Muggle life sucks in so many ways. No flying on brooms. No invisibility cloaks. No wizard's chess. It's no wonder tourists flock to Universal Studios Orlando to drink butterbeer by the gallon and blow their paychecks on plastic wands.
But now the magical concoction is as close as your neighborhood Starbucks. Butterbeer is on the (secret) menu, and you can order it all year long.
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There's been some online hullabaloo about this new creation. A dude named Dale Bacar broke the story a couple of weeks ago, inciting a near-riot among Potter-heads worldwide. So we thought we'd give it a shot.
We staked out the new Starbucks at Bayshore Landing and gave the order a go.
When we asked the barista about the drink, he said they can make anything on the secret menu -- but there's one caveat: To access this treasure trove, you need to know the recipe for whatever you're ordering. Luckily, there's a website for that.
And seriously, we can't blame Starbucks staffers for that. Their heads are already full enough with half-caf six-pump decaf extra-hot soy latte techniques.
Here's the recipe for butterbeer:
- A crème frappuccino base. Skim or 2 percent milk won't have the same effect.
- Three pumps of caramel syrup.
- Three pumps of toffee nut syrup.
- Top with caramel drizzle.
Alas, they forgot the caramel drizzle, but that's a minor point. It's hard to pinpoint what, exactly, butterbeer should taste like because it's a fictional product. The Universal Studios version is good, but only in small doses. Our verdict: The Starbucks concoction is pretty damn delicious -- buttery, creamy, and extremely sweet with a nutty aftertaste. (There's also a hot version if that's more your thing.)
Sounds like it's time to ditch the pumpkin spice lattes and make like Harry Potter instead.
Follow Hannah on Twitter @hannahalexs.
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