Costa Coffee Christmas Range 2023

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post. I thought that today I would talk to you all about the new Costa Coffee Christmas range. Yes, I know it may be a bit early for some of you to see Christmas but who doesn’t love hearing about some new delicious goodies that are coming to a Costa Coffee store near you very soon? 

Sticky Toffee 

Who doesn’t love a good Sticky Toffee Pudding when the days get dark and cold very quickly? 

The Sticky Toffee drinks come in two formats. A Latte to keep you warm when the weather gets chilly and a Iced Latte that will help to refresh you when the Christmas shopping gets a little bit too stressful. 

Both of these drinks will feature a yummy sticky toffee flavoured sauce, topped with Light Whip, and drizzled with even more sauce, finished with a sprinkling of bronze shimmery, angel-like dusting. 

Black Forest & Cream Hot Chocolate 

Black Forest is back baby! I know a lot of people including myself were devastated when Black Forest was scrapped for last years Christmas range and then had to rush to try and grab it in a store during the last week leading up to Christmas. This year, Costa has brought Black Forest back with a bang! 

The iconic drink features a rich hot chocolate with cherry sauce topped with cream and drizzled with cherry sauce. 

If you are a Costa Club member and have the App then you are already able to get the Black Forest & Cream Hot Chocolate in stores before the rest of the range and before non-members can grab it on 2nd November. All you have to do is scan your card and ask for one at the till or order one through the Click and Collect feature on the Costa Coffee App. 

I must admit, I may have already grabbed one through the Costa App when I was out with Luke the other day and oh my god it was worth the wait. Delicious and fruity. Utter perfection. 

Roasted Hazel 

Is it just me or does the scent of roasted nuts makes it  feel like its the beginning of the festive season? Now you can enjoy that feeling in a drink! 

Roasted Hazel will be available as a Latte and a Hot Chocolate. Both of these warming drinks will include a flavourful roasted hazelnut syrup, topped with Light Whip, and completed with a beautiful, bronzed shimmer and mini gold stars. 

I do love Hazelnut and this screams a very me drink so I am intrigued to see what Roasted Hazel tastes like. I also love the addition of gold stars. I bet it looks pretty and adds to the festive vibe! 

Gingerbread & Cream Latte 

Gingy is back and  they’re looking tastier than ever! 

This drink features a milky coffee laced with a generous slurp of sugar free gingerbread syrup, topped with cream and adorned with a mini gingerbread person.

I love anything Gingerbread so I will definitely be grabbing one of these. 

Inspired by After Eight® Hot Chocolate & Terry's Chocolate Orange® Hot Chocolate

Who doesn’t love a good couple of After Eights after a filling Christmas Lunch? Well Costa have made an After Eight® Hot Chocolate so you can have it all Christmas season long! 

Is it just me who associates Terry's Chocolate Orange® with Christmas? I just imagine one of these tasty chocolate balls in the bottom of my Christmas stocking. Costa has also decided to bring back the well loved Terry's Chocolate Orange® Hot Chocolate for those who love a good Chocolate Orange drink throughout the festive period. Both of these drinks come with either a  Terry's Chocolate Orange® Segment or an After Eight® slip on the side. 

Costa Express:

Costa Express customers can enjoy a taste of the festivities with the new Sticky Toffee Latte, new Sticky Toffee Hot Chocolate, and new Sticky Toffee Iced Latte (only at Costa Express’s Hot and Iced self-serve machines). 

Shell customers can get exclusive access to the new Roasted Hazel Latte, new Roasted Hazel Iced Latte (only at Costa Express’s Hot and Iced self-serve machines) and new Roasted Hazel Hot Chocolate.

Food:

Pigs In Blankets Toastie

Pigs In Blankets is an ultimate staple of Christmas Dinner for a lot of people in the UK so cramming these beauties into a toastie sounds like a perfect idea to me. 

This brand new product for Costa Coffee features succulent pork sausage and maple cured bacon, with sweet, caramelised onion chutney, all in tempting garlic, onion and sage crumbed cheese-topped bread. 

Vegan Turkey & Trimmings Toastie

Just because Christmas is full of meat doesn’t mean that we can leave the vegans out of having some delicious festive food

This toastie consists of vegan turkey with stuffing, yummy cranberry sauce, vegan mayonnaise, vegan gravy, all in toasted white bread. 

I love to incorporate some Vegan products into my diet a lot of the time so I will definitely be trying this one out! 

Honey Roast Ham & Wensleydale Ciabatta 

All I’m going to say is Cheese, Gromit, Cheese! 

