About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

More like a dessert than a coffee, the Starbucks Mocha Light Frappuccino has the flavor of a dessert but also sugar content.

Pros

• 1/3 fewer calories than the regular version
• Tasty mocha flavor
• Cool and refreshing

Cons

• Tons of sugar - 12g to 38g depending on size
• Consistency and flavor change quickly as it melts and settles
• A little heavy

Description

• Ice blended mocha coffee
• Approximately $3.50 to $5.00 depending on location and size

• 100 to 190 calories and 23g to 45g of carbohydrates depending on size

Guide Review - Starbucks Mocha Light Frappuccino

Continuing my reviews of fast food and beverages, I thought it would be a good idea to look for sugar free or reduced sugar products that most people would be familiar with or would come into contact with on a regular basis. Therefore, what better products to look at than those offered by Starbucks? Since Starbucks are readily available in most areas and their products are designed to be picked up on the go, looking at Starbucks' line of "healthier" drinks, such as the Mocha Light Frappuccino, just made sense.

The Starbucks Mocha Light Frappuccino is a tasty, iced coffee drink with a mocha sauce blended into it. It has a light brown color with swirls of white froth that help to keep the drink a little bit lighter until it settles. Once the drink settles due to melting, the flavors get a little inconsistent and heavy depending on where your straw is; while one sip could be mocha sweet, another sip could be more watery or frothy.

As a result, it is probably better to drink the frappuccino quicker unless you have a stirrer to keep the drink mixed well.

When I ordered the Starbucks Mocha Light Frappuccino, the first thing I noticed was that it had 1/3 less calories than the regular Mocha Frappuccino. While it did not say it was sugar free, I made a mistake that I think a lot of casual coffee drinkers would make; I assumed that because the drink had significantly less calories that there was some kind of reduced sugar option used when, in fact, the drink still had full sugar. I only confirmed the use of sugar and Starbucks' meaning of "light" after I called the Starbucks' information line - "light" means using non-fat milk and no whip cream on top. For a better Starbucks sugar free option, try the Iced Skinny Lattes. The lesson learned here is to make sure you ask for sugar free options or read all the fine print before you buy!