The Summer of Mint

Longtime readers know I love minty things... but generally consumers have to wait until the fall/winter, when the annual round of holiday-themed peppermint-flavored items are reintroduced. Outside of that, there's McDonald's Shamrock Shake... but the L.A. franchisees haven't Shamrocked in two years now.

But as we continue to see fast food joints and coffee chains (not to mention candy purveyors) introduce more and more out-there flavors year-round, mint is creeping into the mix throughout the year. Two recent examples: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Espresso Mint Chip Ice Blended, and McDonald's Shrek-themed "Minty Mudbath" shake.

First, the Coffee Bean Ice Blended. I tried the light variety by mistake (I misread the confusion board, which lists it as "Espresso Mint Chip/Light" -- I didn't realize that it was giving me a choice between regular and light). Glad I did ultimately, since I obviously don't need all the calories of a regular.

The downside of the light ice-blendeds: That familiar, unfortunate aftertaste of a sugar substitute. But overall, not bad. Not sure what the "chip" is, since mine was a pretty-straight forward minty ice blended, and I didn't really notice the espresso beans. But here's the description:

"Minty fresh, the Espresso Mint Chip Ice Blended® drink is made with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® French Deluxe™ vanilla powder, peppermint sauce, chocolate covered espresso beans, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® coffee/milk extract topped off with whip cream.

Then there's McDonald's Minty Mudbath shake. The closest thing they've had recently to the famed Shamrock Shake (above, in its glory years), the new shake -- specifically branded as a "Shrek 3" promotion -- doesn't live up to it. The first few sips aren't bad... but ultimately it's a poorly done mint chocolate shake that may very well be simply McDonald's Chocolate and Shamrock shakes mixed together.

Part of the problem could be the unappealing greenish-grey color of the shake. Either way, I won't be having one of these again.