Review: Starbucks' Wicked Drinks Didn't Exactly Cast A Magical Spell

For the longest time, "The Wizard of Oz" was all about Dorothy, her dog, and being far away from Kansas — frolicking in a technicolor wonderland. That all changed when the 1995 book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" hit shelves, which gave the green witch Elphaba and her blond frenemy Glinda their own time to shine within the land of Oz. In 2003, "Wicked" hit Broadway, casting a spell on audiences, and now 21 years later, has been turned into a big screen adventure released on November 22 — the film is directed by Jon M. Chu, and stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. To get fans of the book and musical all juiced-up in anticipation of the film, Starbucks is making a witches' brew of two beverages a month in advance: Glinda's Pink Potion and Elphaba's Cold Brew.

So, are these colorful "Wicked" drinks pure magic, or are they desperately in need of some heart and (dare I say) courage? Well, when it comes to inventive coffee drinks, there's almost no place like Starbucks, and I headed into my local one for a taste to see where the truth lies. This sip and say is based on taste, Wicked-ness, and overall Oz-someness.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Starting on Tuesday, October 22, Starbucks will be serving up Glinda's Pink Potion and Elphaba's Cold Brew at participating locations in the United States, Canada and select international markets, including Latin America and the Caribbean, South Africa, and Asia Pacific. These two "Wicked" drinks will only be available for a limited time only. The drinks are offered up in the standard Starbucks sizes of drinks: 12-ounce Tall, 16-ounce Grande, 24-ounce Venti, or 30-ounce Trenta.

The "Wicked" drinks are available to order anytime Starbucks is open, when supplies last. They can be ordered in store at the register or drive-thru where available. Advanced orders for pick-up, take out, or drink-in, can be placed through the Starbucks app and website. The drinks are completely customizable with endless options, such as removing elements of the drinks, or adding various sweeteners, flavors, powders, syrups, and foam toppings, or adjusting the level of ice. While price varies per location, a Grande in company operated U.S. stores for Glinda's Pink Potion ranges from $5.95 to $6.95, and Elphaba's Cold Brew from $5.25 to $5.95.

Glinda's Pink Potion starts with a refresher base of mango dragonfruit, and mixed with coconut milk, freeze dried red dragonfruit, ice, nondairy vanilla creamer (for cold foam), strawberry puree, and finished off with a pink and green duo sugar topping. A grande Glinda's Pink Potion nets 270 calories, 90 calories from fat, 10 grams of total fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 36 grams of sugar, 29 grams of added sugar, 3 grams of protein, and 45 milligrams of caffeine.

Elphaba's Cold Brew consists of peppermint syrup, cold brew coffee, water, ice, sweetened matcha powder, nondairy vanilla creamer (for cold foam), and topped with the same magical pink and green duo Sugar topping Glinda's is. A grande of Elphaba's Cold Brew nets 210 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of total fat, .5 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 28 grams of sugar, 28 grams of added sugar, 3 grams of protein, and 225 milligrams of caffeine.

Just like in the world of "Wicked," it's made very apparent that Glinda's Pink Potion is the outwardly more attractive drink option out of the two. A purplish shade of pink dominated most of the liquid body, and was topped off with a super sudsy light pink foam. That foam is further tricked out, speckled with black, purple, and pink crunchy sugar glitter flakes. It certainly looks camera ready, but could also pass as a see-through cup filled with Mr. Bubble bubble bath.

I leaned in for a smell, expecting to be succumbed with a sugary coat of sweetness, but instead was mistreated to the essence one might experience when choosing an unfriendly fluoride flavor, while laying in a dentist's chair. As I took my first sip, my mouth filled with what tasted like medicine — however, the foam quickly turned into the pleasurable taste of pretty in pink strawberry ice cream. That foam was a nice welcome to Glinda's Potion, but I didn't really fall under the spell with the rest of the drink. The dragon fruit provides a splash of fruity flavor, yet somehow didn't come through as sugary as I had hoped, especially since the strawberry and mango fruit aspects turned out to be a non-factor. Perhaps more of those two fruits could help conjure up some magical flavors, and also typify Glinda's over-the-top syrupy sweetness that she exudes in "Wicked."

As the darker of the two drinks, Elphaba's Cold Brew isn't such an inviting affair as Glinda's, probably by design. Here, the foam is a shade of milky pistachio green. It is topped with the same very sugary flakes featured in Glinda's, but they somehow stand out a bit darker. Below the foam lay the bulk of the drink — Starbucks Cold Brew coffee — but before I knew it, the dark brown was completely engulfed by the creepy green foam that slithered downward. A nice Hollywood trick right there, without bothering to use the splendid talents at some visual effects studio. 

Surprisingly, Elphaba's Cold Brew didn't emit any sort of wicked odors — actually, it didn't smell much like anything. However, once my mouth encountered the flavors, there was no escaping a bitter dose of peppermint. As I continued to sip, I kept thinking this was like a drink made up of melted Girl Scouts' Thin Mints, minus any of the chocolatey fun. The drink was kind of non-offensive, but nothing all that exciting. I felt a drink like this needed to somehow make a dark but tasty splash — alas, it didn't come through on either, beyond grabbing my attention with its visual aesthetic.

The world of "Wicked" is filled with contrasting colorful splendor, and these two drinks certainly came to play with a similar cinematic approach. Sadly, it seems that it's all about the visuals, and the "script" of ingredients needed a bit of rewrites. If you're not a fan of peppermint, you should probably avoid Elphaba's Cold Brew altogether. It's missing something to offset the bitterness of the coffee. While there's matcha under the hood, it barely registers. Perhaps Starbucks should have tapped into its past flavorful Cold Brew successes like Chocolate Cream Cold Brew and Pistachio Cream Cold Brew, tossed them into the cauldron, and really turned this new witch's brew into something worth hopping onto a broomstick and flying high on.

If I had to choose between the two drinks, Glinda's Pink Potion is the more comely of the two. I was taken aback at how mild its sweetness was, but as I took further sips, it grew on me. Its creamy top was a winner, but the drink could have slayed better if the dragon fruit was substituted for something more puckery ... like cherry.

Starbucks' Wicked drinks are definitely ready for the spotlight, but one's taste buds may not enjoy their full body of work. I really wanted to cop the title of Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" for this review, but the drinks just couldn't capture any of that L. Frank Baum's magical Oz-someness.