Overview

The Phantom Frappuccino is a promotional drink produced by the Starbucks chain of coffee restaurants. The drink, which is defined by its dark black appearance, contains coconut milk, mango, pineapple essence, Starbucks crème, as well as a dark coconut whipped cream made from coconut milk and black charcoal powder. However, the drink is only available in the United Kingdom

Background

On October 21st, 2019, Starbucks announced the Phantom Frappuccino on their Spanish-language based Instagram page. The post received more than 87,000 views and 9,700 likes in less than one week (shown below).

Developments

Online Reaction

Some online posted their excitiement and enjoyment of the drink. Twitter ^[1] user @sergionagar tweeted a photograph of the drink and wrote, "Trying the new #PhantomFrappuccino from @starbucks. Terribly good" (shown below, left).

As news spread about the drink, some customers outside the U.K. expressed disappointment about the limited availability of the drink. Twitter^[2] user @CreativeRawNRG tweeted, "@Starbucks it would of been nice to have the Phantom frappuccino here is the states since its all vegan" (shown below, right).

Health Concerns

Some online expressed concern about the drink, particularly the adition of "black charcoal." Twitter^[3] user @Kirstie_Schultz tweeted, "BE CAREFUL Black charcoal can make medications like birth control and antibiotics ineffective. Charcoal is what they give you in the hospital to get out toxic things you've consumed. Don't forget it." The tweet recieved more than 11,000 likes and 9,000 retweets in less than one week (shown below).

According to Eater,^[4] eating small quantities of the ingredient, like the amount in the drink, is "perfectly safe." However, there are still some concerns, particularly if you're using certain medications.

They write:

In small quantities, activated charcoal is perfectly safe to consume, even if the purported health benefits are scientifically dubious. In the black ice cream at Prohibition Creamery, only a few ounces (by weight) of activated charcoal go into an 18-gallon batch of ice cream, which means that each scoop only contains a tiny amount. But because it’s hard to judge exactly how and when your body will process the charcoal, it’s still a good idea to wait a few hours after taking prescription medications like birth control before eating that charcoal pizza crust.

Media Coverage

Several outlets covered the drink, including Mashable, ^[5] Metro,^[6] PopBuzz,^[7] Delish^[8] and more.

Search Interest

External References