The battle between Britain's biggest and most popular coffee chains has been hotting up in recent weeks. Fresh on the heels of Starbucks releasing and then ending its lavender coffee range, Costa Coffee has now debuted its own version.
Coming in the form of a Vanilla Lavender Iced Whipped Latte, the drink debuted to Costa Club members on Friday, before being rolled out to everyone on May 8.
David Crabtree, Head of Beverage Innovation at Costa Coffee said: “We’re excited for our Costa Club members to be the first to experience this new flavour, which joins our popular Caramel and White Chocolate Iced Whipped Latte flavours—both of which are now available on our menu all year round.”
With that being said, I had to get my hands on the new drink which has already become a bit of a controversial topic on Costa Coffee fan Facebook group (yes, they exist and yes, I am in them).
Many think coffee shouldn't work with lavender, and that the drink is “an affront to coffee lovers everywhere”, a judgement call I will make myself.
The layered iced latte features a smooth vanilla lavender-flavour sauce combined with velvety whipped coffee, so they say. But does it?
The first thing I noticed about this is the smooth texture, which I guess is the whipped part of the description. It was light, airy and pleasing on the tongue.
I was expecting to be hit with a lot of flowery notes when first sniffing my drink (totally normal behaviour), but I actually wasn't. Coffee was the dominant smell, followed by a fruitiness I wasn't planning on being there.
This followed through to the tasting, as it really was quite fruity, rather than being dominated by the overpowering scent and taste of lavender.
To the doubters, of which there are many, coffee and lavender do actually work together and the vanilla cuts through the dominant coffee bitterness and lavender floweriness – so I can see why they've thrown the vanilla in there.
I was left with a fruity aftertaste, almost blueberry-like, but I was also left with the feeling that something is missing from this drink and it's something that could elevate it to the next level.
It's a well-balanced drink and has a pleasing flavour profile, but it could do with maybe a touch of citrus to lift from "that's nice" to "OK, hook that into my veins and give it me all year round”.
I don't know if I'd jack in my regular order and have this all the time, but it does make a nice change from the usual options on the menu – although nothing will ever top the salted caramel range.
Throw in some lemon, and you're onto a winner here, Costa Coffee bosses.
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