Review: New Costa Coffee Banoffee Frostino

I was excited to hear about this new Coffee Banoffee Frostino at Costa Coffee. I still miss the delicious (and sadly limited edition) Coffee, Oats, & Banana Smoothie that they launched earlier this year - see my review here : Costa Coffee Oats & Banana Smoothie Review.

The Costa Coffee Banoffee Frostino is a creamy iced drink made with fresh banana, espresso, milk, ice and topped with a caramel drizzel and fudge pieces. I've had this drink twice now and both times it's been made with lots of ice which gives it a very thick texture that slowly becomes easier to drink. I would prefer it with slightly less blended ice and a bit more coffee but it's still a very refreshing (and sweet!) drink for these warmer days. The whole thing is not as delicious as their previous banana smoothie, that one had a bit more of a banana and coffee hit, but it's definitely one I'll be buying again this summer. 

If you've tried this drink then I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Grocery Gems Review: Costa Coffee Banoffee Frostino

RATING: 8 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Costa Coffee.
Price: £3.50p.

Review: New Costa Coffee, Oats & Banana Smoothie

A quick review of the new Costa dairy-free breakfast smoothie - the Coffee, Oats & Banana Smoothie. I didn't know this existed until I saw the review on The Excited Eater and I knew I had to try it straight away.

The Costa Coffee, Oats & Banana Smoothie is a blend of coffee, Alpro oat drink, one whole banana, oats, a little ice and some honey (which can be left out to make this drink vegan). The consistency is not as thick or heavy as a traditional smoothie, it's actually quite thin and easy to drink. There were a few oaty 'bits' as I was drinking which added to the texture. I don't know why I've never thought of adding coffee to a banana smoothie but the result is surprisingly delicious. 

Image: Costa Coffee

The mild coffee flavour and creamy oat milk make a delicious combination with the sweet banana. I actually couldn't taste much of the honey itself but I'm sure it added to the sweetness. Despite being a thinner smoothie it's still very filling and kept me going until lunch. I'm definitely going to try to recreate this one at home!

If you've tried this drink then I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Grocery Gems Review: Costa Coffee, Oats & Banana Smoothie

RATING: 9 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 255 calories.
Purchased: Costa Coffee.
Price: £3.50p.

Christmas Gift Idea: Costa Coffee Monin Syrup Set

A quick present idea for anyone who's left their Christmas shopping until the last minute! I didn't get the chance to put together a proper Christmas gift guide this year, but I couldn't resist highlighting one of my favourite finds this year. Costa Coffee shops are selling a gift pack of Festive Monin Coffee Syrups in new flavours for 2014 which reflects the Costa Coffee Christmas Menu this year. The packs costs £5.99, for five 50ml bottles, and is available in Costa Coffee shops. I bought a pack for my husbands birthday last week and we've been enjoying recreating a few Costa drinks at home.

I like these sets because even though they're an ideal gift for coffee lovers, the syrups don't just have to be used for coffee, they can also add flavour to hot chocolate, milkshakes, ice cream, and even for home baking. The five syrups this year are also different from the five available in the Festive set last year. This new set includes the following flavours (I've also given the inspiration drinks from the Costa menu to give you some idea of uses):

Orange - (Orange Hot Chocolate)

Praline - (Praline Cappuccino)

Brownie - (Brownie Hot Chocolate)

Pain d'Epices - (Gingerbread Latte)

Mûres - (Black Forest Hot Chocolate).

I should point out that I don't have any affiliation to Costa Coffee at all and I bought this set myself, I just think it makes a lovely gift and is a bargain at £5.99. 

You may also be interested in: Costa Coffee Festive Monin Coffee Syrups 2013.

Costa Coffee Christmas Menu 2014 - Orange Hot Chocolate and Sticky Toffee Latte

In my previous post I highlighted the new Christmas Menu 2014 at Costa Coffee and reviewed the Praline Cappuccino and Brownie Hot Chocolate. I wanted to go back to try the Orange Hot Chocolate and Sticky Toffee Latte and that's exactly what we did this weekend.

The Sticky Toffee Latte (in the middle snowman cup) is served with cream and an extra drizzle of toffee sauce. It's lovely and sweet and the toffee flavour tastes just like that found in a sticky toffee pudding sauce. The whole thing is very warming and satisfying and I even preferred it to the Praline Cappuccino that I tried last week. 

The Orange Hot Chocolate is decorated with gold dusting and a lattice chocolate (which sadly had mostly sunk by the time I could take a photo!). It had a good balance between the chocolate and orange flavours. I often find chocolate orange too overpowering as a combination but the flavours blend together well here. I bought this mainly for my son but he didn't enjoy it as much as the Brownie Hot Chocolate.

What's your favourite drink from the Costa Christmas Menu 2014? Mine is now jointly held by the Sticky Toffee Latte and Black Forest Hot Chocolate.

Costa Coffee Christmas Menu 2014 - Praline Cappuccino & Brownie Hot Chocolate

Image: Costa Coffee

Who cares about plain red cups in the run up to Christmas when you can get these awesome Santa, Snowman or Elf cups at Costa Coffee. Last weekend we tried some of the new drinks in the Costa Christmas Collection. In my review last year (see HERE), we tried the White Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel Latte, and Gingerbread Latte. This year the Costa Christmas Menu includes: Orange Hot Chocolate, Brownie Hot Chocolate, Praline Cappuccino, White Hot Chocolate, Black Forest Hot Chocolate (the best!), Gingerbread & Cream Latte, and Sticky Toffee Latte. We tried the Praline Cappuccino, Brownie Hot Chocolate and Gingerbread & Cream Latte.

