Every summer, Starbucks releases a new concoction of Frappuccino sweetness guaranteed to get you into the door to try it. Unlike other classic Starbucks' drinks, these summer flavors are only available for a limited amount of time. Sometimes Starbucks brings the flavors back, and sometimes they don't (R.I.P. Mocha Cookie Crumble). In some stores, they run out of the ingredients to make the drink on the daily. Luckily for me, the wasn't the case when I lined up to try their new Caramel Waffle Cone Frapp.
Now, of all Starbucks' many wonders, Frappuccinos aren't my go to. I'm more of a venti-iced-whatever kind of girl, but still, there's nothing like a new flavor to make me spend $6 on diabetes. Moving on. The summer line-up for Starbucks was better than expected with the return of the delicious summer flavor, the Smores Frappuccino, and it took everything in me not to resort to something I already knew I liked, but I opted to try the Caramel Waffle Cone instead. I even got a Grande because I was optimistic I'd love it.
Expectation: I wanted to feel like I was biting into a waffle cone with caramel oozing out the bottom. I half expected the drink to taste like a caramel graham cracker wonder, with a hint of vanilla goodness. And even though waffle cones aren't typically salty, how good would a Salted Caramel Waffle Cone have been? I was also really hoping for some waffle cones blended into the drink to add to my delight. Or maybe a cherry on top? That might have been asking for too much. My expectations were set unfairly high, so it's safe to say I was disappointed.
Reality: I paid $6 for a Caramel Frappuccino with a few waffle cone pieces on top of my whipped cream. Was it good? Of course, it was good. Was it new? No. The name is really what sold me in the first place. The Frappuccino sounded so different that I expected it to also taste very different. Starbucks typically doesn't disappoint, and the name of the drink usually lives up to its characteristic. When you hear, Scorched Butterscotch, Toasted Graham and Caramelized Honey, you know what you're in for, so when the new flavor Caramel Waffle Cone appeared, I thought, oh boy, this is it. I was wrong.
Caramel Waffle Cone tastes nothing like a caramel waffle cone, it's just a more expensive version of the Caramel Frapp. But what about the waffle cone pieces on top you ask? Well, for one thing, they are far too big to fit through a straw so by the time you reach the bottom of your drink, there's a small soggy mound of waffle pieces. They won't get to your mouth unless you find a spoon and dig them out of the cup. Pointless.
I'm not expecting Caramel Waffle Cone to make a return next year, and I'm going to need a little more creativity from Starbucks in their next summer venture. They nailed the name but not the execution because whoever created that syrup clearly does not know what a waffle-cone tastes like. So, so long Caramel Waffle Cone Frapp, I guess my summer Frapp is Smores by default (not that I'm complaining).
