Arby's Jamocha Shake

About the Jamocha Shake

The Arby's Jamocha Shake ($4.29) mixes chocolate and coffee into one cold, thick cup, and a Large carries 980 cal. Arby's pours it in Small, Medium and Large, so the starting price covers the Small and each step up costs a bit more.

Arby's calls it a frosty treat built on the idea that chocolate and coffee were made to go together, and that pitch holds up. The first sip tastes like a mocha that someone froze and then blended smooth. Cocoa sweetness leads, then a roasted coffee note shows up in the middle and lingers after you swallow. The coffee side stays mellow, closer to a coffee ice cream than a shot of espresso, so the shake reads as dessert first.

Texture is the big draw. The shake comes out thick enough that the straw stands up for the first few minutes, and it loosens into a creamy, sippable drink as it sits. The color lands somewhere between milk chocolate and a latte, a soft tan brown that tells you right away this is not plain chocolate.

Who orders it? Coffee drinkers who want an afternoon pick me up in dessert form, chocolate fans who like a little bitterness to cut the sugar, and anyone who wants something cold after a salty sandwich. It also works as a split dessert for two if you order the Large.

Anyone weighing the Jamocha Shake calories should know the numbers climb with size. The Large figure above is the full cup, and it also lists 22 grams of protein and 136 grams of sugar. The Small and Medium come in lower, which makes the Small the easy pick if you want the flavor without the full load.

How much is the Jamocha Shake where you live? The price we show was logged at an Austin store, and franchise owners in other cities can charge a little more or less for the same cup.

What makes it stand out is the pairing itself. Its shake siblings are a straight Chocolate and a straight Vanilla, and only this one gets the word famous in the Arby's menu copy. It sits with the other cold treats on the Arby's dessert and shakes menu.

For pairings, the bitter coffee edge sets off the salt in a Classic Roast Beef beautifully, and a side of Curly Fries dipped straight into the cup turns salty and sweet into one bite.