M&S café launches new coffee drink flavours to rival Starbucks but how does it compare?

M&S released their Speculoos Latte, Gingerbread Frappe and a Colin the Caterpillar Macmillan Chocolate frappe. It seemed odd to me that for their new Autumn range their main focus would be cold frappe drinks but as the weather still feels like Summer they may have had the best idea after all. 

M&S launched its own pumpkin spice latte last year but sadly decided not to bring it back this time round.  

The cafe itself has had a bit of a makeover. Last time I visited an M&S coffee shop was with my nan and it always appeared to feel a bit drab. This time as I dragged my husband along with me  the café looked a little bit more chic with comfortable leather seating, green plants and stylish wood panelling on the walls.

It’s clear to see that M&S are definitely trying to target a much younger customer base by trying to make the café feel a bit more like Starbucks. But looking around the room we were the youngest people in there - but it was the middle of the day in the middle of the week so hard to judge.  

But it’s not all about how the place looks, the true test is in the taste. I ordered the The Speculoos latte (£3.40) which comes with biscuit, caramel spice and cinnamon flavours melted into a latte. 

After all the hype around the new flavours and hearing that shoppers were going wild for these new flavours I honestly, I didn't rate it. The coffee was too strong and dark in colour for a latte and compared to my beloved skinny caramel latte - which is a bit more expensive (£4.30) from Starbucks it just didn’t compete. 

However, I will of course say that the Victoria Sandwich Cake cake (£3.50) was absolutely divine and I would happily go back for more. 

Sorry M&S it will always be Starbucks for me and I’ll be heading there later for the Pumpkin Spice latte which has officially been released today (September 7).