It's been a minute since we've seen Starbucks release a themed Frappuccino stateside. Last year, it seemed like a colorful new blended drink was rolled out in anticipation of every holiday and in between. This year, though, Starbucks hasn't added a new one since March. That is until now. Today, the coffee chain will begin selling a Halloween-inspired drink called the Witch's Brew Frappuccino for a limited time at participating locations across the country.
The new Witch's Brew Frappuccino may feature the festive colors of purple and green, but don't let that fool you. There's a Wicked lesson in there somewhere — any musical theater fans out there? Despite its purple appearance, Starbucks says the drink actually tastes of "swirl orange crème," which we assume is like a creamsicle. The mismatched flavor and colors seems to be a theme for Starbucks since last Halloween's Zombie Frappuccino was also green and purple but was supposed to taste like a caramel apple.
To make the new Halloween Frappuccino look like a creepy concoction cooked up in a cauldron by a witch, the recipe calls for "bats warts," which as repulsive as they sound are actually just chia seeds. The chia seeds clump together much like they do in chia seed pudding and create slimy little pockets throughout the beverage. Finally, the Witch's Brew Frappuccino is finished with a swirl of whipped cream and a dusting of green "lizard scale" powder, which looks like matcha powder, though we're not actually sure what the ingredient is exactly.
In April, it was reported that Starbucks was cutting down its special drink options by 30%, and instead shifting to concentrate on permanent menu items. That's likely why the Witch's Brew Frappuccino is the first themed Frappuccino we've seen since the release of the Crystal Ball Frappuccino in March. Starbucks' apparent move away from limited edition Frappuccinos made today's announcement come as a surprise. We'll have to stay tuned to see if the chain remains committed to its specialty drink cutbacks through the holiday season or if more florescent beverages are in the coffee chain's not so distant future.