I was a little afraid to try this ice cream. But I really like vanilla ice cream, and the thought of a new version excites me.
Why was I not sure about it? Well, first off, as big a fan of Starbucks coffee as I am, I don't like the cream based Frappuccinos. I don't like any of them; the vanilla in particular being my least favorite. And on top of that, I really didn't like the last of the Starbucks ice creams. I tried the Java Chip flavor. At the time of that review, several people wrote in to say that they preferred the old version of the Java Chip to the current version. Having never had the old version, I couldn't comment personally. But what I have found out since is that all of the Starbucks ice creams made prior to 2009 was made by Dreyers (Edy's), and the current versions of the product -- including the Java Chip I reviewed -- are currently manufactured by Unilever. (You can read their FAQ's here). So if you were among those who thought there was a difference in the ice creams...well, you were right.
What finally pushed me to try this version is that my local store had the little 3.5 ounce single-serve containers on sale (for $1.00!), and I didn't have much to lose.
So how is it?
It is an attractive vanilla, creamy white and speckled with vanilla bean. Definitely looks good.
As for the taste...meh. The initial vanilla flavor was goodish. It starts off rich, but it quickly degenerates into this weird malted milk, quasi-citrus, chemical funk. Does it taste like the drink? Kinda, but surely not in the intended way. Does it taste good?
No. It does not taste good.
I will give them points for the texture being much, much better with this flavor than it was with the Java Chip. It's super smooth, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it creamy. It doesn't leave that nice, fatty film in your mouth that super-premiums do -- but to be fair, I wasn't expecting that.
Maybe die-hard fans of the drink or those less picky about their vanilla will like this more than I did. Personally, I couldn't finish even half of the 3.5 ounces. Yeah, the taste was really that bad.
PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket
PRICE:
$1.00
CALORIES:
170 calories per 3.5 ounce container.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
starbucksicecream.com
awww crud, I just bought the strawberry version to try.
ReplyDeleteDubba:
ReplyDeleteBraver then I my friend. But I could see where the strawberry might help mask some of the malted funk.
Have you tried this flavor yet?
I'm eating it now, verry good and taste just like the drink, the best part is they only cost .49 cents each at Albertson's right now!
ReplyDeleteMichael: I WANT to like this flavor, I just can't seem to get the warm fuzzies for any of the Starbucks ice creams. And I LOVE Starbucks so that seems to make it even worse for me.
ReplyDeleteEither way that is a great price!