Starbucks Unicorn Frappucino vs Dragon Frappucino

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via twitter.com

For five days, Starbucks released a limited edition drink, the Unicorn Frappuccino, that delighted social media users. The drink was color-changing, flavor-changing, and caffeine-less.

Drew Lederman, Staff Writer

What’s blue, pink and magical all over? The unicorn Frappuccino — the newest limited edition Starbucks drink. For only five days, Starbucks sold the mystifying and magical caffeine-less drink, and it quickly consumed social media feeds.

According to the Starbucks website, “Magical flavors start off sweet and fruity transforming to pleasantly sour.” But it seems actual customers have some qualms about that statement.

GLS freshman Laura Ochoa strongly disagrees with how magical the drink tastes.

“It tastes like sour shame filled with week-old mango puree,”  Ochoa said.

Tisch freshman Sierra Turcotte agrees with Ochoa.

“It tastes like unicorn vomit,” Turcotte said. “Definitely made strictly for looks, its flavors do not mesh well together. It almost tastes like a half-melted sour ball that’s been sitting in your purse for four months.”

Reactions like this have made consumers question Starbucks’ meaning behind “pleasantly sour.”

Despite scathing reviews on its taste, Starbucks actually ran out of the drink early. They tweeted on Wednesday, “Due to the high demand for the #UnicornFrappuccino, many stores have sold out of the beverage.”

It seems people were only buying the drink for the photo op. LS freshman and Starbucks barista Juliana Galarza said she saw people taking a few photos of the drink and throwing it out. Galarza said this was frustrating for baristas who spent the time making the drink. In addition, the drink was not easy to make due to the various powders and mixes involved, which put a lot of strain on baristas.

“The pink powder gets everywhere. It was just a disaster to make,” Galarza said.

Regardless of its contested quality and labor-intensive process, this Starbucks fail may have laid the groundwork for positive results.

After various Starbucks locations ran out of the ingredients for the unicorn frappuccino, stores didn’t want to turn away customers who were looking for the drink. Inventive baristas offered customers a new drink — the dragon frapuccino, a green tea frappuccino with vanilla bean powder and a berry swirl in the cup.

According to The Today Show, the dragon frappuccino tastes much better than its unicorn counterpart —  less sweet and not sour at all — but like the unicorn frappuccino, it will not be around for very long. The green tea frappuccino and the vanilla bean powder are staples on the menu, but the berry syrup that is used is actually just a leftover ingredient from the unicorn frappuccino.

The merits of each drink are still up to the customers, so try them both before they run out — and remember, no magical creatures were harmed in the making of these drinks.

Email Drew Lederman at [email protected]