STARBUCKS

For our first location, we decided to keep it simple and in true Pacific Northwest fashion go to Starbucks. As locals know, there is practically a Starbucks on every corner in Washington. We went to the one on Avery Lane in Lacey right next to Lowe's, Jimmy John's, and Domino's (it's also right across the street from a gym, but nobody cares about that).

As promised, we got an iced vanilla latte with coconut milk and for the specialty drink, the new cocoa cloud macchiato. We wanted to try something new that neither of us have had before. We were tempted by the new teas that they released for summer but Grace had already tried them (unfortunately). She highly recommends the guava white tea if you're looking for a coffee alternative.

For a refresher on our criteria, visit our criteria page!

Latte

For sweetness we gave it a 3.5. The vanilla was definitely present but it wasn't too overpowering. The balance of the drink was right in the middle at a 3. There wasn't too much coffee or milk flavor. Overall, we decided to give this latte a 4 because it was a good staple drink, but there wasn't really anything special about it. It's not the best latte we've found, but it's an easy go-to that won't disappoint.

Cocoa Cloud Macchiato

The Cocoa Cloud Macchiato was 3/4 "cloud" and 1/4 espresso. We gave the drink a 3 for creativity because this was the first time we'd seen this concept for a drink anywhere and it was kind of fun! At first, you have to hold the drink at a certain angle for a few seconds so that the espresso can pass by the "cloud". Overall we gave it a 3 because it tasted good and it looked pretty, but for a tall (small) there wasn't much drink and it didn't last very long, plus the price didn't make it much better.

The customer service there was a 5, the employees were friendly and patient. The wait time for our drinks was about five minutes and we didn't have to wait in line at all. Granted, we were there an hour before closing so it wasn't peak hours. We gave the aesthetic a 2 because there wasn't anything unique or particularly special about it, it was just a typical Starbucks. The atmosphere was also pretty average. They have a nice outdoor seating area which made up for the lack of seating inside. There were a lot of outlets and the wifi worked well so this could be a good space to work.

Overall, we gave this experience a 6 out of 10. The space is average, but the front area and employees were very nice. The drinks were satisfactory and we enjoyed our experience.

Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed!

xo,

E&G

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Left: Cocoa Cloud Macchiato | Right: Iced Vanilla Latte w/Coconut Milk