This sandwich features juicy British Honey roast ham and Wensleydale cheese, mature Cheddar and honey and béchamel sauce, packed into a cranberry stuffed ciabatta.  

I have been enjoying sandwiches and burgers with a Bechamel sauce recently so I may try this to see how Cranberry, Honey, Roast Ham, Wensleydale and Bechamel all work together. 

Melton Mowbray Pork Pies & Sausage Rolls

Who doesn’t love some good picky bits? 

The Melton Mowbray Pies consisting of seasoned uncured British pork baked in a rich hot water crust pastry. The Sausage Rolls have seasoned pork sausage meat, pulled pork and divine Bramley apples, in an all-butter puff pastry topped with a wonderful festive pastry star. 

I love both a Pork Pie and a Sausage Roll so I’ll definitely be tempted to grab one of each. The Sausage Roll sounds divine to me. Savoury, full of flavour and still utterly seasonal. 

What’s Returning? 

The following savoury delights are returning for the festive season at Costa Coffee. 

Brie, Bacon & Cranberry Panini, Brie & Cranberry Toastie, Turkey & Trimmings Toastie and the Turkey Feast Sandwich. 

Sweet Treats: 

Belgian Chocolate Ganache Cake

I mean, who doesn’t love Chocolate Cake? 

This new product is a rich chocolate cake, filled with chocolate frosting and topped with an indulgent chocolate ganache and star sprinkles. 

Honestly, this sounds amazing! I love anything that has a ganache in as it adds some texture to the cake. I just hope that the cake itself is terrifically tender! 

Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake 

A piece of Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake and a Sticky Toffee Latte? Can anyone imagine a better pairing? I can’t! 

This afternoon delight consists of a toffee flavoured sponge cake which is topped with caramel frosting, caramel drizzle, and indulgent fudge pieces.  

I love the different textures that are going on in this cake. You have the cake itself paired with the smooth frosting and the chunky fudgy pieces. A definite must try! 

Vegan Christmas Cake Slice 

 Vegans need a sweet treat too! 

A rich fruit cake base and is topped with a layer of marzipan and white icing.

Honestly, I’m not a big fan of Christmas Cake. If you are then this will definitely be a treat for you! 

Polar Bear Gingerbread & Christmas Tree Shortcake Biscuits 

A cute biscuit can really perk up the dullest of days! New for 2023, Costa have released two cute biscuits to go alongside a drink and a catch up with friends. There’s a cute Polar Bear shaped Gingerbread Biscuit and a festive Christmas Tree shaped Shortcake Biscuit. Definitely a great treat for a catch up or those little ones who need a sweet treat. 

Bags Of Sweet Treats 

Sometimes when you are out and about with either friends or your own, you just want a little bag of something. Well, Costa has come to the rescue with these amazing bags of goodies that are new fof 2023. 

There is Salted Caramel Honeycomb Bag (Salted honeycomb coated in caramel flavour milk chocolate, in collaboration with Mighty Fine). There’s also Clotted Cream Fudge bag (rich, crumbly fudge made with West Country clotted cream and handmade by Mr Stanley’s)., These would be great alongside a warm drink or stashed in your bag for when you need a little pick me up. 

What’s Returning? 

Back for 2023, we have Vegan Mince Tart, All Butter Mince Pie, Terry's Chocolate Orange® Muffin (which is available in Costa Coffee stores right now), Gingerbread Muffin, White Chocolate Trillionaire’s Slice and the Crispy Festive Wreath. 

Will you be trying any of the Costa Coffee Christmas 2023 range? What’s your favourite festive drink? Let me know! 

Costa Coffee’s Christmas Menu is available to purchase and try on 2nd November. 

All photos are from Costa Coffee PR. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x

Mince Pies Before Guys | Gift Guide For Her 2016

Hey!

Welcome to the second installment of my gift guide posts. Today is all about what to buy for all the women that are in your life! .

The first thing that I would like to suggest is shoes because most women love a good pair of shoes. The two that I have decided to talk are quite casual shoes from Schuh mainly because they're two pairs that I adore the look of from their website.

I am only mentioning two pairs but they both offer something a little bit different. The first pair that I am going to suggest as a present are the Vans x Disney Pixar Toy Story Woody and Bo trainers that come in a lovely pink colour to represent Bo Peep with little versions of Woody and Bo Peep together. These trainers would make a lovely gift for any female in your life who loves a good pair of Vans or Toy Story. I will link them here in case you want to pursue the trainers more or in case you can't resist them and end up purchasing them as a gift for someone or yourself.

