Holiday drinks at 8:15 Café, ranked

With the arrival of cold weather, holiday drinks have also arrived at 8:15 at Boatwright in time for the holiday season. The three classic flavors of gingerbread, toasted marshmallow and peppermint have returned for the season, and can be paired with a mocha, Americano or hot chocolate. The special holiday drink added to this season’s roster is the spiced brown sugar chai latte.

Here is a ranked list of the holiday drinks on the menu.

4. Toasted Marshmallow

The flavor toasted marshmallow didn’t meet my initial expectations because I had expected it to taste sugary but have a slight vanilla flavoring that made it taste like more than just additional sugar. I definitely expected there to be more to the flavor than what it was, because with both the Americano and the mocha, it just added a more sugary, sweetened taste. Although I liked both drinks with the holiday flavoring, it just made them sweeter and didn’t really give any sense of them being holiday drinks. 

3. Brown Sugar Chai Latte

The first thing I noticed about the brown sugar chai latte was its incredible smell. The holiday-inspired chai smelled like a warm combination of spices, and definitely tasted good. Although I think it was a good drink and a good chai latte, it didn’t seem too different from a usual chai latte. There’s nothing wrong with this drink and if you like chai lattes you’ll definitely enjoy this one, but it just tasted like a heavily but well-spiced chai latte when I was expecting more of a holiday drink.

2. Gingerbread

The gingerbread was my second favorite flavor offered for this season. Although it tasted great and had a definite taste of gingerbread, it could’ve been a little bit stronger, but most people who order this drink should be pleased with it. I really noticed the taste of gingerbread the most in the aftertaste. My gingerbread mocha was enjoyable and got me in the holiday spirit, because it just tasted like a regular mocha with a hint of gingerbread. 

1. Peppermint

If you like peppermint and order a drink with this flavoring, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a sweeter peppermint taste that is the strongest flavor out of all the holiday flavors offered, but it’s not too strong. The peppermint gives the drink a more refreshing coffee flavor, but the sweetness of the mint gets you in the holiday spirit. The peppermint mocha is definitely something I recommend for those who love peppermint flavor and want to get in the holiday spirit.

Sophomore Jack Ditto said that although he had liked the idea of holiday drinks and had thought it had been a good way to bring in the holiday spirit, he probably wouldn’t try the new additions to the menu, although he was a fan of pumpkin spice lattes for fall.

“I think pumpkin spice lattes are top of the list," Ditto said. "Everybody freaks out about them, like my roommate loves them.”

First-year Emily Dickson said she liked holiday drinks and typically went for peppermint mochas, because “chocolate and mint go really well together." Dickson said she had tried the salted caramel mocha at 8:15 at Boatwright, but not any of the new holiday drinks for this season yet.  

Barista and sophomore Nicole Liu, who’s worked at 8:15 at Boatwright for two years now, said she enjoyed making the holiday drinks every season. 

Contact news writer Eileen Pomeroy at eileen.pomeroy@richmond.edu.