Leading up to the upcoming Wicked movie, there have been all kinds of collabs. There were the pink and green Stanley cups that launched at Target, and now there are two Wicked-inspired drinks at Starbucks. Starting Tuesday, October 22, Starbucks nationwide will be serving two drinks in partnership with Universal Pictures: Glinda's Pink Potion and Elphaba's Cold Brew. And I got to try them before they hit menus.
When creating the recipe for Gilda's Pink Potion, Starbucks beverage developer Natalia Vasquez said that they were inspired by Gilda's bright character and association with the color pink. It's sweet and refreshing, with minimal caffeine, so if you don't like coffee, you'll still probably like this.
It's a Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refresher with bits of freeze-dried dragonfruit and coconut milk. It's topped with nondairy strawberry cold foam and candy sprinkles. To get a good taste of the cold foam along with the drink, I recommend forgoing the straw. Between the dragonfruit pieces and strawberry cold foam, it's really giving strawberry milkshake. It's sweet, so if you want something more coffee-forward, try Elphaba's Cold Brew.
Despite not containing any chocolate, Elphaba's Cold Brew tastes like an Andes mint. Cold brew is sweetened with peppermint-flavored syrup and topped with nondairy matcha cold foam and candy sprinkles. And like Glinda's Pink Potion, I recommend drinking this without a straw. The matcha cold foam is truly delightful.
“We were inspired by Elphaba’s bold energy and stunning green skin when creating this recipe,” said Starbucks beverage developer Rosalyn Batingan.
In addition to the new drinks, Starbucks is launching a collection of Wicked-themed drinkware on November 7. The merch will be available in select stores while supplies last. There will be tumblers, mugs, gift cards, and even a Cold Cup that glows in the dark.
As a Contributing Writer, and former Associate Editor, at Delish, Allie is a writer, reporter, and producer of features at the intersection of food and culture. Before Delish, Allie worked for publications including Apartment Therapy and Insider. She even spent time working in restaurants and breweries. Allie has dumpster-dived in NYC to expose food waste, reported on the invasive lionfish you can eat, and wrote about the growing trend of weed weddings. Her health and nutrition stories on hydration culture, bananas, and coffee have generated nearly 2M combined views. She loves traveling, running, and eating her way through new places and even has a thorough Google Maps ranking system for her favorite restaurants and bars! When not writing about food, she's planning her next trip, lifting weights, or training for a race. Expertise: food & culture (Sustainability, Health, Travel) Education: M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, B.S. in Information Science (User Experience Design) from the University of Michigan
