By Jessica Mathiasz
It’s finally here! Barista has launched their Christmas menu for 2024 and yes… it’s festive and delicious.  The Christmas menu includes six festive drinks, six flavourful savouries, and three Christmasy desserts.

Let’s start with…drumroll please, the stars of the show, Barista’s festive drinks. This year Barista introduced the toffee nut drinks range, which includes both a cold frappe and a hot latte. The Toffee Nut Frappé (Rs. 1600), you have to try it! It’s like a cold, creamy hug on a hot day. This drink is quite filling and the rich, nutty flavour of the toffee nut syrup is just divine, and it pairs perfectly with the smooth, icy coffee. Topped with fluffy whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel, it’s the kind of drink that makes you close your eyes and sigh with contentment.

A rich, velvety latte, swirled with a warm, nutty toffee nut syrup, that’s how I would explain the absolutely delicious taste of the Toffee Nut Latte (Rs. 750). The bold coffee flavour is balanced perfectly with creamy milk and sweet toffee nut syrup. It’s not too sweet, it’s just right. Toffee Nut Latte is the kind of drink that makes you want to curl up on a rainy day with a book.

While the toffee nut flavoured beverages are a must-try, during Christmas some of our hearts and tastebuds still belong to the classic hot chocolate with marshmallows. Barista has a variety of hot chocolate this year which is great. The classic Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows (Rs. 950), the yummy Blueberry Hot Chocolate (Rs. 950) and the very Christmassy Strawberry Hot Chocolate (Rs. 950). Me personally… I wouldn’t be able to pick one so throughout December I plan to taste them all. If you are a fan of strawberries, you could not go wrong with Strawberry Frappé (Rs. 1600). It’s a creamy, icy blend of juicy strawberries and rich milk, topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

Now moving on to the food. For Christmas 2024 Barista is bringing some mouthwateringly good savouries.
There are three different fillings, rosemary chicken, smoked turkey and smoked beef and you can pick if you want them in a croissant or bagel.

My absolute favourite was the Rosemary Chicken Croissant (Rs. 1750). Not just from the Christmas menu but from everything I’ve had from Barista ever. Even writing about it now I want to go back and order it again. It was that good. The croissant was soft and flaky with tender chicken thigh, fresh rosemary, crispy iceberg lettuce, juicy tomato and caramelized onion topped with a sweet tangy cranberry mayo sauce. Let me tell you, that cranberry sauce… it’s the perfect festive touch. If you’d prefer the Rosemary Chicken Bagel (Rs.1650) I’m sure it’s just as good. I think I will try as many Rosemary Chicken Crossionts before they disappear from the menu when the Christmas season is over.

The Smoked Turkey Croissant (Rs. 1150) tasted delicious too. The flavours were on point with this one. The soft and smoky turkey paired perfectly with the lettuce, tomatoes and onions along with the oh-so-yummy cranberry mayo. This dish tasted sweet like Christmas. This also comes in a The Smoked Turkey Bagel (Rs. 1050) option.
The Smoked Beef Bagel (Rs.1450) is a classic comfort food but also Christmassy. The taste reminds you of smokey BBQ meat. It’s hearty, satisfying and a feast for the taste buds.  If you’d like the same feeling but in a croissant you can try out the Smoked Beef Croissant (Rs. 1550).  Coffee catch-ups are quite regular during Christmas and what’s a coffee catch-up without a sweet treat to munch on?! Barista has some interesting sweet treats on the Christmas menu. The Matcha Cold Cheesecake (Rs. 1750) is Christmas in every bite. This creamy, dreamy cheesecake is infused with the earthy flavour of matcha, giving it a beautiful green hue. It’s topped with crunchy pistachios, adding a great textural contrast.

The Crème Parisian Pastry (Rs. 580) is  a flaky, buttery puff pastry filled with a cloud-like coffee-infused whipped cream, topped with crunchy toasted almonds. Then we have the classic Banana Bread (Rs. 560) nothing fancy but tastes like Christmas and takes you back to good old memories.

The Barista Christmas menu is available now for a limited time. So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to Barista and treat yourself to a Christmassy feast!