Starbucks’ Toffee Almondmilk Hot Chocolate Is a Nutty, Non-Dairy Treat for Winter
With winter fast approaching, our cravings will, no doubt, turn to cozy and comfortable food and drink to help us get through the cold weather. Starbucks knows one way for folks to get a taste of the season is through concocting a bevy of holiday-ready beverages that only appear in stores for a few short months out of the year. And this year is no exception, as the coffee chain is taking a cue from the non-dairy milk craze and releasing a Toffee Almondmilk Hot Chocolate nationwide today. A Starbucks statement describes the new drinks as “steamed Almondmilk, mocha sauce and toffee nut syrup […] finished with whipped cream and Caramel Brulée topping.”
We tried the new beverage at a preview tasting and found it to be not overly sweet, but nutty, chocolatey and extremely shippable. The almond milk gives this cocoa a less heavy consistency than you’d expect from a whole milk hot chocolate and also adds to the flavor. A few lucky taste testers were remarking that, while typically they’d shoot for a Tall cocoa, this one could be enjoyed as a Grande or Venti while browsing a holiday market or picking out the perfect Christmas tree without feeling like you just drank a candy bar.
People avoiding dairy should, however, be sure to order the new drink without whipped cream (which does come standard on top).
And no matter how you order it, the Toffee Almondmilk Hot Chocolate will come served in a Starbucks holiday cup, a tradition that spans 20 years. Take a look back at the past two decades of Starbucks cups with this festive retrospective.
The Toffee Almondmilk Hot Chocolate joins Starbucks’ other seasonal hot chocolate drinks which include flavors like Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Snickerdoodle Hot Chocolate, and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. It also joins another winter beverage added this month, the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, which is a nuttier-tasting take on the usual white mocha, topped with cranberry sugar for good measure. Both new beverages are available for a limited time while supplies last.