{taste tested}: starbucks french macarons

Following in the mass market macaron trend, Starbucks launched a limited-edition box of French Macarons yesterday imported from Château Blanc. Available in most Starbucks locations in the refrigerated section, the box of 12 macarons comes in six flavors: chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, lemon, chocolate, and pistachio. 

While I was happy to see them available at one of my weekly pit stops, unfortunately they rank low on overall flavor and texture. The cream within most of the flavors is grainy in texture while the outer shells are a bit too dense and moist. The coffee has the best overall flavor and texture of the bunch with the pistachio being the worst in my opinion. The outer packaging is flimsy and would crush easily if you accidentally stacked something heavier on top. A big faux pas for Starbucks–they spelled the word macaron with two "o"s instead of one–describing the American coconut version not the French version.

Overall, for $9.99 for 12 pieces, it's a deal for a macaron which normally runs over $1.00 each at a French pastry shop. But maybe that's why they're not that great. If you're a macaron connoisseur and don't have a local patisserie to fill your craving, the frozen macarons at Trader Joe's are far better even with less flavor options. But if you're looking to try the Starbucks version for yourself, they're available until right after Christmas.

Final thoughts...2.5 out of 5 Happy Ladies...Oh, Starbucks macarons...wish you were better but I'm just not that into you...

{photo by Oh Joy}

Comments

[Dominique]

boo, I've never had a macaron & I guess I won't have an appealing and accessible macaron worth of popping my cherry anytime soon :(

[Jen@GreenWeddingShoes]

Bummer...but thanks for the review! Think I will just stick to Paulette's or Jin Patisserie in that case - lots of places to get delicious ones in LA.

[April]

i totally, totally agree with this entire entry... and the spelling mistake... SHEESH lol
i thought the lemon was the best out of all of them... but not as good as the TJ's vanilla :)