I tried Black Sheep’s new festive menu and one drink defined Christmas
I tried all the festive options and one clear winner emerged for both flavour and festive feeling.
Black Sheep Coffee’s new Christmas menu arrives with the usual seasonal fanfare, promising warming flavours, nostalgic sweetness and the kind of comfort people chase in the colder months.
Their posters and digital screens certainly sell that vision, especially the brie and cranberry sandwich, which appears bright, glossy and generously packed.
In reality, the toastie doesn’t live up to that image, as once I opened it, I saw a cranberry layer so thin that it barely registered.
It’s not an unpleasant toastie, but it feels like a missed opportunity because the sharp, fruity lift you expect from cranberry simply isn’t there, and what’s left is more rich cheese toastie than festive.
The drinks, however, tell a very different story.
Although mint and chocolate are familiar partners, the way they interact with the matcha creates something unexpectedly atmospheric.
While drinking it inside the Waterloo branch, I caught sight of a screen showing a snowy forest, and strangely, this drink tastes exactly like how that image feels.
The white chocolate brings a soft sweetness, the mint adds a cool, almost frosty finish, and the matcha grounds everything with its earthy depth.
It ends up being the most uniquely Christmassy drink on the menu, not because it imitates traditional flavours but because it captures the sensation of winter itself in the most literal way possible.
The gingerbread matcha latte sits somewhere in the middle, as while the gingerbread spices blend well, the drink doesn’t carve out much individuality.
It reminds me of the apple crumble matcha, and for that reason, it doesn’t leave a strong impression, even though I can imagine ordering it again for its gentle warmth.
As someone who strongly dislikes coffee, I approached the gingerbread latte with hesitation, but I was surprised at how quickly I finished the cup, let alone taking more than one sip.
The flavour genuinely resembles a gingerbread biscuit in liquid form, but without being overly sweet, though if you drink coffee for the coffee taste, this might not be the one for you.
It has the kind of warmth that fits perfectly with long workdays during December and gives a reliable caffeine boost without sacrificing the seasonal mood.
Overall, Black Sheep’s Christmas menu is uneven but worthwhile: the toastie underdelivers, but the drinks (especially the mint white-choc matcha) carry the new offerings enough to earn their place on the menu.