I Tried The Secret Starbucks Frappuccino That Looks Like Ariel

Disney’s live action The Little Mermaid is causing mermaidcore to make a splash this summer. While some people may be accessorizing with hot pink sunnies for Barbiecore, your vibe may be more ocean waves and seashells. For those warm beach days and pool hangs, you definitely need a refreshing sip to keep you company, and the Ariel Frappuccino from Starbucks’ secret menu is just that. The Matcha Creme Frappuccino with a strawberry topping looks exactly like the Disney princess with her signature green tail and red locks. After trying the pricey Ursula Frappuccino from Starbucks, I had to see if the Ariel Starbucks drink was more my style.

A go-to order of mine is a matcha latte with chai, which I actually discovered through TikTok, so I was excited to taste test this secret menu Matcha Frappuccino with Vanilla Sweet Cream. In place of the classic syrup that the recipe already comes with, TikToker and Starbucks barista @jessnicole____ adds two pumps of chai and two pumps of the brown sugar syrup. Then, to give the whipped topping Ariel’s signature red shade, ask for cinnamon powder, cinnamon dolce sprinkles, and strawberry purée. Similar to the Ursula Frappuccino, this Ariel Starbucks drink cannot be ordered for mobile pick-up. While the rest of the customizations can be made in the Starbucks app, the strawberry purée is not an option. However, ordering it is a lot easier and @jessnicole____ even provides a script to follow at the end of the TikTok.

Starbucks’ Secret Ariel Frappuccino Review

Not only do I enjoy matcha and chai together, but I also love matcha and strawberry. This seemed like a perfect marriage of the two, like Ariel and Prince Eric. However, it was a bit sweet, and the brown sugar and chai completely overpowered the matcha flavor. It was like the matcha lost its voice to a sea witch.

If you don’t like sugary Starbucks drinks, this one may not be for you. However, once I mixed the strawberry into the matcha, the tartness from the fruit really evened out the flavor. After snapping your pics of the drink with the green “tail” on bottom and red “hair” on top, I would mix it up. I’m not sure if the drink needed the cinnamon powder and cinnamon dolce sprinkles, but they did fill in the rest of the whipped cream with some nice color.

I really enjoyed this Frappuccino from start to finish, but the price is going to stop me from ordering this again. Like the Ursula Frappuccino, this was just way too expensive with all the customizations and my drink ended up being $9. I think a much better and more affordable version of the Ariel Starbucks drink is a Matcha Frappuccino with the strawberry purée on top. Sure, it doesn’t have the same brown sugary base that this drink had, but it’ll still look like Ariel and won’t be as sweet. That drink is $7, and leaves you with a little more money to buy “gadgets and gizmos aplenty.”