Many people love Starbucks’s wide variety of drinks and food. However, there are many that they dislike, some over-rated or under-rated, or some that people say they dislike that may actually be delicious or some that people love that might not be the best.
Inside the Starbucks store, there are a couple of places to sit, and toward the front, baristas are creating peoples orders. While you wait for your order, people chat with others or sit down with a laptop working on who knows what. The store usually has a very calm environment, unless if it’s a busy hour, and then it is loud, and people’s voices will overpower the Starbucks playlist, along with the baristas blending people’s drinks in the blender. Once you receive your order, you’ll hopefully see that a barista has written or drawn a lovely messsage — and they may or may not have written your name wrong.
Near Casa are a couple of Starbucks stores, and sometimes you’ll catch students or teachers walking around campus with a refreshing drink from Starbucks. People find it very convenient to buy a drink from there instead of going home and having to make it themselves. It’s even better that they can have it during school hours, because it doesn’t take that long to go buy a drink from there and get back to campus.
Before I give my review and thoughts about what I can taste in the drinks, let’s dive into people’s thoughts and reviews on Yelp. The Starbucks I’m going to review is the location at 701 Sonoma Mountain Parkway Parkway Plaza. This Starbucks is rated as a 3 out of 5 stars on Yelp. The first complaint made on Yelp was about the pricing. Also, customers complained that this store doesn’t have a bathroom; this isn’t actually true, as they do. Customers complained that they get the orders wrong, the trash is always full, they won’t sell stuff to customers, they have long lines, there is a long time waiting, and they complained about the staff. This store also had two health violations last year in July for their “garbage and refuse not properly disposed,” and about their plumbing not being “maintained; [with] proper back flow prevention.”
Moving away from customer service complaints, here are my reviews about the products. The first drink I’m going to review is the Carmel Ribbon Crunch Frappacchino. On the Starbucks website, it is described as a “Buttery caramel syrup blended with coffee, milk and ice, then topped with a layer of dark caramel sauce, whipped cream, caramel drizzle and a crunchy caramel-sugar topping—oh-so-beautifully delicious.” When I first tasted, it I got a carmel-y taste sided with a hint of coffee taste. They compliment each other well topped with the whipped cream, and the crunch on the top finishes with the caramel drizzle.
The second drink I’m reviewing is Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso. On the website, it is described as: “First we shake Starbucks Blonde espresso, brown sugar and cinnamon together, and then top it off with oat milk and ice for a cool lift to power you through your day.” When I first tasted it, it had the right amount of sweetness, and I could taste the brown sugar and cinnamon, which compliment each other very well with just the right amount of coffee.
The third drink I’m reviewing is the Mango Dragonfruit Energy refresher. On the website this drink is described as being “crafted with refreshing mango and dragonfruit flavors, then hand-shaken with ice and real pieces of dragonfruit. Your ultimate energizing pick-me-up—boosted with 125mg of caffeine in a grande and an excellent source of B vitamins.” When I first tasted it, I got a strong fruity taste. It was really refreshing. The mango or dragonfruit don’t really overpower one another; it’s a good combination of both.
The last drink I reviewed was an Iced Lavender Cream Matcha. On the website, it is described as “Smooth matcha with classic syrup, milk and subtle floral notes of lavender cold foam, served over ice. An unbeatable combination bursting with flavor and sweetness.” When I first tasted this one, it was like regular matcha on the sweetened side topped with a cold foam that had a floraly taste to it.
