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