We Tried Starbucks’ New Crystal Ball Frappuccino Early, This Is How It Tastes

Ever since news broke earlier this week about the new Crystal Ball Frappuccino from Starbucks, people have been going nuts about it. Some have even gone as far as to say it’s the new “Unicorn Frappuccino.” With all the buzz this unreleased item has already generated, we had to go snag a couple of Frapps early to try for ourselves.

After sampling the Crystal Ball Frappuccino, I think it’s safe to say that it does taste better than the Unicorn (whose sweet-and-sour combo was revolting). The drink is still way too sweet, though, and the peach flavor from the whipped cream and blended ice definitely comes on strong. Although the colorful swirl has a white mocha flavor, you don’t really pick it up, so the medicinal strength of the peach flavor dominates and further boosts the drink’s sweetness.

Here’s what other members of the Foodbeast squad had to say about it:

“It tasted like amoxicillin, minus the pink.” – Reach Guinto, managing editor

“The drink reminds me of one of those fruity cereals. I can’t quite pinpoint which one, though.” – Oscar Gonzalez, video producer

“You know what this tastes like? Those peach gummy rings!” – Ricky Zollinger, video producer

While it beats the Unicorn on taste, to me, the Crystal Ball is nowhere near as photogenic. To be fair, the frozen beverage follows the hallmarks of the Starbucks Instagram Frappuccino model. It’s got a vibrant, turqouise white mocha swirl to add some pop and contrast, and is glittered with one of three different candy gem hues on top.

Other than that, the rest of the drink is a plain white, which means that the turquoise swirl contrasts well, but doesn’t have the sharp color differences the Unicorn had that set it apart. In the words of Evan Lancaster, our social media guru, “it looks like another Starbucks drink.”

The Crystal Ball Frappuccino may not be as colorful as the Unicorn, but the color contrasts should still make it look dope on social media feeds. And if you’re down with peach creme frapps, and don’t mind an extra hit of sugar, you won’t take a single sip and throw it in the trash, like most people did with the Unicorn Frappuccino.

Starbucks baristas have independently confirmed to Foodbeast that the new drink drops on March 22nd and will be around for four days, so if you want it on your social feeds, make sure to snag it during that time window.

Photos by Peter Pham. Featured Image by Evan Lancaster.