Starbucks' New Witch's Brew Is Way Better Than The Unicorn Frappuccino

It's been a suspiciously long time since Starbucks last introduced a new Frappuccino flavor — probably because everyone's been so preoccupied with the cult classic PSL — but the dry spell has officially come to an end. In the spirit of Halloween, the coffee chain is now selling a Witch's Brew Frappuccino in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and select markets in the Caribbean while supplies last.

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The festive potion starts with a blend of purple "toad's breath" and orange crème Frappuccino, followed by a swirl of "bat warts" (don't be alarmed, they're actually chia seeds), a dollop of vanilla whipped cream and a dusting of green "lizard scale" powder. Scary!

All of those ingredients sound super disgusting, but we got on our broomsticks and flew over to the nearest Starbucks for a taste test anyway. Contrary to our expectations, we were pleasantly surprised. Usually, we aren't the biggest fans of seasonal fraps, because historically they taste too tart or artificial. Last Halloween's Zombie Frappuccino had sour flavors mixed with chocolate.... Like, why?

Witch's Brew is very simple, and we value that. But what exactly does it taste like? A creamsicle! Although the drink is predominantly purple, the orange flavor shines bright like a diamond.

"The orange flavor is light and creamy. It reminds me a lot of an Orange Julius from my mallrat days," one editor opined. Another said the flavor reminded her of Fruity Pebbles.

We weren't enchanted by the chia seeds, however. We thought they'd be crunchy and get stuck in our teeth, but they're squishy. One taste tester branded them as a "crappier Boba" and suggested Starbucks replace them with fruit pearls.

"The chia seeds make it healthy, right?" another staffer asked. "It's basically a smoothie bowl."

Not quite. A grande (16 ounces) has 390 calories and 53 grams of added sugar, but that's pretty typical for a Frappuccino. Witch's Brew still cast a spell on us, nonetheless.

All in all, we're very impressed with this spoooooooky blended beverage. We love the vibrant Barney-purple color, the flavor is nostalgic of summer and our fading youth and the chia seeds were fun, albeit not fully satisfying. This might actually be our favorite seasonal frap to date. (Sorry, Unicorn Frappucino.) With that being said, we probably wouldn't get this again, because we run on caffeine and this puppy doesn't have a lick of coffee in it. We'd rather sip on the best chain cold brew instead.