REVIEW: Starbucks Glinda’s Pink Potion

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Starbucks’ Glinda’s Pink Potion is a pretty potation. However, when I peer at the peppy pink portion, I can’t help but picture Pepto-Bismol. If only Pepto-Bismol pleased the palate as much as this product does.

The Wicked-inspired creation features a Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers Beverage hand-shaken with creamy coconut milk, ice, and a scoop of real, freeze-dried dragonfruit. Then, it’s topped with nondairy strawberry cold foam and colorful candy sprinkles.

Here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there’s a local rainbow cake recipe with guava, passion fruit, and lime flavors. Even though Glinda’s Pink Potion has none of those, its taste brings to mind that delicious rainbow cake. Both cake and potion are fruity, tangy, tropical, perfectly sweet, and delightful to the tongue and eyes.

Surprisingly, one of the ingredients that gives this drink its Barbie-pink color when combined with the Starbucks Refresher base and one that I thought would add to the beverage’s tropical kick, the coconut milk, isn’t noticeable to my taste buds.

With previous Starbucks drinks I’ve had with dragon fruit pieces, I thought the freeze-dried fruit were more there for appearances than flavor. However, with this one, whenever one of those bits happens to escape through the hole in the sipping lid, there’s a burst of fruitiness. But, while there were many dragon fruit pieces, most were trapped in the cup after drinking the potion. As for the candy sprinkles, they definitely were there more for looks than adding sweetness.

Glinda’s Pink Potion has a bit of caffeine in it, but with its tasty tropical flavor, I found it to be more of a relaxing drink instead of a pick-me-up. Much like Pepto-Bismol, this drink made my tummy happy.

Purchased Price: $7.15
Size: Venti/24 fl oz
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 320 calories, 12 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 44 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein, and 60 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Reese’s Sugar Cookie Big Cup

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As I sat down to begin this review, my mind drifted off to dream of holiday cookies. (This will happen more and more as winter draws near, during increasingly inconvenient moments.) There is something magical about the holiday cookie genre and the imagery it evokes. Those sacred recipe cards that emerge from your cupboard once a year. Enticing details like glistening sanding sugar or colored sprinkles. Tupperware containers are stuffed to capacity and then quickly reduced to crumbs, thanks to your ravenous Uncle Phil.

Reese’s knows this to be true, and this year it honors a holiday staple: the humble sugar cookie. Whether coated in decorative icing or mixed with candy pieces, the buttery, sweet cookie is the perfect base for a holiday treat. Now available in both Big Cup and Miniature varieties, Reese’s Sugar Cookie cups add sugar cookie bits to the classic Reese’s filling.

I found a Sugar Cookie Big Cup at Giant Eagle and decided to treat myself to some early holiday cheer. When I cut the cup in two, I wondered if I had received a cheerless factory dud. The filling looked so thick with peanut butter that I questioned the cookie bits’ presence. Did Uncle Phil strike again?

Luckily, the bits merely camouflage themselves against the peanut butter, and the generous filling enrobes the cookies completely. The sugar cookie bits are not quite pea-sized, so about 6-7 pieces fit in the cup. Much like myself slipping cookies into my purse at a boring holiday party, Reese’s managed to cram a surprising number of cookies in a small space.

The cookie bits do not add any flavor to the Big Cup; as is the case with several Big Cup mix-ins, the peanut butter taste overshadows their flavor. However, they do add a perfect, satisfying crunch. I expected added texture, but given that the perfect cookie texture is always up for debate, I wondered whether this Big Cup would deliver soft, crispy, or crunchy. The verdict: super crunchy. Imagine if the cookie bits in a Hershey’s Cookies’ n’ Creme bar had something to prove.

While Reese’s Big Cups are delicious—a larger version of what I consider to be the perfect candy—their novelty varieties are almost always more interesting for their textures than flavors. The Sugar Cookie Big Cup is no different, but its crunchy cookie bits will please anyone who prefers a sweet crunch (or desperately misses the Crunchy Cookie Big Cup). If I encountered them at a holiday party, I’d slip a few in my purse for later.

Purchased Price: $1.39
Purchased at: Giant Eagle
Size: 1.3 oz (36 g)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Starbucks Elphaba’s Cold Brew

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In honor of the “Wicked” movie being released next month, Starbucks has released two “Wicked”-inspired drinks. One is Elphaba’s Cold Brew, which features the Starbucks cold brew with peppermint syrup. On top is a nondairy matcha cold foam (to give the green nod to the character Elphaba) and candy sprinkles.

Dear reader, this drink did not look like the promotional picture. I repeat, this drink did not look like the picture. But do not let it deter you! One sip of Elphaba’s Cold Brew and I was hooked.

I grabbed my drink immediately as my name was called, and the nondairy matcha cold foam was already settling into it, making the entire drink green. I *almost* thought they got my order wrong! There was still a small layer of the cold foam on the top, but most was already mixed in. I also didn’t find any of the candy sprinkles, which is truly the reason for the 9 versus 10 rating on this drink.

