the Starbucks menu year round. The only difference between the two is that the Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino has cinnamon flavoring and shortcake crumbs that top the drink.
I was underwhelmed by how similar the traditional and Valentine’s day variations of the drink were. Unfortunately, the taste of the drink wasn’t much more original than the concept as it had the same soft strawberry flavors as its year round counterpart. It took multiple sips for me to taste the cinnamon in the drink and the shortcake garnishing did not add much to the flavor.
After being let down by the Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino, I had more hope for the Double Berry Matcha. This drink is a more unique addition to the menu as there is not another drink offered at Starbucks that combines berry and matcha flavors. The matcha is poured over a strawberry syrup and topped with a berry flavored cold foam.
Despite my high expectations for the drink, its flavors were bland. Starbucks matcha is known for being far different from traditional matcha. Although matcha is typically known for its earthy taste, this matcha was far more dry than any one that I had tried in the past. The berry flavors were subtle and not strong enough to save underperforming matcha flavors.
Finally, after being disappointed with my drink choices, I moved on to trying the Cookie Croissant Swirl. This pastry is a more circular version of a regular croissant and is filled with chocolate and topped with cookies and cream flavored cookie crumbs.
The pastry was flaky and fluffy, the perfect croissant texture. The cookie garnishing added an extra crunch to balance the soft croissant. The flavor was a delicious mix of chocolate and the creamy buttery flavor of the croissant. This combination of texture and flavor made for a heavenly dessert.
Being an avid Starbucks drinker, I had high hopes for this release and was expecting something more unique. The drinks were mediocre and even the delicious Cookie Croissant Swirl was not very different from anything on the Valentine’s Day or year round menu. In the future, I would like to see the store branch out to less traditional flavors. Because of this, I would rate the Double Berry Matcha and Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino 2.5/5, and the Cookie Croissant Swirl 4/5.
