By: Sophie Johnson and Addie Strack

The winter menus at both Starbucks and Dunkin’ have recently been released. Both containing new, and  delicious coffee or tea options to really get you into the holiday spirit. Between the fall and the winter menu, we can agree that the winter menu is the most exciting as it kickstarts the holiday season with new and improved drinks every year.

The first drink that we tried was the Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate. This has been one of our favorite drinks for years and is a staple menu item for getting into the holiday spirit. Not only is this the perfect amount of sweetness, but the spice of the peppermint makes it taste like a delicious candy cane. We would rate this drink a 4.5/5. The way we remember this drink in past years was more chocolatey, and this year it was slightly watered down, but nevertheless, it warmed us from the inside out and especially got us into a holiday celebrating mood. Along with this drink, we received several free reusable Starbucks cups. This gift was for ‘Red Cup Day’ at Starbucks where they give away a free cup with every drink purchase. This did not affect the peppermint hot chocolate, however it was a nice addition to the experience.

The next drink we tried was the Starbucks Sugar Cookie Chai. This drink was so sweet and flavorful, and this year was the first year we tried it. Not only was this tea topped with a thick and creamy cold foam, but it had red and green sprinkles as well to add to the Christmas or holiday theme. We would rate this drink a4/5 just because of how sweet it was, but besides that, it was perfect. We would recommend getting this beverage iced instead of hot because you can better taste the tea and the cold foam doesn’t melt as fast.

Another drink we tried that was definitely one of our favorites is the Peppermint White mocha. This tastes similar to the Peppermint Hot Chocolate, mostly because of the peppermint aspect, but this one was even better. We can both confidently say that this beverage is a 5/5 and could drink this drink over and over again. We wish that this drink was on the menu year round because of how delicious it is. If you are a coffee lover, this is the drink for you as it is both sweet and energizing from the caffeine. The flavor is so tasty that it is gone so fast. For this drink, we would recommend getting it hot instead of iced. Out of all the drinks on the Christmas menus for both Starbucks and Dunkin, we can both agree that this one is by far the best.

The last drink that we tried was from Dunkin’, and it is called the Cookie Butter Cold Brew. The idea behind this drink was very good and the price was not bad, but when we tried this drink it just did not meet our standards. First of all, the coffee was slightly watery which affected the flavor negatively. The second reason why this coffee wasn’t very good was because the chunks of cookie on the top got really soggy and made the coffee chunky with every sip that we took. The advertising for this drink really sold us and we were both super excited to try it, so these factors were super disappointing after we had paid for a new drink. We would rate this drink a 1/5. The only thing that was good about this drink was the sweet cold foam on top and the cookie crumbles before they got soggy from the coffee.

After tasting all of these beverages, some better than others, we think that overall, Starbucks drinks are better than Dunkin’ ones. Dunkin’ has significantly better deals than Starbucks but we agree that most of the Starbucks drinks top the Dunkin’ ones. Our overall favorite was the peppermint white mocha and the least favorite was the cookie butter cold brew. These drinks help everyone to get into the holiday spirit and keep you warm during the winter season.