Life

You Only Have A Few Days To Get A Zombie Frappuccino From Starbucks

by Alli Hoff Kosik
Starbucks

Someone very famous must have coined the phrase "all good things must come to an end," because it's one we hear quite a lot. A tropical vacation to an off-the-grid location where your boss can't contact you, that sweet honeymoon period of a relationship during which you can't possibly find anything wrong with the other person, your very first time binge watching Friends (also, where have you been for the 23 years?) — none of these experiences can last forever. The same is true, unfortunately, for each of Starbucks's most special Frappuccinos. Like the Unicorn Frappuccino before it, the newest Halloween frozen beverage is in stores for a limited time only — and I know you're dying to know the specifics of how long the Zombie Frappuccino will be available so you can start planning out your best strategy for maximizing that short window. I'm a pen-and-paper girl myself, so I would personally suggest flagging Frapp days in your planner, perhaps with a pumpkin sticker to help keep you in the spirit of the season.

Just like the earthly existence of any human turned undead, the life of the Zombie Frappuccino is dreadfully, scarily, and woefully short. According to Sbux, the drink will make its debut at participating locations on Oct. 26 and disappear on Oct. 31, just five days later. It seems unfair that we should have such a limited time to enjoy something that sounds so, so good, but I'll take solace in the fact that it's available for most of the week before Halloween, which is widely accepted as one of the most indulgent seven-day periods of the year. If I had any qualms about maybe drinking six Zombie Frappuccinos in as many days during any other stretch of the calendar (which I didn't, really), I definitely don't have those qualms right now. Let's get into the spirit of the season and enjoy those supplies while they last.

Starbucks

In case you're just hearing about the Zombie Frappuccino now, allow me to bring you up to speed so that you can then immediately head out to your local 'Bux and pick one up for yourself so as not to waste any time. The blended beverage — which is designed itself to look like a zombie — is creepily green and flavored with tart apple and caramel. To create the effect of a bloody brain, the presentation is finished off with pink whipped cream and a red mocha drizzle.

According to Starbucks beverage development team rep Jennica Robinson, the flavors were inspired by (what else?) a Halloween party. While the new Frappuccino looks funky and off-the-wall, it's actually going to taste like one of the seasonal classics — a caramel apple — when you take a sip.

For the record, although this particular drink is getting a ton of buzz right now, it's not the first Halloween Frapp to hit the 'Bux. Other seasonal blended beverages made their debut in 2014 and 2015, and while one of them (the Franken Frappuccino) is technically on the famed "secret menu," the Frappula Frappuccino has made repeat appearances as part of the chain's offerings for the last two Octobers.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Zombie Frappuccino will also become a Halloween regular, but if Starbucks decides to stick to the model it used for the unicorn flavor that debuted earlier this year to similar excitement, it's likely we won't get an answer for a while either way. Those coffee pros sure love to keep us in suspense about the things that are the most delicious.

In the meantime, you have five days to get maximum enjoyment out of this caramel apple-y slice of Zombieland. You should probably go get one right now. I mean, like, right now.