Summer is here, and so is another iced coffee from Starbucks to keep you hydrated. (Note: I am not a doctor, who would probably tell you to hydrate with water, but iced coffee is made of water too, so it counts… right?) The coffee chain recently released the Carmel Vanilla Swirl Iced Coffee, and honestly, I would have thought something like this was already on the menu. Nonetheless, this flavor profile is right up my alley, so I was excited to try it.
I was delighted to find out this iced coffee features caramel syrup and Vanilla Sweet Cream. I LOVE the Starbucks Vanilla Sweet Cream and could probably drink it straight. My initial thought was that they would have just combined vanilla and caramel syrup, so this got me excited right off the bat.
Readers, this iced coffee did not disappoint. I’ll start with the only negative – when I received the coffee, it did not look pretty and swirled like the promotional photo. But as my grandfather used to say, if that’s the worst thing, then we’re still doing pretty well.
At first sip, the Vanilla Sweet Cream flavor really hits you up front—so much so that I wondered if they forgot the caramel. But don’t worry! The caramel syrup really shined through in the aftertaste. The flavors paired together nicely and were very present while I milked the drink (I’ve said before in my reviews that I can make an iced beverage last several hours, depending on what I’m caught up in).
The other thing I really liked about this iced coffee was that it wasn’t too sweet. With 26 grams of sugar in a grande, it certainly had the potential to be, but I was pleasantly surprised. And the caffeine also packs a nice punch – I could see myself getting this either as my first OR second coffee of the day!
I’ll definitely be adding the Caramel Vanilla Swirl Iced Coffee to my rotation, and you should too!
Purchased Price: $4.25
Size: Grande
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 160 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 gram of dietary fiber, 26 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of protein, and 165 milligrams of caffeine.
