With the holiday season upon us and the year drawing to a close in a few weeks, we decided to give up on shoveling the near 2 feet of snow in our driveway & check out the 2nd seasonal Tassimo offering which was released, oddly enough, for Fall 2013… Gevalia Peppermint Mocha T-Discs.
Traditionally a Christmas or Winter drink, peppermint mochas are often found at national & local coffee shops in various forms with the most recent spin being white chocolate peppermint mochas.
While we don’t get any white chocolate here, we get the originator of the bunch & the drink that started it all… a regular peppermint mocha which has peppermint-flavored milk chocolate as a base and espresso as the mixer.
Aroma started off with strong notes of milk chocolate followed by hints of peppermint in the background. The only nitpick we had was that the peppermint smelled overly artificial instead of a more natural scent and yes, we do realize this is obviously an artificially-flavored drink. You do get some of the smoky aromas from the espresso but the peppermint is what dominates as the primary scent.
Flavor depends on whether or not you decide to stir the drink. While it’s recommended you stir to blend the flavors together, we opted to leave as-is and get the layered taste at first and then only blend things together afterwards. Taken layered, the first thing you get is a strong bitter espresso flavor up front with some faint smoky notes being covered up by the strong artificial peppermint flavoring present in the chocolate syrup.
You have a hard time getting any strong chocolate flavor until you stir the drink. Taken stirred, the drink takes on more of a hot cocoa feel with strong notes of minty chocolate up front with the espresso flavors melting into the background.
We can definitely see why it’s recommended to mix the flavors as results were far superior. We didn’t even detect any sucralose flavoring this time around, so happy, happy, joy, joy to that.
Acidity was toned down considerably with the addition of the chocolate syrup and seemed pretty much non-existent. Considering that the drink is supposed to lean more on the hot cocoa side than the coffee side this worked out rather well and didn’t cover up any of the mint chocolate flavors.
Body resulted in a unique effect as usually darker shades are on bottom and lighter shades are on top depending on the drink, but this time the lighter brown shades of the heavier hot cocoa were on the bottom with the darker shades of the lighter espresso floating on top. Everything was topped with a light layer of froth. Mouth feel remained smooth with a substantial hot chocolate texture while finish remained sweet with mild peppermint notes in the aftertaste.
- Aroma – 8 – While you do get some strong notes of milk chocolate & hints of peppermint, the mint smells a bit artificial. While this is obviously an artificially-flavored coffee, we wish the mint aroma would have been a bit more natural. We also detected some smoky notes from the espresso underneath.
- Acidity – 8 – The higher ratio of chocolate syrup to espresso pretty much drowns out the acidity but since the aim is more of a hot cocoa-style drink, this isn’t all that bad.
- Body – 10 – A unique layering effect of dark espresso on top and light hot cocoa on the bottom all topped off with a light layer of froth.
- Flavor – 8 – While we won’t be calling this a Starbucks clone, it sure is a close match to McD’s version… just considerably less nausea-inducing thanks to the fact YOU control the drink (not someone who thinks a mocha is a cup full of chocolate syrup). You definitely get the artificial peppermint flavoring throughout and if left unmixed, you get a stronger espresso taste at first followed by the sweet mint chocolate flavors near the end. There’s also a sweet finish with more minty notes in the aftertaste.
- Mouth Feel – 10 – Quite smooth like a conventional hot cocoa with a substantial texture we’ve come to expect from the likes of hot chocolate style drinks. The addition of the espresso doesn’t alter the final experience and overall, things definitely aren’t watered-down.
- Coffee Drinker – Suited best for those who prefer mocha-style drinks but who don’t mind artificial flavorings. If you happened to luck-out and get a McD’s that can properly prepare a peppermint mocha instead of drowning the coffee in chocolate syrup, then you’ll likely enjoy this.
Overall Rating: 94 – Exceptional
We know we raved like a bunch of lunatics about the Gevalia Pumpkin Spice Latte T-Discs tasting sooooo much like the Starbucks PSL version and we’re sure some of you are wondering why we didn’t do the same for this drink. Simple, because this taste nothing like a Starbucks peppermint mocha.
If we had to choose, we’d say this is more in line with a McDonalds peppermint mocha instead and to be honest, we’re kind of shocked to admit that since we really don’t care for McD’s version of the drink (we find the peppermint flavoring to be overbearingly artificial to the point where it makes us nauseous… the fact that we got a cup of mostly syrup the first few visits also didn’t help).
Thankfully the artificial flavoring in these T-Discs was given a lighter touch and is much more enjoyable since the Tassimo wasn’t as absent-minded as the person who served us during our McCafe visit.
Overall, we’re really glad that Kraft finally woke up and started experimenting with new flavors for the Tassimo system this past year. We’ve seen all sorts of things from iced teas & coffees to now seasonal drinks we’d never have expected had you asked us 2 years ago. If we saw this much innovation in 2013, we seriously can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store for us (Tetley Blueberry White Iced Tea! Tetley Blueberry White Iced Tea! Come on Kraft… make it happen!!!).
We also have to stop and give extra thanks & kudos to Kraft for FINALLY listening to our #1 gripe and getting rid of their stupid geoblocking policy for these 2 seasonal flavors. The Gevalia PSL came out the SAME WEEK in USA & Canada and while USA got to enjoy these Gevalia Peppermint Mocha T-Discs since last year, this season Canadians get to join in on the fun as well.
We love it when things are NOT blocked simply because of someone’s geographical location and after all, Christmas is the time of sharing & we’re glad our friends up North get to enjoy some shared pepperminty goodness this holiday season.
As with the PSL, these T-Discs are a seasonal item and won’t be around for much longer, so if you want to give them a try you’d best grab a pack soon before they disappear.
Gevalia Peppermint Mocha T-Discs work in all Tassimo brewers (dual barcodes for home & professional models are on the discs) and are available seasonally in 8-packs (8 espresso + 8 peppermint-flavored chocolate syrup) for roughly $11.99 USD at various grocery store chains, at participating stores and online via Amazon.com. These T-Discs are also available seasonally in Canada for roughly $11.99 to $13.99 CAD at various grocery stores and online.