How many combinations of cold brew and cold foam do we think Starbucks has up its sleeve? The newest to the lineup is the Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew. This one has the Starbucks signature Cold Brew with vanilla syrup, plus a hazelnut cold foam and a chocolate cookie topping.
Dear reader, I’m not going to chocolate/hazelnut-coat it for you. This one just didn’t hit the mark in my book. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. I find it easiest to break this review into a set of bullet points with my thoughts. Here goes:
- The biggest thing missing from this drink was the hazelnut. I didn’t get a hint of it at all. I honestly thought the cold foam was chocolate versus hazelnut because the chocolate flavor was MUCH more prominent. That said, I did like the chocolate crumble topping. It got a little melty with the cold foam and was a nice treat to finish off at the end when it got to the bottom of the cup.
- Despite the cold foam not having the flavor it should, it was its usual, nice foaminess with good volume on the top of the drink. It settled in nicely with the Starbucks Cold Brew, making the beverage smooth and easy to drink.
- I will say the flavor got better as I went along. It took me about an hour or so to finish it, and I liked it a little more at the end. It could be attributed to that cold foam hitting the bottom of the cup, or it could be that I was warming up to it.
A final random musing: I do not know if this is part of the Starbucks revamp we’ve been hearing about in terms of its products and customer service, but I could NOT get the lid off this cup. Did the cups change? Someone, please let me know in the comments to make me feel better about my apparent hand weakness. This lid was absolutely locked. It made me feel better about driving with it and carrying it up three flights of stairs to my office, but apologies for not getting a photo with the lid off, internet friends.
This drink was okay but definitely not knock-your-socks-off good. We’ll see how long this one sticks around!
Purchased Price: $4.95
Size: Tall
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of protein and 145 milligrams of caffeine.
I had the same issue with the cups. Then once I got it off, I couldn’t get it back on. What’s going on with these cups??!
So I am not the only one?! Thank goodness!!!
I live in Hawaii and at least you still have plastic type cups. I went to Starbucks on Sunday and would have been standing around for awhile waiting for my drink if I hadn’t heard my name being called. I ordered a Venti cold brew and was surprised to see it come in a paper cup.
I looked at a the other drinks waiting to be picked up and noticed that they were also in paper cups that looked like the hot cups.
It doesn’t feel as sturdy and I would much rather have plastic cups. Now I might have to think about bringing my own cup.