IMAGE FROM STARBUCKS

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I FINALLY GOT A CHANCE TO TRY THE STARBUCKS TOASTED WHITE MOCHA after planning to do so since before its release.

Let’s start with Starbucks’ description of the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha:

“Our rich espresso, steamed milk and flavors of caramelized white chocolate are topped with whipped cream and candied cranberry sugar. And like the holidays, this drink is here, then gone.”

My Recommendation

As always, I recommend getting hot Starbucks lattes with breve, extra shots and fewer pumps of syrup/sauce. With 53 grams of sugar in the Grande hot size, definitely tone it down on the sauce. Don’t worry, it’ll be plenty sweet even with reduced pumps.

My Experience

The new Toasted White Mocha sauce used to make this drink is extremely similar (more so than I expected) to the standard Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha sauce, but has a slight edge to it that the non-toasted version lacks.

I’d describe it as having a tiny bit of almost-smokey flavor added to the standard White Chocolate Mocha flavor. Like the Caramel Brulée latte, this darker flavor blends so well with the taste of espresso that effect was not an extreme one for me.

Unlike the Caramel Brulée Latte topping, the cranberry topping used on this drink was very detectable to me. Starbucks describes it as “candied cranberry sugar”, and that description fit with my experience completely.

I love cranberries, so the little pieces of actual candied cranberries were a welcome addition, and, as they were made of more than just sugar, they didn’t just disintegrate into the whipped cream. Because of this, the cranberry topping was more than just cosmetic, as I actually got to taste the cranberry with the Toasted White Mocha flavor. It’s a good flavor combination.

Verdict

Surprisingly, I found the Toasted White Mocha to be very similar to the standard Starbucks White Mocha, which is one of my favorites. So, I liked it.

It’s not a huge step up or down from the standard Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha, available year-round, but if you are already into that drink, definitely give this one a shot for something a little different and special, especially if you like cranberries.

Nutritional Information (Courtesy of Starbucks.com) For the Standard-Recipe Grande Toasted White Chocolate Mocha:

Nutrition Facts Per Serving (16 fl oz)
	% Daily Value*
Calories 420	Calories from Fat 130
Total Fat 15g	23%
Saturated Fat 9g	45%
Trans Fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 45mg	15%
Sodium 380mg	16%
Total Carbohydrate 58g	19%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Sugars 53g
Protein 13g
Caffeine 150mg**
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
**Each caffeine value is an approximate value.