A Nice Cuppa

Spring is in the air, and in many places it feels like full-on summer already. Here in D.C. the daily temperature is in the mid to upper 70s – not too hot, but definitely warm enough to get me thinking about a cool drink.

Starbucks has moved their cold drinks front and center, and this year they are rolling out a few new options:

DoubleShot: You may have tried one of the Starbucks DoubleShot energy drinks (available at most grocery and convenience stores). I haven’t been too impressed with the canned version. To me it tastes mostly like, well, a can. However, this year Starbucks has added the option of a fresh DoubleShot on Ice to their in store menu. Each drink will contain fresh espresso shots, simple syrup, and a bit of milk. A standard grande has only 90 calories, making this a fairly guilt-free way to get a boost of caffeine.

DoubleShot + Energy: Maybe a DoubleShot just doesn’t provide enough pep. If that’s true, I worry about you a little bit. But there’s a drink just for you. A DoubleShot + Energy takes a regular DoubleShot and adds an interesting herbal cocktail of ginseng, guarana, and B vitamins. Maybe this is to make it seem like a “healthier” option, or maybe these additions really take the DoubleShot to a whole new level of stimulation. Personally, I don’t feel the need to try this.

Iced Brewed Coffee: Starbucks is also heavily promoting their lightly sweetened iced coffee. This is a pretty good cup of joe, but my biggest problem with it is the portion size. A tall is still 12 ounces, but because more than half of it is ice, you really end up with a teeny amount of coffee. This just bums me out. And since iced coffee costs more than hot coffee (I know, I know, they brew it a bit stronger so that it doesn’t get too diluted by the ice), it just feels like a rip off. Starbucks needs to take some notes from Dunkin Donuts – they actually put iced coffee in a larger cup to make room for the ice.

And finally, it wouldn’t be summer without an elaborate Frappucino. This year, you can feast on the Mint Mocha Chip Frappucino, a combination of mint syrup, chocolate pieces, mocha syrup, and the standard frappucino base. A tall one of these babies has 4 times the calories of a DoubleShot: 360 in 12 ounces. Consume with caution, or as a special treat.