Right now, everywhere you look, even on the ever-distracting World Wide Web (that’s right, I’m bringing the term back) Wicked is all anyone seems to be talking about. The book turned stage play turned movie hit theaters one week before Thanksgiving and now here we are two weeks out and we still can’t escape it. It hasn’t felt like a movie has had this long a runway in the cultural zeitgeist since “Barbenheimer.”
That begs the question — is this a case of really great (pervasive) marketing, or just genuine interest in a story that is about the importance of empathy during a particularly grim era in American history?
We think the answer is: it’s probably both! Because there is a lesson that Wicked is trying to teach us and that’s probably resonating with a lot of people, but at the same time, the marketing budget is so damn big that not only do we see Wicked posters and interview clips with the stars everywhere, but Starbucks, one of the most trafficked stores in the country, has two Wicked themed drinks.
The drinks, dubbed Elphaba’s Cold Brew and Glinda’s Pink Potion embody the movie’s leads, and while we’re usually pretty cynical about this kind of stuff, we have to hand it to Wicked and Starbucks — this is the sort of collaboration that comes across as fun, and not obnoxious. But are the drinks any good? We found out by ordering by and putting them to a taste test.
Elphaba’s Cold Brew
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I think visually, both drinks match the characters they are named after, but let’s not be too charitable to Starbucks here; all they really had to do was make a green drink.
Elphaba’s Cold Brew features cold brew coffee, peppermint syrup, and nondairy matcha cold foam with a candy sprinkles. Despite the peppermint syrup, this drink doesn’t taste all that minty, the bitterness and toasty flavor of the cold brew help to make this drink come across as chocolatey, and rich, while the cold foam brings in some vegetal grassy notes.
Altogether, the bitterness of the coffee, the sweetness of the syrup, and the complex flavors of the matcha help to make a drink that actually deserves a permanent place on the Starbucks menu.
The Bottom Line:
I was pleasantly surprised here, this is a great, rich, full-flavored drink with a lot of nuance and complexity.
Glinda’s Pink Potion
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Again, visually, Starbucks knocked it out of the park here. This drink not only looks like Ariana Grande’s Glinda, but it looks like something both the character and actress would drink. The Pink Potion is one of Starbucks’ Refreshers, it features a mix of mango and dragonfruit syrups mixed with coconut milk, pieces of real dragonfruit, and topped with a thick layer of non-dairy strawberry cold foam (with sprinkles of course).
The flavor has a sweet tropical vibe that pairs nicely with the strawberry cold foam — it almost tastes like a strawberry smoothie. Had this movie dropped in the summer, we don’t doubt that Glinda’s Pink Potion would’ve been a Frapp, but for the season, this form factor works better.
I like Glinda’s Pink Potion — it doesn’t taste as vital as Elphaba’s Cold Brew, but there isn’t a single point throughout my Venti that I didn’t enjoy this drink. I’d probably never order it though, due to the lack of caffeine.
The Bottom Line:
A tasty, caffeine-free, tropical treat. A welcome counter to all the peppermint drinks invading this season.
