Two drinks, one sweet and refreshing, one bold and earthy.  Together,  they symbolize the polarizing personas of Glinda Arduenna and Elphaba Thropp of Wicked, building excitement for the brand new Wicked movie coming out on November 22. Exactly one month prior to the release of the film, Starbucks launched two new themed drinks.  I tried them, and this is my honest opinion.

First, a dash of peppermint syrup.  Then a couple ounces of ice cold cold brew. Topped with a smidge of ice and Starbucks’ soy-based non dairy matcha cold foam with a couple shakes of their festive pink and green sugar sprinkles to top it all off.  Ta-Da!  You’ve got Elphaba’s Green Elixir.  Ordering the grande (16-ounce) will cost you $6.55.  Elphaba’s Elixir is reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream, with the cold brew and matcha cold foam working in tandem to create the earthy nutty flavor implicative of chocolate and the peppermint syrup supplying the minty-ness.  Just like mint-chip ice cream, this  drink is definitely an acquired taste.  Coffee lovers and haters alike have their place at Starbucks, but this is definitely a drink for the caffeine stans.

Glinda’s Pink Potion is a dupe of the iconically refreshing dragon drink (mango dragon fruit base shaken with coconut milk and dragon fruit inclusions) topped with silky-smooth non-dairy strawberry sweet cream cold foam cascading down the cup.  Can’t forget the festive pink and green sprinkles.  Ordering the grande of this one will cost you $7.15.  This drink is a perfect balance between the light tartness of the dragon drink and the silky sweetness of the strawberry foam. It tastes best when I mixed the foam into the drink as opposed to allowing it to float on top.  This drink was fruity and sweet, perfect for those who prefer non-coffee drinks.  

I enjoy coffee, but I’m more of an espresso fan rather than a drip or brewed coffee fan. My favorite drink of all time is iced tea, since I prefer fresh fruity flavors. If I had to choose, I liked Glinda’s Potion the best. If you aren’t a huge fan of the movie or of Starbucks, I don’t see the price as worth it for the flavor and quality of the drinks. 

The drinks are perfect opposites,  and I appreciate the way they encompass the disposition of both characters. They were obviously concocted to create “hype” for the movie though, while incentivizing people to taste their new non-dairy cold foams, as opposed to providing drink-lovers with a new timeless core beverage. Next time—I’ll stick to my Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso.