-Chloe Citron

For the two middle weekends in October, Starbucks offered “Barista Originals” which the company describes as “fall beverages recipes developed exclusively by baristas.” After realizing what a big trend fall drinks have become, Starbucks had baristas from around the country submit their own creative concoctions and picked their favorites to showcase in locations around the country. In addition, baristas in each Starbucks location came up with their own original drink recipe each weekend to add even more options! I tried all of these drinks, so you don’t have to.

Starbucks Campus West Barista Original: Hazelnut Hot Chocolate

This drink tastes a little sweeter than starbucks regular hot chocolate, but it has a strong hint of hazelnut. It is mostly very chocolatey and it reminds me more of Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate than Starbucks original. Very tasty, but very sweet.  

Grande Chai with Pump of Pumpkin Spice and Cinnamon Dolce

Usually I think that the Chai taste like “Christmas in a Cup” and I have to say this variation tastes like a donut in a cup. It’s still Christmasy to me, but it does have a slight fall twist. When I took off the lid, it smelled strongly of pumpkin spice which was nice and reminded me of fall. Although I don’t think I will be ordering this drink again, as it is much too sweet for me and has too much of a syrupy taste, if you want a sweet donut in drink form, this is for you!

Flat White with a Pump of Pumpkin Spice

The flat white with a pump of pumpkin spice and cinnamon dolce is actually really good. Because the flat white isn’t sweet on its own, the syrup works well as a sweeteners and added a nice flavor. In my opinion it is much better than the PSL because it isn’t as sweet and you can still taste the coffee, unlike the Chai.  

Cold Brew with Pumpkin Spice and Sweet Cream

This was my favorite drink of them all! It tasted like an iced pumpkin spice latte, but not as intense of a flavor which was very good. It was a rich drink because of the sweet cream, but it was not as strong as normal Starbucks coffee which is good in my opinion.

Salted Caramel White Chocolate Mocha

This drink doesn’t taste like coffee at all. It taste more like caramel flavored hot chocolate. Very sweet but has a lot going on. I think the mix of the two mocha is too many flavor profiles going on. The drink also had a hazelnut note, which confused me because it didn’t appear to have hazelnut in it. The salt on the top of the whipped cream though was a nice touch!

Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino with Extra Sea Salt & Extra Caramel

I am not a big fan of mochas because to me they taste like rich chocolate milk, which isn’t what I usually want to drink when I go for coffee. To me this drink was too sweet not salty at all and just tasted more like chocolate milk with caramel sauce in it, which isn’t a bad thing if that is what you are looking for.