The Best and Worst Starbucks Moments of 2016

In addition to its regular lineup of holiday beverages like the Peppermint Mocha and Chestnut Praline Latte, Starbucks introduced a Spiced Sweet Cream Cold Brew for the holiday season. The cold drink starts with a spice blend of cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, and vanilla, and it's topped with a touch of sweet cream. Even though it's a cold drink, it tastes exactly like the holidays and instantly makes you feel warm inside.

To celebrate the PSL's 13th birthday, Starbucks offered pumpkin spice whipped cream for one weekend only this year. The orange-hued whip surprised the most skeptical tasters with its subtlety and not-too-sweet flavor. Let's hope Starbucks brings it back for a longer period next season, because we would order this with our PSL every time.

Keeping in line with major cities' trendy coffee shops, Starbucks got in on the Nitro Cold Brew trend this year. And the coffee is good. The smooth, frothy cold brew comes out of a tap and has more caffeine than you could possibly need on a tired morning. Seriously: Starbucks cannot sell a Venti of the Nitro Cold Brew because it would exceed the daily recommended caffeine intake (about 400 milligrams). Look for this menu item in select cities, including Seattle, Portland, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Possibly the best drink Starbucks has released this year is the Coconut Milk Mocha Macchiato. Even skeptics of coconut milk enjoyed the refreshing Summer beverage, which is made of Starbucks's white mocha sauce, chilled coconut milk, ice, and espresso and topped with both caramel and mocha sauce.

Since its introduction to the menu over the last year, Starbucks's cold brew has become an instant favorite. We couldn't wait to try out the Starbucks bottled cold brew because it meant that we could get our cold caffeine fix without making a trip to a store location. The unsweetened black coffee is perfectly smooth and flavorful enough on its own without the addition of cream or sugar.

This is the year of rainbow everything, including Starbucks drinks. After the #PinkDrink and #PurpleDrink went viral on social media, Starbucks released even more not-so-secret drinks to complete the rainbow, and we tried them all. Worth it for more than just the colorful Instagram photo, these rainbow drinks offer a more unique way to get your caffeine fix and branch out of your comfort zone. The orange drink (orange mango juice mixed with a scoop of vanilla bean powder and topped with a splash of coconut milk) reminds us of orange creamsicles, and the green drink (black tea with a couple of scoops of matcha and coconut milk) will be every matcha-lover's newest favorite.

The best rainbow drink is hands down the pink drink. It lived up to the claims that it tastes like a pink Starburst, and our tasters couldn't get enough of the tartness and sweetness. If you want to order it, be sure to list out all the ingredients because your barista might not know exactly what the pink drink is. It's a strawberry acai refresher with coconut milk and freeze-dried strawberries, and you should be able to order it year round.

If only Starbucks Shaken Iced Berry Sangria Tea could become a year-round menu item at all locations. While there's no actual wine in the sangria-inspired drink, the berry tea is just as refreshing. POPSUGAR's Hedy Phillips reported, "The Teavana Shaken Iced Berry Sangria Herbal Tea is inspired by the Spanish beverage and starts with Teavana's Passion Tango Tea. It's hand-shaken with apple juice to give it that boost of fruitiness and served with berries and orange slices to really bring out the essence of sangria."

If anything, these limited-edition mini Frappuccinos are worth it for the sheer cuteness. These 10-ounce cups filled with your favorite Frappuccino flavor make for the best way to get a caffeine fix and sugar rush if you're not in the mood for a whole drink. FYI, Starbucks has a cup size smaller than a Tall called a "Short," so if you're ever unsure if this size is available, just ask.

Despite its name, the Cherry Blossom Frappuccino had no cherries at all. The springtime beverage, which was available for about a week, was a strawberries and cream Frappuccino with white chocolate sauce, matcha drizzle, whipped cream, and a sprinkle of matcha powder on top. It's one of our favorites of the year so far, and as one of our taste testers noted, "It's basically a strawberry milkshake."

It's been a good year for iced Starbucks drinks, and the limited-edition Starbucks granitas are at the top of the list. Each of the three flavors (Teavana Youthberry White Tea Granita, Strawberry Lemon Limeade Granita, and Caramel Espresso Granita) offers a refreshing take on shaved ice that immediately cools you down.

While some of us won't be able to experience nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee, others can try a separate summertime cold brew that's just as good: Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew. A handcrafted, vanilla-infused cream is poured over Starbucks's signature cold brew, creating not only an eye-catching drink but also a supersweet and satisfying one.

For the first time, Starbucks started selling its bottled Pumpkin Spice Latte in grocery stores rather than just in Starbucks store locations, and we were eager to compare it to the original Pumpkin Spice Latte. The bottled version boasts less of a pumpkin flavor and even more sweetness, and one of our tasters claimed that "it tastes like Coffee Mate creamer." It's not bad, but it's just OK. Unless you're dying to stock your fridge with readily available PSLs for the morning, taking a trip to your nearest Starbucks to take care of your craving is worth it.

Starbucks didn't exactly release a new Halloween Frappuccino for 2016; it just made a slight change to last year's Frappula Frappuccino. Made of white chocolate mocha sauce and strawberry syrup (instead of raspberry), it's a supersweet beverage with no kick of espresso.

The most disappointing part of this Waffle Cone Frappuccino is that the star (crushed waffle cone!) gets totally soggy in a matter of minutes on top of the whipped cream. It's not nearly as intriguing as another 2016 coffee trend: coffee in an actual waffle cone.

A butterbeer-like latte?! Harry Potter fans couldn't wait to try the Smoked Butterscotch Latte, but it didn't quite live up to expectations. The "smoked" flavor was a bit too much, and it would have benefited from a more authentic butterscotch taste.

We were a little disheartened to learn that Starbucks's new trifles were essentially leftover pastries in disguise. For the price of $3.45, you get a baby-size Frappuccino cup filled with either a brownie or vanilla scone and topped with mocha sauce or strawberry drizzle and whipped cream. The trifles were a part of Starbucks's limited-edition Sunset menu, and while they certainly weren't bad, you shouldn't feel bummed if you missed out on the chance to try them. If this is truly speaking to your sweet tooth, you could easily re-create it by ordering a pastry, cutting it up, and topping it with the sauce and whipped cream.

A classic Italian affogato is a shot of espresso poured over vanilla gelato, and while Starbucks did not release gelato (wishful thinking!), it did create affogato-style Frappuccinos. Although these are technically only available through the Summer, you can order them any time by adding a shot of espresso to any Frappuccino. Beware of the main drawback: the heat of the espresso melts the frozen drink quickly, so you'll want to drink fast.

It didn't take long for the battle of the pink vs. purple drink to begin, and the former beat out the latter by a landslide. The purple drink is made with soy milk rather than coconut milk, which creates an unpleasantly chalky aftertaste similar to a protein shake. If your curiosity is winning and you need to get your hands on the colorful drink, here's how to order it: passion fruit iced tea (no water), soy milk, vanilla syrup, and freeze-dried blackberries.