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: 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: KFC Cherry Pie Poppers

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Now would’ve been an optimal time to come out with Pumpkin Pie Poppers, but instead, KFC came out with these new Cherry Pie Poppers. But what do I know? I’m just some guy with a calendar.

Maybe pumpkin pie doesn’t pair well with the Colonel’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. Or perhaps these are Halloween-themed because the cherry represents blood, and these were supposed to be called Cherry Die Poppers. But the promotional materials for Cherry Pie Poppers were already made and shipped, so here we are.

These are a follow-up to KFC’s Apple Pie Poppers, which came out earlier this year, and just in time for the Fourth of July season, which apple pies are most known for here in the US. (Okay, they came out over two months before Independence Day, and I’m not 100 percent sure apple pies are a summer thing, but it seems correct.) This newest dessert is filled with warm cherry pie filling wrapped in a flaky crust, and it’s available in 4- or 10-piece orders.

The crust is wonderfully buttery and flaky, and I love the sound of the crispy layers crackling as I bite into them. There’s a tiny bit of sweetness, but I wish it was a bit more sugary or glazed like a pre-packaged convenience store fruit pie pastry. Within the flaky layers is a cherry filling that wasn’t overly sweet or tart. But it also wasn’t sweet or tart enough to really stand out. However, that might be due to the filling-to-crust ratio leaning too much on the crust side because it did seem like the cherry goo was a bit thin in my order’s four pieces.

Due to its lack of a robust fruity flavor, KFC’s Cherry Pie Poppers were a bit underwhelming, and I don’t see myself ordering it again any time in the future.

Purchased Price: $3.79*
Size: 4 pieces
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) 70 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Burger King Wednesday’s Whopper

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There are two differences between Burger King’s new Wednesday’s Whopper and a standard Whopper with Cheese. First is the use of Swiss cheese instead of American. The second is a purple sesame seed bun colored with purple potato instead of the standard sesame seed bun. The 1/4 lb flame-grilled patty, tomato, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, pickles, and onions are present with both.

If you’ve looked through the list of ingredients above and eaten various colored buns from the Whopper-Verse, you might have realized that Wednesday’s Whopper is similar to a particular web-slinger’s offering — the Spider Verse Whopper. Instead of a purple bun, it had a red one, but everything else was the same.

Let’s start with this hamburger’s headliner, the purple bun. Prince would so approve. The purple potato used to dye the buns makes it look spiffy, and the black sesame seeds dotted across the crust are the chef’s kiss. But the vibrant violet under the crust looks even better. However, the bun is more of a visual experience than one that tantalizes your taste buds because it pretty much tastes like a standard bun.

The Swiss cheese has a mellower flavor than the usual orange stuff, but its creaminess and saltiness come through, which slightly mellows the Whopper’s flame-grilled flavor. All the usual Whopper flavors are there, especially the ketchup, mayo, and pickles, which makes it taste too similar to a regular one. That’s not bad, though, since I enjoy regular Whoppers. However, I wish Burger King continued the purple theme by adding red/purple onions (or maybe even purple-dyed cheese). The purple onion’s sharper taste also would’ve given this burger a slightly different flavor than the Spider Verse Whopper.

Finally, some of you might be wondering if there’s a specific post-digestion problem that has happened with a previous Burger King colored bun. Well, whew, no number two issues.

If you’ve never experienced one of Burger King’s colored buns—red, orange, white, green, or black—here’s your opportunity to feast your eyes on one in real life.

Purchased Price: $9.19*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 820 calories, 52 grams of fat, 20 grams of sugar, 1 gram of trans fat, 125 milligrams of cholesterol, 1480 milligrams of sodium, 56 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 40 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

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