Gloria Jeans

Taste

We tried:

• Mocha Chillers Cookies 'n Cream ($5.20): Coffee, milk and tasty Oreo biscuits blended with ice, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. - a mild coffee hit with sweet biscuit and chocolate base, a bit too icy and not as creamy as I thought, but not bad
• Café Latte ($3.30): Espresso and steamed milk below a thin layer of smooth, silky milk - they serve their coffees hot! I quite like the flavour of their beans but the results really depends on who serves you. The baristas at Borders Skygarden the best and the one at North Strathfield the worst. (See my ratings for a complete list.)
• Mixed Berry Smoothie Chillers ($5.50): A non-fat blend of natural fruit puree, skim milk and ice - it's my fault for ordering a non-coffee drink at a coffee place, but I thought I would stop coffee overload by having a non-coffee drink. BIG mistake. This was artificial, sickly sweet and very icy. Very foul.
• Irish Nut Crème ($5.30): A magical mix of Irish Crème and Hazelnut Italian style syrups, white chocolate, espresso and milk. All beneath a mound of whipped cream and green sprinkles. - was very very sweet. The taste of caramel and baileys flavour was pleasant, but was too overpowering for a coffee. No wonder it's sweet - that white chocolate!
• Chocolate Macadamia Nut ($5.30): Soft nut flavour with a hint of chocolate. - again, sweet as anything. It tasted very similar to the Irish Cream, but with mre caramel. I don't know where the nut comes from.

Like other cafes, Gloria Jeans is a franchise so you really need to find the right one.

Rating - 6

Look

All the drinks are standard, and come with either the white lid for the hot drinks or the clear dome for the cold. I like their brown colour scheme (better than Starbucks!). There are a heap of condiments (honey, chocolate sprinkle) you can have with your drinks. There are comfy seatings and mags for you in the cafe, so it's a welcoming place.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

About on par with other cafes. I still think it's too expensive for hot milk though!

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8

Available At

Gloria Jeans
Website