Winter time elicits nothing but the need to sit somewhere inside with perhaps a warm Starbucks coffee or hot chocolate in hand. I do love the warm, soothing feeling that these drinks give as they glide down your throat, but honestly, I am not all about drinking hot chocolate or coffee during the coldest month of the year.

"Aren't your hands ice cold?" is the most popular response I receive when people see me with a Starbucks Iced Green Tea Lemonade or Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino in hand. "Yes," I reply, but to me, it's worth the frozen hand to carry my beloved beverage. For one thing, hot chocolate and coffee are initially very hot, leaving you waiting and waiting to finally take a sip from your $5.00 cup of Joe.

Sometimes, you may lose at the waiting game and end up with a burnt tongue after trying your beverage too soon. Why deal with the hassle of guessing when it's ok to drink your hot beverage when you can take a sip of your cold drink moments after it was made?

Besides playing the guessing game, drinking coffee or hot chocolate can leave your throat feeling dry. Sitting inside a classroom for several hours or so a day will most likely lead to a parched throat and a need to drink something else, especially when the heat is turned on during the cold winter months.

By choosing to have a cold beverage to start off my day in the winter months, I rarely have the need to get something else to drink or feel dehydrated.

Something about the velvety, rich consistency of hot chocolate and the taste of coffee beans when drinking coffee is inviting, but the tangy taste of iced tea infused with lemonade and the moist taste of chocolate in a frappuccino is very refreshing.

All the ingredients that comprise a cold beverage like the two beverages that were described seemed to have more flavor to them since ice is also in these beverages. This may be just my own observation, but cold drinks are the way to go.

If you're still reading this, are a loyal customer to Starbucks like myself, and are convinced that you would like to switch to drinking cold drinks routinely this winter, I have a few suggestions that will perfectly satisfy your thirst. Without a doubt, my first recommendation would be to try the Iced Green Tea Lemonade unsweetened (just a personal preference) because this drink offers the best of both worlds: the sweet taste of lemonade and the subtle, herbal taste of green tea.

Love both of these drinks? Then this drink will surely be for you! Although a Mocha Frappuccino may not be the healthiest drink out there, it tastes like coffee and chocolate topped with some whipped cream.

Instead of following the winter trend and indulging in hot chocolate or a warm cup of coffee, I'm going to keep on braving the cold weather and drinking my Iced Green Tea Lemonade or Mocha Frappuccino.