The second pair of shoes that I would suggest for Christmas gifting are Dr Martens Pascal Sparkle boots which I love the look of. I love Dr Martens as they give an authentic look to any outfit that they are paired with. I adore how this particular pair of boots have a pearlescent finish to them which makes them perfect for all year round! The link is here in case you want to buy them.

I also think that most things that are stocked at Simply Be make excellent presents so I thought that I would suggest a couple of them to you in case the woman within your life loves a bit of fashion.

The first item that I think would make a perfect Christmas present is this statement jumper which says 'Mince Pies Before Guys' on the front of it. I love it straight away just because of the statement! As this design isn't too festive, it means that you can get away with wearing it after the Christmas period. I know that may sound a bit odd to do but Christmas jumpers are normally quite thick and its always a bit cold within England so thick things need to be worn now and again. Click here to have a proper gander at it.

Who doesn't need chunky knitted jumpers? Am I right or am I right? I love this chunky cable knit jumper as it instantly looks like its going to make you feel warm and comforted when you put it on. I love the deep red colour of the garment. It would definitely go well with a red lip! Come and click here to find out more about this product.

The last item from Simply Be is a Mini Sequin Shoulder Bag. It just screams fun, festive and fabulous! I adore the twist lock clasp thats on the front of it as it instantly makes me wonder what is inside the bag and I just love the sequin detailing on the front of the bag. My eyes are drawn to instantly. It would make a great bag to take to any event, party or night out. Click here to find out more.

The last place that I am going to suggest gifts from is Debenhams. I know that Debenhams might be a slightly expensive place to shop from but they sell amazing gifts so I thought that I would suggest a few gifts to purchase from there if you wanted a few good stocking fillers.

Everyone loves cocktails! This gift set contains a shaker, 4 stirrers, 5 straws, 1 of 70ml Cranberry Syrup, 1 of 70ml of Peach syrup and 1 of 70ml of Lime syrup. I think the contents of this set make an excellent starter set for anyone who loves a good cocktail! Click here to find out more!

Final stop on the gift guide! It might pick you up a bit!

Do you know anyone who loves their coffee more than anything in the world? If you do then get them this gift set which contains a Costa ceramic takeaway cup, silicone lid and a packet of stem ginger biscuits. I love the concept of having a ceramic takeaway cup as I find some regular cups to be a bit too small sometimes. I think the silicone lid is kind of cute. Click here to find out a bit more about this set.

Do you like any of the gifts mentioned above? Let me know down below!

So there you go, thats my gift guide for her done for 2016. I know that it's a little bit short but I thought that it would be best to focus on a few instead of having a post that's out of control via links etc.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post. Don't forget to come back next week for the final installment in my gift guide for 2016 set.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

This post contains images sent from PR teams. All views and opinions are my own.

Drink Suggestions For The Future Months | Monin Syrups

Hi!

I know that it is Monday so I thought that I would do a blog post all about coffee syrups because we all need a flavour boost for those drab Mondays.

The whole background of Monin is that Georges Monin saw that things were lacking flavour and colour and being a flavour enthusiast, he decided to conjure up some great syrups to stir things up and it slowly grew from there. There are many flavours and many ranges including your favourites such as Gingerbread, Caramel, Vanilla, Black Forest, Chocolate Cookie, Hazelnut and many more.

The wonderful people over at the PR that sort Monin out sent me some lovely syrups to try out for the colder days as Autumn is now upon us. The syrups that they sent me were Vanilla and Caramel. Both sweet but delectable! Both of the syrups come in beautifully designed glass bottles and are sold at Tesco's and Sainsburys. They were on offer but I'd purchase them off the offer as well as they're worth the money!

The first syrup that I will talk about is the Vanilla syrup. It smelt exactly like fresh Vanilla and had a fresh yet clean sort of taste to it. Best for things like milkshakes, Vanilla Mojitos/Daiquiris and other things. I cant wait to use this with a White Hot Chocolate to add another dimension to as I know that it will be delicious and decadent! I know that Vanilla seems well quite Vanilla but its amazing in coffee syrup form.

The caramel syrup is sweet yet so moreish. It tasted like warm caramel and I think I am definitely going to be using this a lot during the cold months. I think that this particular syrup would be good for things such as Caramel Lattes/a Caramel Coldbrew or maybe a cocktail that includes Salted Caramel Vodka to add a luxurious feel to the drink.

Have you tried any of the Monin syrups? What Monin syrups would you like to try? Let me know down below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this little post about Monin and I hope that you try their syrups in a nice warming drink or within a refreshingly delicious cocktail. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and I hope to see you next time for another post!

Thanks!
Jamie x