The year is coming to a close and Winter weather is approaching. It is officially holiday drink season. Time for a warm sip of comfort from your local coffee shop. Holiday flavors have made their return to coffee institutions such as Starbucks, Biggby, and Dunkin Donuts. These flavors taste like an evening home with friends and family. These flavors include but are not limited to variations in peppermint, toasted white chocolate, Irish creme, caramel brulee, sugar cookies, gingerbread, and so many more. 

  Calling all non-coffee lovers. Typically, it is a challenge trying to find holiday drinks that meet the needs of people who are not a fan of coffee. Coffee is a main focal point in holiday drinks. However, there is always an alternative to the coffee drinks others enjoy. Starbucks, Biggby, and Dunkin Donuts all offer hot chocolate-based holiday drinks. Olivia Schelling from the Comets’ Tale set out to try a holiday-based hot chocolate from each coffee shop. 

  One holiday drink from Starbucks is the Toasted White Chocolate Hot Chocolate. This drink is steamed milk with hints of caramelized white chocolate. It is finished with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles. Overall, it was not very satisfying for her. She thought the toasted white chocolate was very overbearing, but adding more white chocolate syrup made the drink bitter. This drink was very strange, and she would not recommend this drink. 

  The next drink was from Biggby. This holiday classic was a spin on their Winter Wonderland Latte. This drink has hints of white chocolate and cinnamon mixed with their signature white hot chocolate. Schelling favored this drink far more than the one from Starbucks. She mentioned that this drink tasted like a creme pie. She also added that this is an amazing alternative for someone who does not like coffee but wants to experience holiday flavors. The flavors blended nicely, and she is sure that hot chocolate with this would be great as well. 

  The final non-coffee lover’s drink was by far Schelling’s favorite drink. Dunkin Donuts White Mocha Hot Chocolate is a traditional holiday classic with an indulgent and creamy milk chocolate profile and notes of white chocolate. Schelling believed this drink was absolutely amazing. The blend of chocolate and white mocha was perfect for her. Each flavor complimented the other and she would definitely recommend this to a non-coffee lover! 

  On the other hand, for the coffee lovers out there, Megan Reynaert tried three different holiday coffee drinks from the same three chains, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and Biggby. For the first drink, Biggby’s Avalanche Latte. This drink features Biggby’s signature espresso blended seamlessly with flavors of white chocolate, mocha, and mint. This drink happens to be on their menu all year round, so it was already one she had ordered a few times. Not the favorite drink from Biggby. Overall just very sweet and she struggled to pick out the exact flavors, it seemed as if there was just a lot going on. Other holiday drinks from Biggby such as the Cookie Butter Iced Coffee taste way better. 

Moving on to Starbucks, the Toasted White Mocha Latte features Starbucks’ signature espresso paired with flavors of caramelized white chocolate combined with steamed milk and topped with whipped cream and festive holiday sugar sparkles and crispy white pearls. Overall a good drink, but very sweet and does not quite taste like coffee. There is a strong white mocha taste so avoid this drink if that is not your favorite. Megan tends to be more of a coffee person, so she wasn’t amazed. This one would taste better iced. Megan would recommend the Caramel Brulee Latte over this one any day. 

  Last but certainly not least, Dunkin’s Toasted White Chocolate Iced coffee was the best out of these three holiday coffee drinks. This drink features a creamy-rich white chocolate flavor topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and cinnamon sugar. This coffee was the perfect balance of sweetness from the white chocolate and coffee flavor. Dunkin Iced Coffee is a hit-or-miss drink every time, but this one happened to be a hit. The reviews were mixed on this one, causing nervousness to order it, but the drink exceeded all expectations. 

  Out of these six-holiday drink options from favorite coffee chains, The Comet’s Tale would love to hear your reviews and even recommendations for other drinks for us to try! These drinks are a perfect way to kick off the Christmas season. Enjoy these holiday flavors while celebrating with family and friends.