With all the coffee shops scrambling to add peppermint and gingerbread syrups to their menus this holiday season, Ricky’s Cafe – located outside the University of Miami’s School of Communication at 5100 Brunson Drive – has taken a different approach with a bold choice of comfy, decadent flavors.
Cookie Butter Latte
I had pretty high hopes for this drink, considering that cookie butter is one of my favorite spreads and I could eat it by the spoonful.
The sweet cream and speculoos crumble combination on top was an excellent touch — it adds an extra layer of sweetness and creamy texture, making the drink more of a dessert than a coffee.
“After only drinking the dining hall drip coffee, I feel as though it is heaven,” Gabby Walsh, a UM freshman, said.
Incredible housemade syrup that tastes just like a biscoff cookie. But if you prefer the flavor of coffee over sweetness, it needs some modifications.
“It’s very sweet, which is good, but I don’t know if I could drink too much of it,” Walsh said.
Cookie butter is a great flavor choice, but I recommend asking for it to be prepared less sweet if you don’t want a headache later.
Pistachio White Chocolate Latte
Pistachio is a great holiday flavor that brings back memories of nutty pies and cakes around christmastime. This drink is super versatile and can be tried as an espresso or matcha latte.
It’s got a strong pistachio taste, but not one of my favorite lattes. I think it needs to be tried again, with less syrup. The pistachio cloud top adds a thick consistency that feels almost like eggnog, which not everyone prefers.
Once again, a great taste, but way too sweet.
“Pretty sweet even for me, and I love a sweet coffee,” Hannah Valdivia, a Ricky’s regular, said..
Smoked Bourbon Caramel Latte
By this point, I learned my lesson and asked for this latte to be half-sweet, which was a very good decision.
With the syrup not overpowering the coffee flavor, the caramel and bourbon create a warm, smoky holiday flavor.
There’s plenty of toastiness that brings to mind fire-roasted marshmallows, and the salted caramel on a sweet cream top ties everything together.
The syrup was the predominant flavor, but not in an overpowering, way-too-sweet way.