REVIEW: Starbucks Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha

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Starbucks Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha cup

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Dubai chocolate. It’s a thick chocolate with pistachio cream, tahini, and shredded phyllo pastry. It went viral over the last few years, and now Starbucks has jumped on the bandwagon to capitalize on the flavor and the popularity.

Starbucks introduced the Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha and, wow, is this thing a treat. I felt like I was drinking a decadent dessert – in a good way – rather than a morning coffee.

The first thing to note is that there is A LOT going on here. You’ve got your espresso and mocha sauce, standard of any Starbucks mocha drink, but then you add in pistachio cream cold foam and what Starbucks calls a “Salted Brown-Buttery Topping.” I wasn’t sure how everything would mesh, but it proved to be a winner.

Starbucks Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha foam

This drink is much creamier and thicker than a usual mocha. It almost feels like you’re getting a mouthfeel of a bite of chocolate. The pistachio cream cold foam stayed very intact and worked its way naturally into the drink like a dream. I’ll admit that I don’t feel the topping on the cold foam added much of its own flavor, but again, lots of meshing together here. I’m glad Starbucks went iced with this drink – I’m not sure the flavors would have had the same effect in a hot version.

Starbucks Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha smile

You have to know up front that you’re getting a ton of sugar and even sodium here, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it had nine grams of protein.

I’ll definitely get this one again and might even consider it as a dessert by swapping the espresso shot for decaf if it’s later in the evening.

Purchased Price: $5.95
Size: Tall
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 330 calories, 15 grams of total fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 38 grams of total sugars, 9 grams of protein, and 80 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Cookie Butter Cloud Latte

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Dunkin’ Cookie Butter Cloud Latte with lid

After becoming a popular off-menu item last year, Dunkin’ has made the Cookie Butter Cloud Latte an official member of its 2025 holiday lineup. This is excellent news for us all because this delicious drink might be the best gift of the season, and now we don’t have to worry about ordering it wrong.

The iced latte mixes espresso with milk and cookie butter syrup and tops it with cookie butter cold foam and a sprinkling of cookie butter crumbles. In a year where cookie butter has spread all across the food landscape, it’s truly found its sweet spot with this beverage. If you’ve still never tried cookie butter but you have taken a flight in the last thirty years, you’re probably familiar with the warmly spiced flavor of speculoos cookies. Delightful year-round, they’re especially suited to winter and a perfect pairing with coffee.

Dunkin’ Cookie Butter Cloud Latte close up of cookie crumbles

True to the name, this latte is capped with a cold foam that is wonderfully airy and cloud-like. It’s soft, gently spiced, and not overly sweet. While I’m sure a glance at the nutrition facts will tell me that I’m essentially drinking liquid sugar, it really doesn’t taste that way. The spoonful of crumbles that adorn the foam initially provides some crunchy textural contrast, but soon sinks into the cloud, something I myself would not mind doing. They soften to a sandy, without being gritty mouthfeel like a cookie perfectly dunked in milk.

Dunkin’ Cookie Butter Cloud Latte side view

Once the foam has sadly subsided, you’re left with my favorite sort of holiday coffee, which is one that actually tastes like coffee. So often these beverages can be over-the-top sweet and feel more like a melted sundae than a latte, but this stays firmly in the coffee zone. You can taste the espresso, and it’s nicely complemented by the creamy milk and buttery, brown sugar cookie notes. It smells and tastes just like you think the holidays should, with a warm spice blend that’s like a complex but less aggressive gingerbread. From the first whiff of the cookie bits and cold foam to the last sip, the aromas and flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and brown sugar make this drink taste like Christmas in a cup.

I don’t know who first decided that Biscoff cookies were the perfect in-flight snack (okay, the internet tells me it was Michael McGuire who tasted them in Europe and pitched the idea to Delta – Thanks, Europe and Mike!). But Dunkin’ has convinced me that its Cookie Butter Cloud Latte is the perfect holiday drink. Thanks to a recent promotion, I paid less than three dollars for this drink and liked it so much I had it three times in one week. At its regular price of $5.69, I probably won’t purchase it every day, but I would like to, because it’s that good. Dunkin’ gift cards are going straight to the top of my wishlist this year. Santa reads The Impulsive Buy, right?

