The start of summer has unleashed an onslaught of inventive, colorful beverages primed to dominate Instagram all season long. And, as evidenced by the pink concoction we recently told you about,Starbucks has emerged as the epicenter of our collective thirst for kaleidoscopic drinks. The coffee behemoth’s latest menu hack that’s primed to dominate social media is a purple potion whose main ingredients have caused a little controversy online.
While its sister drink combines Starbucks’s Strawberry Acai Refresher with coconut milk, the Purple Drink uses passion iced tea, vanilla syrup, soy milk, and blackberries to get its Prince-ian hue. However, some conspiracy theorists are insisting that the beverage is actually made using Starbucks’s Berry Hibiscus refresher and soy milk.
There’s also been some speculation as to the veracity of the beverage’s purple hue. An intrepid reporter from Cosmopolitan ordered the drink from the mythical secret menu and found that it skewed pinker than it did purple. Hilary Hanson from Huffington Post tested it out as well and observed that it “isn’t quite as gorgeous as it looks on Instagram.” Now, whether this can be attributed to the cunning use of filters or imaginative lighting is up for debate. What we do know is that there’s only one surefire way to find out. See you in line!