The Praline Cappuccino (front left) looks gorgeous with it's gold dusting on top. I've actually had this drink a second time since taking these photos, and that time the gold dusting was finished in a snowflake pattern which looked even prettier. The drink itself is made with praline syrup which gives it a sweet caramel flavour with a nutty edge.

The Brownie Hot Chocolate (front right) made with walnut brownie syrup and sprinkled with brownie pieces on top, is sheer perfection for any hot chocolate fan. It has a rich chocolatey flavour that is quite intense but still sweet and indulgent. 

At the back is Mr Grocery Gems favourite - the Gingerbread & Cream Latte which I've already reviewed here.

Of course we couldn't resist sharing a gingerbread muffin too. These have a delicious ginger jam centre that I really enjoyed.

Here's a run down of the full selection available:

Gingerbread and Cream Latte: Espresso with steamed milk served with gingerbread flavoured syrup and topped with cream and a mini gingerbread man and a little sparkle.

White Hot Chocolate & Cream: White chocolate sauce with milk, topped with cream and cherry sauce and a little sparkle.

Black Forest Hot Chocolate: Hot Chocolate with a shot of blackberry syrup and topped with cream, cherry sauce and a sprinkle of Belgian dark chocolate curls.

Brownie Hot Chocolate: Hot chocolate with a shot of brownie syrup and topped with cream and brownie fudge pieces.

Sticky Toffee Latte: Espresso with steamed milk served with sticky toffee flavoured syrup and topped with cream and and an extra drizzle of toffee sauce.

Orange Hot Chocolate: Hot chocolate with a shot of orange syrup, topped with magic dusting and pure Belgian chocolate.

Praline Cappuccino: Espresso blended with praline syrup with frothed milk and Costa magic dusting.

www.christmas.costa.co.uk/festive-range

Have you tried any of the drinks from the Costa Christmas Menu 2014? I'll be heading back there this weekend to try out the Orange Hot Chocolate or Sticky Toffee Latte!

Costa Coffee Black Forest Hot Chocolate & Monin Festive Syrup Set!

I've tried quite a few of the festive drinks on offer at Costa Coffee (see my post here) and finally got around to trying the Black Forest Hot Chocolate. I know this has been around in previous years but this is the first time I've tried one. As you can see from my picture I had mine without cream. There was cherry syrup on top but it had mostly sunk through the foam. And there was a LOT of foam, almost a third of the drink. 

Despite that, I really did enjoy the flavour here. The cherry and chocolate combination is a real winner, especially from the cherry syrup on top. Strangely enough Costa Coffee use a Blackberry flavour Monin syrup within the coffee itself, but it still recreates a Black Forest flavour successfully. Overall this is a very delicious hot chocolate and I can see why it has been so popular for Costa Coffee. 

And if you want to recreate Costa Coffee's Christmas menu at home, such as the Toffee Nut Latte, Salted Caramel Latte, or indeed the Black Forest Hot Chocolate, then look out for the new Monin Festive Coffee Syrups set instore. It includes five Monin syrup bottles in the following flavours; Blackberry, Honeycomb, Gingerbread, Salted Caramel, and Toffee Nut. It's a great gift idea for any coffee (or hot chocolate) fan. I can't wait to recreate my favourite Salted Caramel Latte!

Christmas Collection at Costa Coffee

We tried out some of the new (and not so new) seasonal selections at Costa Coffee this weekend. It was hard to choose from the exciting range on offer but in the end we went for a White Hot Chocolate (with cherry sauce - yum!), Salted Caramel Latte, and Gingerbread & Cream Latte.

White Hot Chocolate - I bought this for my son who was very excited about trying it, he loves hot chocolate but has never had a white version before. The drink was very creamy, as you would expect, with a hint of vanilla and white chocolate. Even though my son was more than happy with his drink I felt the chocolate flavour could have been a bit stronger. The cherry sauce on top was his favourite part! 7 out of 10.

Salted Caramel Latte - Salted caramel is one of my favourite flavours, so I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to try this drink (I had mine without cream but it had a generous amount of foam on top). It's made with a base of Monin Salted Caramel syrup (I need to get some of this at home!). This tastes quite different to a standard caramel latte, it's not as sweet and has a richer, quite buttery flavour. There wasn't any discernible saltiness in the drink itself but the salted caramel swirl on top provided more than enough flavour for me. 9 out of 10.

Gingerbread & Cream Latte - I'm sure I don't need to describe this one but it's a lovely mix of sweet spices, such as cinnamon and ginger, that just conjure up a wonderful festive flavour. It's a cute touch that these Gingerbread lattes come with a little biscuit on top - although my poor gingerbread man had a chunk of his head missing. 9 out of 10.

And forget about the Starbucks red cups - the new Costa Christmas cups are just brilliant. There's a different cup for each size of coffee. The Father Christmas one is enough to make me want to get a giant coffee next time I'm ordering!