Drink Of The Week: Starbucks Eggnog Latte

What?

The Starbucks Eggnog Latte.

Tall: £2.95

Grande: £3.30

Venti: £3.55

Where?

Starbucks, Piccadilly Gardens.

The blame?

That would be me. Desperate, caffeine cravings played tricks on the mind.

The circumstances?

Dashing through Piccadilly Gardens early in the morning, with big, black bags under my eyes after a late night trying to meet deadlines, I felt the urge to jump-start myself with a caffeine kick.

Having nipped into the closest coffee shop which was naturally a Starbucks, I’m not entirely sure what happened. Somehow I walked out clutching an Eggnog Latte - the original holiday-themed coffee, on sale at this time of year.

The appearance?

Like most northerners, I’ve been brought up not to play with my food and for this reason, the concept of eggnog is just plain wrong.

Traditionally made with milk, beaten eggs and additional cream, eggnog is then artificially sweetened and thickened. Now, you just don’t mess with your dairy like that (unless it’s strictly for cocktail purposes), and there is certainly no need to add such a concoction into your espresso.

On top of that, eggnog is such an American commodity. Only Americans can easily get away with drinking it without snobbish noses being turned up, even from the barista serving it to you in my case. It’s just not cricket.

Starbucks Eggnog Latte

The experience?

Upon receiving the drink, it was tepid in temperature so I handed it back to the staff to be re-warmed. This request was obviously a common one and I received a curt reply, “to heat it up anymore would cause the eggnog to scramble itself”.

Truly revolted at the idea of lumpy scrambled egg floating about in my coffee I headed out the door.

So, there I stood. Outside Starbucks, with my questionable eggnog latte. Nevertheless, I took a first sip tentatively and my God, it was amazing. It really is the creamiest coffee I could have ever hoped for. A warm, rich, sweet delicacy - the perfect winter morning, comfort treat.

Guilt factor rating:

Eggnog latte, so wrong it’s right.  A guilty, guilty pleasure. 8/10