Life

Starbucks’ Zombie Frappuccino Combines Two Flavors That We Would've Never Put Together

by Brittany Bennett
Starbucks

As Halloween night lurches closer, Starbucks has brewed up one wicked take on the Frappuccino in celebration of the holiday. And, this undead transformation of the frozen coffee drink will make you ~lose your mind~. If you're wondering what flavor the Zombie Frappuccino at Starbucks is, I can assure you that there are neither brains nor eyeballs nor any other anatomical body part zombies enjoy as side dishes involved. Instead, this creepy Frappuccino tastes a lot like many people's other favorite part of fall — apple picking.

Pumpkin spice may reign supreme as the choice flavor of the season, but there is more to fall — and Halloween — than the orange squash we love to eat and carve. Apples hit their peak during September and October, making for the warmest pies and the best ciders. And now the fruit that's as crisp as late October air steps into the spotlight only a Starbucks cup can cast.

One slurp of the pink whipped cream and you'll feel oddly appetized by something that sounds less than appetizing — brains. If apple-caramel brain is wrong, then I don't want to be right. Give me apple brains and I'll proudly morph into a vulturous zombie. But you'll have to move at a faster pace than an actual zombie is known for. The limited drink is only running from Oct. 26 to Oct. 31.

Coffee is what revives most of us as we seek to come back to life every morning. And now thanks to Starbucks, we have the opportunity to inhale what appears to be a zombie's favorite main course (brains) when we feel most like the monster. When ~brain~storming flavors for Halloween inspired frozen drink, a team member from Starbucks' beverage development team shared in a press release, "we started by thinking about a Halloween party and monster mash." She continued, "we thought about what you’d serve at a Halloween party, and we settled on dipped caramel apples." If you ask me, they hit in the nail on the head in the coffin with that inspiration.

Tart apple and caramel flavors join pink whipped cream and mocha red drizzle in filling a ghoulish cup of everything right with fall. What's better than carving pumpkins at your Halloween party? Bobbing for apples. And what's better than bobbing for apples? Devouring caramel covered apples on sticks. Robinson describes the flavor as, "a tart green apple flavor balanced with a smooth, sweet caramel." Smooth is how it seems to be going just shortly after it crept into Starbucks locations across the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 26.

Fans of Starbucks have already began developing a taste for brains. (Though in actuality it's probably the red drizzle mocha that customers have more of an appetite for.) Who can deny the pairing of tart apple and rich caramel matched with mocha? This concoction will have you walking in drooling zombie-like hoards towards your nearest Starbucks line.

I guess I can't say I don't understand what it's like to be a zombie before my first cup of coffee in the morning. Sluggish, mindless and just looking for something to gnaw on in order to make it through another day. With the latest iteration of the Frappuccino, Starbucks makes the feeling a little bit more of an actual reality as we get to sip down whipped pink brains. Thankfully the geniuses behind brewing up this delectable potion knew to infuse the Frappuccino créme with flavors we were guaranteed to enjoy.

After encountering the drink and surviving, I've learned that we coffee drinkers have a lot more in common with the monster than we realize. If only zombies would prefer tart caramel covered apples to brains. Then we could all live in harmony. But until our tastebuds align, you can go get your brain-free Frappuccino at your nearest Starbucks now!