Heather’s Take

Iced Vanilla Nut Bliss

I am an iced coffee and iced latte aficionado. I rarely meet an iced coffee that I don’t like, and I say this with experience. Since freshman year of high school I have been an avid coffee drinker, having a DIY home iced coffee every morning when I don’t splurge and buy one. I share this to illustrate I come to the topic of coffee drinks with knowledge and passion. An iced vanilla latte is my goddess drink, and I only indulge on special occasions to make sure it remains a special treat that I cherish.

So, on a Monday afternoon I really thought a vanilla latte type drink could do no wrong and would help kick off my week on a stellar, delightful note. All of these hopes were alive and well until I met the iced Vanilla Nut Bliss drink from Grand Central. My blood is still pumping with jitters.

And unfortunately it’s not the taste of coffee or espresso that lingers with me, but the taste of sugary, sickly sweet syrups that colored my drink a shade of sugar from which it could not be redeemed.

Joe’s Take

(Hot) Almond Joy Latte

Fair warning: I’m coming at this review with a different angle than Heather. I’m pretty biased against flavored or seasonal coffee drinks, instead opting for a plain coffee. This isn’t out of elitism or cheapness; I just can’t physically handle all the sugar in those drinks. They may taste good, but the sugar crash nearly cancels out any caffeine rush that I get from them. I drink coffee to stay awake.

So, when I had the Almond Joy Latte at Grand Central, I should’ve known what I was getting into. Even by my standards, it was too sweet. I didn’t even finish a third of it without feeling jittery, overwhelmed and sick. All due respect to Grand Central, though; this is a creative idea for a drink. Like an Almond Joy Bar, it had flavors of coconut, almond and chocolate in there with the coffee. It was certainly delicious, but I couldn’t imagine drinking a whole 16 ounces of that at once.