How We Review
We buy it, photograph it, taste it and rate it, with no free samples and no sponsored scores.
Every review on Green Mermaid Review follows the same simple process, so you can compare ratings across drinks, food and seasons.
We buy everything ourselves
We order at regular stores, at regular prices, the way you would. We don’t accept free drinks, gift cards or samples in exchange for reviews, and we note the price we paid, the size and the store location in every review.
We order it as designed
Unless a review says otherwise, we order new drinks exactly as they appear on the menu, in the standard size, with no substitutions. If a drink is commonly customized, we may try a popular variation too and tell you how it compares.
We photograph what we actually got
The photos in our reviews show the actual drink or food item we bought, not a press image. If what we were handed doesn’t look like the promotional photo, you’ll see that.
Our rating scale
Every review gets a rating from 0 to 5 in half-point steps, along with a one-line verdict.
What we consider
- Flavor and balance: does it taste like what it promises, and is the sweetness under control?
- Texture and temperature: foam, ice, mouthfeel and how it holds up over 15 minutes.
- Value: is it worth the price compared with the rest of the menu?
- Consistency: when we can, we try a drink at more than one store and note any differences.
When we update a review
Recipes change. If a returning drink is reformulated or the price changes significantly, we’ll update the review or publish a new one, and we’ll say what changed.