The birthday-cake frappuccino is here. It’s white, comes with pink whip cream, and is available for a few days.
Starbucks is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its frappuccino blended drink by offering the birthday-cake flavor today through Monday. However, you will have to be up for a drink that can have as many calories as a small meal, and more sugar than any human should consume in an entire day.
“Frappuccino” is a household term today, but it’s also a trademark of the Seattle-based beverage empire that dates back to 1993. As a longtime employee who was then managing 10 stores recalls in a press release:
“It was the summer of 1993, and Los Angeles is very hot in the summer,” [Dina] Campion said. “We noticed there were some smaller coffee shops that did some sort of blended coffee beverage. A couple of store managers and I felt there was a huge opportunity for Starbucks.” …
“The Santa Monica manager and her assistant really started getting into it,” Campion said. “Concurrently, Seattle got involved and put some R&D skills behind it.”
In 1995, the frappuccino went nationwide, initially in coffee and mocha flavors. In 1996, bottled versions hit grocery stores. In 1999, the caramel flavor was introduced — along with the caramel drizzle, whip cream and dome lid.
Starbucks’ press release does not contain nutritional information for the birthday-cake flavor, but you can look up nutritional info for most existing drinks as well as foods on Starbucks’ website.
So we pulled up every frappuccino flavor and size combination. This information assumes the blended drink is ordered with whole milk and includes whip cream:
Calories
- Tall: 250 to 340, depending on flavor
- Grande: 350 to 470
- Venti: 390 to 600
Keep in mind that adult women should limit their calorie consumption to 1,200 to 2,200 per day, depending on their age and activity level, according to WebMD. Men should limit their calorie consumption to 1,400 to 2,800.
Sugar
- Tall: 17 to 48 grams, depending on flavor
- Grande: 21 to 69 grams
- Venti: 31 to 88 grams
Women should limit their daily added-sugar consumption to no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons, or about 25 grams of added sugar) and men should limit theirs to no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons, or about 37.5 grams of added sugar), according to the American Heart Association.
Will you be trying the birthday cake frap? Share your thoughts in a comment below or on our Facebook page.
Add a Comment
Our Policy: We welcome relevant and respectful comments in order to foster healthy and informative discussions. All other comments may be removed. Comments with links are automatically held for moderation.