Purchased Price: $2.22 (with a $2 deal in the app, regular price $5.69)
Size: Medium
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Medium Iced) 370 calories, 12 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 56 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 56 grams of total sugar, and 9 grams of protein.

6 Other Things I Consumed This Week: 12/12/2025

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Yes Honey Sweet Apple Soda

Yes Honey Sweet Apple and Strawberry Sodas

These definitely taste like they’re sweetened with honey. I picked up the Sweet Apple one first, and when I tried it, I didn’t taste apple. All my taste buds could pick up was the honey, which Winnie the Pooh would be all over and shaking his honey pot-shaped belly in euphoria. But I really wanted more of apple.

Yes Honey Strawberry Soda

Because the honey was so strong with the Apple one, I wondered if it would be the case with another Yes Honey flavor. So I ended up spending another three dollars for the Strawberry version, which had a more noticeable fruity flavor. The honey still comes through strong, but at least my tongue can taste the strawberry.

Adding honey to a strawberry soda creates a unique flavor that’s also quite good. If you happen to see Yes Honey sodas, they’re worth a try.

Yes Honey Soda also comes in Ginger Ale, Watermelon, Berry, and Peach flavors. The latter two flavors have 50 milligrams of caffeine from green tea.

RYSE Sunny D Energy Drink

Ryse Sunny D Energy Drink

I went into my local 7-Eleven to during my run jog brisk walk sloth-paced walk to pick up something to pick-me-up. I had intended to purchase a Monster Ultra, but a can was almost FIVE DOLLARS. So I ended up buying the RYSE Sunny D Energy Drink, which was almost two dollars cheaper.

Does this energy drink taste like Sunny D? I don’t know. It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve had Sunny D, and I’m trying to remember what it tastes like. All I remember is that it was SUPER sweet, and I don’t get that with this sugar-free drink with 200 milligrams of caffeine. It definitely has an orange flavor, but no wave of nostalgia washed over me, reminding me of Sunny D. It’s fine tasting energy drink, and it’s made me curious enough that I might give other RYSE flavors a try.

Pop & Bottle Double Cold Brew Oat Milk Latte

Pop & Bottle Double Cold Brew Oat Milk Latte

This one is not for me. After trying it, I would not repurchase it.

What got me curious about it was that this coffee drink is sweetened with dates. As someone who likes RXBars and Larabars, I thought it might surprise me. As I drank it, RXBars and Larabars definitely came to mind, although too much. It’s not awful, but the date flavor distracts my taste buds from the coffee and cold brew. If I were into niche alternative sweeteners, this would be one of the few coffee drink choices I have.

A can does have 120 milligrams of caffeine. However, the can’s 8-ounce size bothers me. Before I knew it, it was gone.

Starbucks Iced Banana Protein Cold Foam Matcha

Starbucks Iced Banana Protein Cold Foam Matcha

When Starbucks rolled out its protein drinks and protein cold foams, this version that it promoted was the only one I wanted because, if you’re a regular reader here, you know I go bananas for bananas. Anyhoo, this drink was highly disappointing to my banana-loving taste buds.

The foam’s banana flavor was almost non-existent, except for occasional moments when a banana chunk ended up in my mouth. But other than that, all I could taste was the matcha, which isn’t an awful thing because, if you’re a regular reader here, you know I go mmmm for matcha. Well, at least I got a good amount of protein that day.

Alani Nu Winter Wonderland Energy Drink (2025)

Alani Nu Winter Wonderland Energy Drink (2025)

Alani Nu’s Winter Wonderland got rebuilt in Santa’s workshop this year. I didn’t try the previous version, which had a coconut element. However, this updated flavor with a stronger fruity taste is delicious. Out of all the cranberry-flavored holiday beverages I’ve had over the past few weeks, I think this one stands out as my favorite. However, that could be the caffeine talking. But it has a tasty cranberry flavor that’s neither too sweet nor too tart, making it easy to drink. It’s definitely something I’d drink again next year unless Alani Nu changes the recipe again. Which I hope it doesn’t do.

REVIEW: Starbucks Eggnog Cream Cold Foam

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Starbucks Eggnog Cream Cold Foam cup

If there’s something more highly anticipated than the Starbucks bear tumbler (too soon??), it’s the eggnog-flavored beverages. The last time we saw eggnog at Starbucks was in 2020, and for some, that was a long five years. Along with the iced or hot latte, there’s now an Eggnog Cream Cold Foam that can be mixed and matched with other drinks to your liking.

I decided that the best drink to pair with the Eggnog Cream Cold Foam was a standard cold brew. I wanted the cold foam to shine and have a blank canvas for me to work with.

Well, let me tell you, folks, if you want eggnog, stick to the lattes. I was so excited… and then very disappointed.

Starbucks Eggnog Cream Cold Foam top layer

Starbucks Eggnog Cream Cold Foam from top

The cold foam’s flavor was good on its own. If you gave me a cup of that and a spoon, I think I’d kick my rating up a couple of notches. I appreciated the slightest sweetness and how it made the cold brew creamier. However, the flavor died just as quickly as the cold foam dissolved into the drink. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the cold foam dissipate as quickly as this one. Within 10 minutes, it was completely gone from the top. And the eggnog flavor I got while it was alone did not come through once it disappeared. Perhaps the cold brew was too strong, overpowering the foam’s flavor? I’m honestly still willing to give this one another shot, and a regular iced coffee with it might be on the horizon…

I could also see this working if you wanted to jazz up a vanilla latte and didn’t want the full eggnog flavor – just the cold foam. But if you do try, just be prepared that it might not live up to the flavor potential.

Purchased Price: $5.50 ($4.25 for a tall cold brew + $1.25 for the Eggnog Cream Cold Foam)
Size: Tall
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: No nutrition numbers available for cold foam.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Chips Ahoy Frappe

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McDonald's Chips Ahoy Frappe photo taken at McDonald's

While sipping on the new McDonald’s Chips Ahoy Frappe, I tried to remember the last time the chain offered a new Frappe variety. I don’t know if it was from racking my head or the brain freeze, but the pain I had prevented my memories from recalling it. So I thought it must’ve been a long time ago. But, thankfully, I know of a site that reviews McDonald’s food (this one), and I learned that I might have the brain of a goldfish because the last new Frappe wasDulce de Leche, and it came out a year ago.

But why do new Frappe drinks happen only once a year? I could use more limited time only Frappe drinks. Is it an annual notification to remind us that McDonald’s still makes the icy, sugary coffee drink? Some of you might be asking why not a Chips Ahoy McFlurry? Well, the site I know that reviews McDonald’s food (again, this one), tells me there wasone back in 2020 that came with caramel for some reason.

McDonald's Chips Ahoy Frappe look at those cookie crumble. I just want to snort them.

This cookie-enhanced Frappe features McDonald’s mocha coffee Frappe base blended with ice and chocolate chip cookie syrup. It’s also topped with whipped light cream and Chips Ahoy cookie pieces. Yes, it’s as sweet as it looks.

The Frappe base with the chocolate chip cookie syrup doesn’t remind me of Chips Ahoy cookies, but it has a flavor that’s kind of like the Coffee mate Nestle Toll House cookie creamer in stores now, but with a stronger chocolate taste. It’s almost like a chocolate milkshake with a hint of something something that makes it slightly different. I do wish the syrup had a brown butter flavor to make the cookie-ness stand out more. You have to mix the toppings into the drink so the Chips Ahoy crumbles float in the Frappe base. Oh, and the syrup negates any coffee taste.

McDonald's Chips Ahoy Frappe - However, instead of snorting them, I mixed them into the rest of the drink

When the cookie pieces get mixed in with the ice, there are two contrasting textures: the slightly soggy crumbs and the crunchy ice. When my mouth got one of those crumbs with the Chips Ahoy chocolate chips, they brought a chocolatey burst that’s recognizable as Chips Ahoy and different from what’s in the Frappe base. However, the combination of soggy and crunchy textures was a little odd to chew on. The best-tasting, texture-pleasing sips I had were the final ones at the bottom of the cup, with a whole lot of cookie crumbs and mostly melted ice, all of which had a stronger chocolate flavor than when I first started slurping.

McDonald’s Chips Ahoy Frappe is a caffeinated dessert that I enjoyed. However, the contrasting textures were odd, and I wish the base had a stronger cookie flavor. But I’ll probably forget those issues, and the Frappe as a whole, a year from now.

Purchased Price: $4.19*
Size: Small
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 540 calories, 19 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 85 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 64 grams of sugar (including 58 grams of added sugar), 7 grams of protein, and 90 milligrams of caffeine.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

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