REVIEW: Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream

Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream

As a place that is known for its calorie-filled coffee concoctions, I wasn’t surprised that Starbucks has their own line of calorie-filled coffee ice cream concoctions, although these pints of ice cream can’t be bought in one of the dozens of Starbucks locations within a 10 miles radius of you.

The new Starbucks Ice Cream line replaces the old Starbucks Ice Cream line made by Dreyer’s and features milk and cream that’s free from recombinant bovine growth hormones (rBGH). It comes in four different flavors and I chose the plain ol’ coffee flavor because I wasn’t feeling very adventurous at the time of purchase to try any of the other flavors — caramel macchiato, mocha frappuccino and java chip frappuccino — all of which are apparently brought to us by the letter O.

The Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream is made up of coffee and espresso ice creams. If you look closely at it you can see the swirls the two ice creams make and if you listen very carefully to the ice cream you might be able to hear the sounds of jazz or easy listening music playing, just like you’re sitting in a Starbucks location.

To be honest, I’ve consumed more water out of a rusty pipe than Starbucks coffee (although some people might say they taste the same), so I can’t tell you if the ice cream tastes similar to its insulated cupped brethren. But I do know that I’ve had better tasting coffee ice cream. While it has an adequate coffee flavor, it isn’t as creamy or as rich as other coffee ice cream I’ve had in the past, like the Haagen Dazs Coffee ice cream. Perhaps the use of espresso ice cream is the reason for that or maybe the it’s the “Starbucks Coffee Concentrate” that’s listed among the ice cream’s ingredients, which sounds like something Starbucks should start selling in a cup — straight up.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 210 calories, 13 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein, 10% vitamin A and 10% calcium.)

Item: Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream
Price: $3.99 (on sale)
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Decent tasting. Made with milk and cream that’s free from recombinant bovine growth hormones (rBGH). It’s size is one pint, unlike Haagen Dazs. The number of Starbucks locations.
Cons: Not as creamy or rich as other coffee ice cream I’ve had. Drinking out of a rusty pipe. Falling asleep to the music played in a Starbucks. Starbucks Coffee Concentrate sounds scary. The number of Starbucks locations.

14 thoughts to “REVIEW: Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream”

  1. Haha http://twitter.com/theimpulsivebuy/status/2126067591

    “NEW REVIEW: Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream http://bit.ly/dv2Gw Read it during a Lakers/Magic timeout.” – That’s precisely what I did…the one where they showed the courtside celebs (Rihana, D-Wade, Tiger Woods….)

    Ya know….I sell this in my restaurant but I haven’t actually tried it. It sells well so I thought it would be good buy it must be a brand thing more than a taste thing…same with their brewed concotions, in my opinion.

    I think I’d have to agree with Chuck, Haagen Dazs is sublime…although even Baskin-Robbins serves a decent one.

  2. I think the fact that your saying, “which are apparently brought to us by the letter O” made me think that Oprah was involved in the making of this ice cream is a bad sign about how pervasive her influence is in American culture. What’s worse, I have never watched her show and it’s not on in Japan!

  3. I am not big on coffee flavored ice cream. I am however enjoying my Starbucks coffee right out of my bean grinder from my home.

  4. I happened to like this ice cream but I agree it is not even close to how good the Haagen Dazs ice cream is. That being said, I also like the super processed gummy store brand coffee ice cream that you find in the cardboard containers.

  5. MMMM coffee ice cream, haven’t had that in a long time. I get stuck in a rut with ice cream, right now it is Mint Chip, Cookie Dough, Moose Tracks and Cookies n Cream flavors lol 😛

  6. @Chuck: Hmm…Starbucks Haagen Dazs ice cream would be awesome, but my goodness that would be bad for us.

    @Bear Silber: You sell more than pizza at your restaurant? Hmm…I guess that makes sense. You can buy the main course AND the dessert.

    @Orchid64: Oprah does not control us. Oprah loves us all. Oprah does not control us. Oprah is all powerful. Oprah does not control us. Help me. Oprah does not control us.

    @Neil the hammer: I like to serve my revenge cold too, but then I like to follow that with warm puppies.

    @govtdrone: I guess you could stick this in the microwave, but I don’t think it would taste very good.

    @amanda: No waiting in line for your coffee. Priceless.

    @Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master: In this economy the gummy store brand coffee ice cream sounds divine.

    @angry bob: I like my caves cold, dark, and full of bats.

    @Erin: You must branch out. There are hundreds of flavors for you to experience and by the time you finish reading this reply, there will probably be a dozen new flavors.

  7. Pardon my amusement. I am old enough to remember when it was a big deal that coffee ice cream became available in Florida when enough retirees from New England asked for it – and the horror expressed about possibly exposing children (!!!) to cofffee “prematurely.”

  8. @Marvo – Dude, we’ve got tons o’ stuff…jalapeno poppers, wings, tenders, a million salads (healthy eater I am), sangwiches, wraps, paninis, bread sticks, cheesy bread, lasagna, ravioli and more.

  9. Starbucks has awesome iced green tea. So I guess I have to wait until they release that flavour of ice cream.

  10. after reading the comments about Star bucks ice cream I am inclined to try Hagen Diaz ice cream first.

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