Nerd Fuel: Starbucks – Salted Caramel Mocha
Wow! It’s been a few months since I’ve reviewed a coffee. This is because there just haven’t been any new coffee drops at my local grocery store. But with Fall on the horizon, the seasonal coffees are starting to roll out. This year, for whatever reason, Starbucks saw fit to include a Salted Caramel Mocha flavor with this year’s Autumn lineup. Personally, I don’t know what these flavors have to do with Fall, but it’s something new, so I’m not complaining. Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of mocha. I think it’s a bit overdone. But salted caramel is one of my favorite candies. So, I decided to take the plunge and give this one a go.
One of the first things I noticed was that the brew was unusually aromatic. The fragrance of coffee and mocha filled my kitchen almost immediately. With my specific coffee machine, this typically only happens with very dark roasts or with coffees that go very heavy on the artificial flavoring. The box indicated that this was a medium roast coffee. So I mentally prepared myself for some over-the-top nonsense.
Thankfully, my assessment was wrong. Yes. This coffee has a strong flavor profile. But it’s not over-sweet. The taste of this brew is hard to describe. There’s certainly mocha present here. But the salted caramel aspect also has a somewhat boozy taste to it. In fact, the coffee has a whiskey-like finish to it. To be quite honest, I found this to be surprisingly delightful. This coffee was wonderful! I enjoyed this flavor much more than I expected to. It was great directly out of the machine with my favorite creamer. But I can tell you, this is one of those flavored coffees that would be even better over ice.
As much as I’ve praised this coffee. I’m not sure it’s the best thing to wake up with in the morning. Something like this is probably better thought of as a dessert coffee or a mid-day pick-me-up. Still, it’s nice to come across a new flavored K-Cup that doesn’t taste like aspartame.
Score: 4 out of 4
Would buy again?: Yes. This is one of the better flavored coffees that Starbucks has come out with in recent years. It’s sweet and delicious, but it might be a just a tad too much for coffee purists. Still, I was pleasantly surprised with this one.
