Starbucks's "Wednesday" Cold Brew Has the Perfect Bittersweet Balance
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Wednesday Addams has inspired a pair of unofficial Starbucks drinks as dark and bittersweet as her soul. After watching the macabre teenager sleuth around Nevermore Academy in search of the Hyde's true identity, I decided to taste test the vanilla bean cold brews that fans presume would be her fuel for a day of sabotage, spying, and late-night cello practice.
The first drink, created by Totally the Bomb, is a cold brew coffee with a few pumps of mocha sauce, topped with vanilla bean cold foam: regular cold foam mixed with a scoop of vanilla bean powder. To bring out the chocolate undertones of the mocha, I decided to ask for mine with a drizzle of dark chocolate around the inside of the cup, which resulted in a spiderweb-like design on top of the cold foam.
A second drink began circulating on TikTok after one account shared the recipe from Facebook. A dark and brooding twist on the classic pumpkin spice latte, the Wednesday-inspired drink is a regular cold brew with pumps of mocha and pumpkin sauces in place of the dark chocolate. Like the first drink, the sweet vanilla bean cold foam is key to balancing out the strong flavors of the coffee.
At face value, the drinks are pretty similar. After a taste test, though, the first feels like a representation of Wednesday at the beginning of season one — bold, powerful, and too strong for some — and the second, a representation of her after she makes friends and finds her place at Nevermore — equally strong but just a tad bit sweeter.
Both were delicious and perfect drinks for fall weather, but read ahead to see which of the two Wednesday-inspired cold brews was the winner.
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Starbucks's Wednesday Vanilla Cream Cold Brew With Pumpkin
As someone who loves all things spooky, just like Wednesday, this pumpkin-flavored drink immediately sent me back to Halloween. Unlike the classic pumpkin spice latte, this "Wednesday"-inspired cold brew also featured a few pumps of mocha and the crucial vanilla bean cold foam, which cuts the bold coffee flavor like the line straight down the middle of Wednesday and Enid's room, adding an extra hint of sweetness.
Aesthetically, it's gorgeous, with a layer of creamy foam, a pumpkin-tinged center, and a final mocha layer that creates an Instagram-worthy ombré effect. To order the drink, ask for a tall cold brew with two pumps of mocha sauce, two pumps of pumpkin sauce, and a layer of cold foam mixed with a scoop of vanilla bean powder.
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Starbucks's Wednesday Vanilla Cream Cold Brew With Dark Chocolate
Admittedly, I like my coffee sweet with lots of dairy-free cream to make up for the actual coffee flavor, but this dark chocolate cold brew may have permanently altered my Starbucks order. At first sip, the cold brew is strong but slightly sweet. As I'd hoped, the chocolate drizzle brought out the mocha flavors, making the entire drink taste like a dark chocolate milkshake.
To order the drink, ask for a tall cold brew with two pumps of mocha sauce, a drizzle of dark chocolate syrup around the inside of the cup, and a layer of cold foam mixed with vanilla bean powder on top.
While the pumpkin-flavored drink was a strong contender (see: me taking alternating sips between each drink for five minutes straight), the dark chocolate cold brew was by far my favorite. Fitting, considering it's the perfect balance of bitter and sweet — just like Wednesday.