Don’t let the flavors of Starbucks’ new Frappuccino Lite Coffee Drinks excite you. Creamy Vanilla Gelato, Double Chocolate Gelato, and Sea Salt Caramel Gelato sound enticing, don’t they? Adding “gelato” will probably force your eyes to do a double take if you pass them on the store shelf. But all it does is create a facade that these coffee drinks have something special about their flavors. I’m here to tell you that they don’t.

What they do have is around half the calories of their non-lite Frappuccino counterparts. All three varieties have 100 calories per bottle and no added sugars. Here’s how the press release describes the gelato-inspired flavors:

• The Sea Salt Caramel Gelato offers a creamy texture with a luscious caramel taste, complemented by subtle notes of sea salt.
• The Creamy Vanilla Gelato features a smooth and silky texture with a robust vanilla flavor.
• The Double Chocolate Gelato boasts a deep, velvety chocolate flavor with a smooth and creamy texture.

Sounds great, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but these pretty much taste like the Vanilla, Mocha, and Caramel varieties of the regular bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos, except not as sweet or flavorful. As someone familiar with those glass-bottled Frappuccino drinks since they were my gateway drug to other coffee drinks, my taste buds know those flavors well, and I have to say that these have 75 percent of the flavor and sweetness of those. Also, the artificial sweeteners used aren’t noticeable. So I’m happy to say these coffee drinks do “lite” well.

If I have one issue, it’s the same minor one I have with the original Frappuccino coffee drinks, and that’s not having the caffeine content printed anywhere on the bottle. I had to go to the PepsiCo beverage website to look it up. Anyhoo, Double Chocolate has 40 milligrams, Sea Salt Caramel has 60 milligrams, and Vanilla has 55 milligrams.

Honestly, I rarely pick up a bottled Starbucks Frappuccino nowadays because I crave more caffeine than they offer. But I’m sure I’d pick up a Frappuccino Lite over a regular version if I’m desperate for a fix. They taste almost as good as the non-lite versions, and they accomplish that with half the calories and one-third of the sugar.

Purchased Price: $3.29 each
Size: 9.5 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10 (all)
Nutrition Facts: Double Chocolate – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein, and 40 milligrams of caffeine. Sea Salt Caramel – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein, and 60 milligrams of caffeine. Vanilla – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein, and 55 milligrams of caffeine.