We Tried Starbucks’ New Valentine’s Day Drinks And Ranked Them All — Here Is The Only One Worth Ordering

It’s February, Valentine’s Day is on the horizon and nothing says “romance,” more than… new drinks at Starbucks?

Okay, maybe Starbucks isn’t the first (or second, or third, or fourth, or fifth) thing we think of when it comes to the year’s most romantic holiday, but that hasn’t stopped the big coffee chain from introducing a grip of new drinks for the season.

Whether you give in fully to Valentine’s Day or are one of those people who see the holiday as just a way for our society to sell us stuff we don’t need, the new drinks capitalize on the flavors most closely associated with the holiday, like strawberries and chocolate, and feel however you want about February 14th, but that’s a flavor combination too good to deny.

The new drinks include the Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino, the Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew, and the sexily named Midnight Drink. There is no way all of these drinks are worth your money, so we picked up all three, put ‘em to a taste test, and ranked them from least to most essential.

Here are our thoughts.

4. Midnight Drink

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Despite its admittedly evocative name, the Midnight Drink tasted too muted to really appeal to us. The drink consists of a blackberry fruit infusion shaken with coconut milk. Visually, it looks appetizing, but flavorwise it tastes like dirty water tinged with a bit of tart berry undertones.

The coconut doesn’t come through well enough. Overall, it tastes like this one is missing a few key ingredients to make it worth ordering.

The Bottom Line:

Skip this one. It looks great and sounds appetizing, but it tastes muted to the point of near flavorlessness.

3. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

This is the one drink out of the four that seems explicitly Valentine’s Day-themed, and because of that I would’ve liked to rank it higher but, here it is sitting at third. Despite being second to last, that isn’t to say this drink isn’t good. Unlike the Midnight Drink, Starbucks didn’t forget to pack this one with flavor.

This drink takes the Strawberry Crème base and builds on it by adding a heavy drizzle of chocolate syrup, blended chocolate chunks, and a thick layer of Strawberry purée. The flavor balances sweet and creamy strawberry tones with more tart sensations, with a nice rich dark chocolate finish.

It’s everything you want a Frappuccino to be — indulgent, sweet, and taste-bud pleasing with a nice decadent twist.

The Bottom Line:

Delicious enough that you’ll want it to be part of Starbucks’ permanent menu. It’s a shame it’s not.

2. Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew

Of the four new Valentine’s Day drinks, the Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew is the only one that has any coffee in it, so if you’re all about that heavy dose of caffeine, this is the drink for you.

The Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew features a nutty, buttery, and earthy flavor with a hint of chocolate and a whole lot of sweetness, which pairs nicely with the soft cocoa flavor of Starbucks’ cold brew base. The foam on this cold brew features little flecks of chocolate which help to emphasize that chocolatey vibe even more.

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

A welcome twist to Starbucks’ cold brew. Especially if you’re into chocolatey Nutella vibes.

1. Blackberry Sage Lemonade Refresher

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Starbucks’ Refreshers line are essentially mocktails, which makes them incredibly easy to write off. A big criticism of mocktails is that you don’t get anything out of them, it’s essentially an elevated sweet drink, which begs the question, why not just have a Coca-Cola? Well, drinks like the Blackberry Sage Lemonade Refresher make the whole concept of a mocktail valid.

This drink features a sweet and tangy lemonade base infused with blackberries and a hint of sage. It’s a true joy to drink. It’s tangy, tart, earthy, a bit woody, and has this addicting bright and minty finish. The way the Blackberry Sage Lemonade Refresher hits your palate takes your tastebuds on a journey. It’s surprisingly nuanced and complex, and it is easily Starbucks’ best lemonade ever.

The Bottom Line:

Don’t write off the Refreshers as simple mocktails. The Blackberry Sage Lemonade Refresher, with its complex, earthy, tart, and sweet flavor is absolutely worth a trip to Starbucks.

That’s not something we ever thought we’d say about this line of beverages.