Starbucks’ new Unicorn Frappuccino leaves US public perplexed

Baristas complain preparation of Instagram-friendly coffee causing them stress

Maura Judkis
Friday 21 April 2017 13:38 BST
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The Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino
The Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino (Starbucks/The Washington Post)

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Starbucks’s Unicorn Frappuccino tastes like sour birthday cake mixed with a creamsicle covered in Pixie Stix and a healthy sprinkling of despair. But that doesn’t really matter. The drink, released in participating stores nationwide on Wednesday, exists only to be Instagrammed.

That hasn’t stopped people from ordering it. The Instagram hashtags for Starbucks and unicorn are flooded with the Lisa Frank-colored drink. And on Twitter, users are complaining that the drink has sold out at several locations.

It appears that Starbucks baristas don’t really like the drink, either. Braden Burson, a barista in Colorado, published a video rant on Twitter about the drink, saying that it is difficult to make and very messy. (The video has been deleted from his account.)

“Please don’t get it!” he said in the video. “I have unicorn crap all in my hair and on my nose. I have never been so stressed out in my entire life.”

The Associated Press reports that Starbucks is reaching out to Burson “to talk about his experience and how to make it better.”

He’s not the only one. On a Reddit forum for Starbucks baristas, complaints have been rolling in. One barista called it the “Frap from hell.” Another posted a photo giving the Unicorn Frappuccino advertisement the finger.

Baristas have been speaking their mind on Twitter, too.

On the bright side for these baristas: The drink is only available through Sunday.

The Washington Post

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