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Harry Potter Butterbeer Starbucks Drink: Secret Menu Item

The Starbucks Secret Menu has a lot of gems on it, as baristas and customers alike come up with new custom drinks based on existing Starbucks ingredients. 

One somewhat lesser-known item goes by a few names: “The Harry Potter Drink,” “Butterbeer Starbucks Drink,” and “Butterbeer Frappuccino” among others. 

But what is it, and how do you get your hands on one? Read on to find out.

Harry Potter Starbucks Drink AKA Butterbeer Frappuccino

There are many drinks that don’t make it to the official menu for Starbucks but which have ingredients that most store locations carry year-round. 

The Butterbeer Starbucks secret menu drink is one such beverage.

What Is A Butterbeer Frappuccino?

The Butterbeer Frappuccino is a custom-order drink, so you won’t find it on any Starbucks menu, nor is there a guarantee that your barista will know what you mean if you order it in those exact terms. 

Related Read: Starbucks Secret Menu Drinks

Like any Starbucks secret menu item, it’s important to know what goes into it and how to describe the recipe to the barista you order it from.

More broadly, like all Frappuccinos, the Butterbeer Frappuccino is a frozen drink, using Starbucks blended crème Frappuccino base. It’s named after a drink that features strongly in the Harry Potter series: Butterbeer. 

The books and movies describe the drink as a kind of soda–flavored with butterscotch, though less cloying than you might think.

It’s possible to get the “real” deal from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at the various theme parks around the world that boast a Diagon Alley. 

But it’s a little easier to get the Starbucks version, since you can just order it at your local Starbucks.

How Does It Taste?

The taste is actually pretty close to the flavor profile of the “real” butterbeer: sweet, with a toffee, caramel flavor thanks to the caramel syrup and inclusions that the drink gets. 

It doesn’t have coffee in it, so if you’re looking for something caffeinated, you’ll have to add espresso–though that, of course, changes the flavor.

If you typically order hot chocolate, or blended crème frappuccinos, the Starbucks Butterbeer Frappuccino is a good option for you.

How Is It Made?

The base of the drink is the creme frappuccino base. At heart, this drink is a customized blended caramel crème Frappuccino. 

But the customizations are very specific. The Butterbeer Frappuccino has a more complicated flavor profile than the standard caramel crème Frappuccino Starbucks offers, after all.

The recipe for your Butterbeer Frappuccino customizations goes as follows, for a grande size:

  • Caramel syrup reduced to 2 pumps
  • 2 pumps of toffee nut syrup
  • 1 pump of cinnamon dolce syrup
  • Caramel sauce to line cup

There is a lot of sugar in this drink, between the extra syrup and the caramel drizzle. 

But the cinnamon dolce syrup adds a slightly spicy-buttery flavor, while the toffee nut syrup provides the flavors that deepen caramel into butterscotch. 

Altogether, you get a very sweet but actually fairly complex cold drink.

If you want to get a larger size (such as a venti) you’ll want to increase some of the proportions for the correct Starbucks butterbeer recipe: 3 pumps of caramel syrup, 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup, and 1 or 2 pumps of cinnamon dolce. 

For a Tall, you’ll want to cut the proportions in half.

How Do You Order Harry Potter Butterbeer At Starbucks?

If you’re ordering the Starbucks Butterbeer Frappuccino in the store directly, you’ll want to use the following phrasing:

“Can I get a Grande caramel crème Frappuccino with 2 pumps of caramel syrup, 2 pumps toffee nut, and 1 pump cinnamon dolce, with caramel sauce drizzle on the inside of the cup?” 

You can enhance your drink further with whipped cream and salted caramel topping if it’s available.

If you’re ordering on the Starbucks app, order a Caramel Crème Frappuccino with less caramel syrup, add toffee nut syrup, add cinnamon dolce syrup, and specify the number of pumps. 

You can then add extras: your caramel sauce drizzle and your whipped cream and topping.

Price

The average price for a grande Butterbeer Frappuccino is $6, though that can vary somewhat from one location to another depending on local and state taxes and other factors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Starbucks Have Harry Potter Drinks?

The Starbucks secret menu includes a few different Harry Potter themed drinks, depending on your mood. 

In addition to the Butterbeer Frappuccino, you can get a hot version of the butterbeer recipe: the hot butterbeer latte or a butterbeer whole milk steamer.

For the hot butterbeer latte, the beverage ingredients include the same syrups, along with steamed whole milk, caramel drizzle, and whipped cream. 

The steamer is similar, just without any espresso; so there’s no coffee taste. Either is perfect for colder weather.

Does Starbucks Still Make Butterbeer?

The Starbucks secret menu uses drink components that almost every store carries, but the recipe for each drink isn’t standard for Starbucks corporate. 

If the location you order at doesn’t carry toffee nut syrup, you might not be able to get the drink.