If you are a person existing in the world, you’ve surely been endlessly bombarded by Wicked marketing: eyeshadow palettes, Crocs, candles, headphones, Barbies, mac and cheese, you name it. With 450 promotional partners, it’s the Wicked movie’s world and we’re just living in it.

So, fellow student Leigh Pixton and I tried the Wicked x Starbucks collab drinks to see if they’re worth the hype….

The first drink we tried was Glinda’s Pink Potion drink, and let me tell you, this drink TASTES PINK. It’s essentially a Mango Dragon Fruit and a Pink Drink combined. The sweetness truly captures it’s inspiration: the gentle, kind, and bubbly Glinda the Good Witch!

This drink has strawberry cold foam on top, which tastes specifically like Tillamook strawberry ice cream to me. Like most cold foam on Starbucks drinks, it doesn’t just stay on top and instead seeps into the rest of the drink. Between the coconut milk, syrup, and strawberry cold foam, it’s a very sweet and fruity mix of flavors.

If you’re the kind of person who likes a ratio of more syrup than drink, the Pink Potion is for you! However, if you’re a simpleton at heart, get easily overwhelmed by flavors, and aren’t into overly sugary drinks, stay away! If you identify with the latter option, what are you doing at a Starbucks anyways?

I would recommend this drink for the taste and overall aesthetic, but not for the price. I got a 12oz, and tell me why it costed $6.57? Yikes! I can get a whole meal for that price. The Pink Potion wasn’t even that different from a Pink Drink, which is sold at $5.79 for the same size… so do with that information what you will.

But overall, me and Leigh quite liked the Pink Potion drink for its fruitiness, and we found it refreshing on a biting 50 degree day.

“Here’s your ‘Elphaba drink!’” the lady at the counter said as she handed me my order. The cold plastic cup felt shockingly icy on an already frigid fall day.  

The Elphaba drink is inspired by its namesake character: the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, and its prequel Broadway musical Wicked. This chilly drink invigorates the senses and successfully incapsulates Elphaba’s intriguing character in Wicked.  

In the new movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz’s spin off Broadway show, Elphaba is portrayed as a kind high school girl: much unlike previous depictions. The drink holds true to its portrayal of an incredibly vivacious fictional character.  

This delicious drink follows the color palette of its inspiration. Elphaba’s Cold Brew has a topping of matcha cream cold foam for her green skin, and a black cold brew base for her cloak and dark wardrobe. When I first took a sip, I was hit by a sweetness I wasn’t expecting from a cold brew. The matcha cream at the top overpowered the coffee’s bitterness for the first two or three tastes. Though sweet, the foamy matcha layer also provides a fresh flavor with minty and earthy notes.  

Slowly, the foam began to meld with the cold brew and the sweet and fresh taste evolved into a bitter chocolate one, mingling with the leftover matcha. This new flavor is reminiscent to a regular cold peppermint mocha, just dolled up. This could be a reference to the movie and how ‘Wicked’ is a spinoff to its original Wizard of Oz.  

I will say though– despite singing its praises– I do have a few issues with the Elphaba’s Cold Brew. Like most drinks, the ice waters down the flavor of it drastically, which is to be expected. So, I would recommend ordering less ice when you order it. The drink also loses most of its mint flavor and becomes a mocha cold brew. This is an good combination on its own, but without the matcha, it loses what makes it unique! So I would additionally suggest ordering extra matcha sweet cream.  

Though I did not get the pink and green sugar sprinkles, I think they would have been a fitting addition to the drink.  

In closing, I will say that Elphaba’s Cold Brew was an enjoyable experience only enhanced by having seen the play ‘Wicked’ already. But if you don’t believe me, you should try it yourself! It’s available at most Starbucks, and you can get a tall Elphaba’s Cold Brew for $6.01.