Starbucks unveiled its winter menu on Thursday Nov. 7, featuring some new and exciting drinks and pastries. Staff writers, Madeline Djimopoulos and Arin Kang, tried new menu items and beloved classics while reviewing them on a scale of one to five stars.

Iced Refreshers:

Cran-Merry Refresher with water: 3.5/5  

We replaced the lemonade with water, hoping to reduce some of the sourness. However, the drink still tasted very sour and tangy. But, as the ice melted in the drink, it started to taste better. We would not recommend this drink unless you really love cranberry juice. 

Cran-Merry Refresher with lemonade: 3/5

This variation was very sour because of the lemonade, making it highly unenjoyable. It was hard to drink since the cranberry juice is already sour and the lemonade adds more acidity. Unless you really love sour flavors, we would not recommend this drink.

Cran-Merry Refresher with coconut milk: 2.5/5

For this variation, we had the Cran-Merry refresher with coconut milk, which led to clashing flavors. The coconut milk and the cranberry flavor did not go well together and created an overall unsatisfying experience.

Iced Coffees/Teas:

Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte: 1.5/5 

This drink came with a nice touch of festive holiday sprinkles. Even though this was a popular drink that was recommended by many influencers, we found it to be highly overrated. Although the drink smelled appetizing, it tasted very bitter and had almost no sweetness to it—adding a harsh aftertaste. 

Iced Peppermint Mocha: 4/5 

This drink had a mix of rich chocolate and cool mint flavor as a twist on a classic mocha. It almost tastes like hot chocolate but more bitter. The iced drink comes with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. It was nothing like we have ever tried before and is definitely notable. 

Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai: 4/5 

This drink is made with gingerbread cold foam and pumpkin spice topping. It was flavorsome and delicious, but the cold foam was the only part where you could taste a little bit of gingerbread. It tasted like a normal iced chai, with minimal gingerbread flavor. So, we think that nothing is particularly special about this drink.

Food:

Cranberry Bliss Bar: 5/5

This was by far the best thing we tried. It had a unique flavor profile that did not disappoint. The cranberry pieces in the blondie gave a festive twist to a classic treat, adding tanginess to the sweetness of the blondie. The cream cheese frosting matched perfectly with the cranberry pieces, adding extra flavor to the bar. It also had cranberry pieces on top, serving as a nice garnish.

Penguin Cookie: 3/5

This cookie comes pre-packaged as a treat at the register. The cookie was dry, but the flavor wasn’t terrible. We would not recommend this cookie, since there are definitely better cookies out there with better texture.