But oh my gosh. This cold brew was fabulous! I am a big proponent of putting peppermint in my drinks – specifically cold brew – all year round (Starbucks DOES have it all year, not just the holidays), so I knew I’d like this one. I find Starbucks’ peppermint syrup not too sweet at all, so it pairs nicely with the cold brew for a smooth taste.

I’m not always a matcha lover, but I was very pleasantly surprised with this cold foam. The earthy matcha taste was there, but much more muted than usual, thanks to the strong cold brew and peppermint.

The flavors stayed nice and even through the duration of me enjoying it. After I finished, I was honestly sad I only got a tall. Looks aside, this drink was a “Wicked” winner.

Purchased Price: $5.25
Size: Tall
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 170 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 30 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 21 grams of total sugars, 3 grams of protein and 175 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Potion Macchiato

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This Halloween season, Dunkin’ isn’t content just sticking to pumpkin flavors. It’s digging deeper and summoning the purple pigment powers of ube to create the new Potion Macchiato. If you’re not familiar with it, ube is a yam that’s long been used in Filipino desserts and has recently been making its way into various products in the US, usually when someone wants to capitalize on its vibrant violet properties.

The Potion Macchiato features a marshmallow ube swirl blended with milk and topped with espresso. Available hot or iced, the promotional pictures showcase a striking purple base crowned with a layer of deeply dark espresso. None of the ads mention this, but I think it’s important to note that if you stretch out the first syllable in ube, you’ll be making an excellent ghost noise.

Perhaps I should have tempered my expectations, but I was a bit disappointed in the visual appearance of my macchiato. Both portions of the drink were somewhat muted. I pictured the contrast being more vivid, and the beverage I walked away with looked like an apparition of what was advertised. It still felt a little like a novelty, but the ube base was barely purple-hued, and the espresso above it was a light brown. That said, I don’t mind sipping on a murky concoction as long as it tastes good, and I was eager to see if the ube made its presence known.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure it ever does. The overwhelming taste is vanilla and generically sweet. Ube is a milder flavor, so it isn’t surprising that this gets overshadowed, but there’s nothing here to make this drink memorable. I want to say I taste some of ube’s nutty or earthy notes or even that it has a marshmallow vibe, but that would be a stretch. I found myself hoping to taste the espresso more and balance things out, so I gave it a shake, which only resulted in further muddying the appearance and making it look like any other iced coffee.

I think this could be a perfectly satisfying caffeinated treat for those who like their coffee on the very sweet side and since this is Halloween, there’s nothing wrong with leaning into candy-level sweetness. I’ll give the visual gimmick some credit for trying, but I wish the potion itself had more intrigue. Maybe I’ll order my next one with an extra shot of dragon scales? If you’d like to test the Potion Macchiato’s effect on you, get to Dunkin’ soon because this limited-time offering will disappear after the 31st.

Purchased Price: $5.29
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 6 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 46 grams of total sugar, and 8 grams of protein

REVIEW: Limited Edition Frosted Marshmallow Hot Cocoa Pop-Tarts

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Have you ever sipped on a cup of hot cocoa on a cold, snowy evening and thought, “This is nice, but I wish I could have it in the form of a toaster pastry”?

Well, if you have, Pop-Tarts has got you covered!

This limited-edition flavor, Frosted Marshmallow Hot Cocoa Pop-Tarts, has a cocoa pastry and a marshmallow filling. There are also wintry designs printed on the frosting, which is fun.

There are some Pop-Tarts I prefer at room temperature, some I prefer toasted, and some where I don’t care either way. I tried this flavor both untoasted (“Make a toast,” ironically) and toasted (“Cocoa is deer to me”). This variety is much better toasted: The marshmallow filling becomes nice and gooey, like a marshmallow over a fire or marshmallows in a cup of hot cocoa. But marshmallows aren’t known for their exciting flavor.

As for the cocoa part of the pastry, it’s barely there. I get a whiff of fake chocolate when I open the package, like you get in a Tootsie Roll or a Dum-Dum pop, but I don’t really taste it in the Pop-Tart itself. According to the ingredients list, there is less than two percent of cocoa and natural and artificial flavors.

My all-time favorite Pop-Tart flavor is Sugar Cookie, and I have had a hard time finding it in recent years. I hope this new, mediocre winter flavor doesn’t supplant that superior winter flavor.

These are sugary carbs with a gooey filling, so they’re enjoyable to eat. But they’re really just boring. If you want to eat them this winter, I recommend waiting until January. There are so many better ways to spend your calories in December.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: 8-count box
Purchased at: Smith’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 pastries) 360 calories, 8 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 3 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 340 milligrams of sodium, 69 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 32 grams of sugar including 32 grams of added sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

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