How Far Does the Sky Blue Coffee Zongzi Line Go?

Starbucks is bringing back its Frappuccino Zongzi for 2025, again as a box of eight in four flavors, following last year's coffee specifications. The set leans on colorful looks, with translucent skins over bright fillings. The most discussed item is the sky blue Wave-Pounded Coconut, which promotional copy says uses imported coconut, while many online commenters call the color hard to accept on a dessert.

All four new items are primarily fruit-flavored, a shift that some netizens call the most normal-tasting edition so far, though most still wait to buy. Blue food has long challenged appetite, and the ingredient list notes food coloring. Staff at the bar push the gift sets hard during each sales window, and last year's tote bag, promoted as buy the bag and get zongzi free, drove much of the volume.

No sooner had the Qingming holiday ended than Starbucks began busily preparing for the next round of in-store events. This time, it's not a collaboration with a popular IP, but rather the annually punctual and uniquely distinctive Frappuccino粽子 of the zongzi world—the Frappuccino Zongzi—is about to hit the shelves again. Mocked by netizens as "a zongzi that's not a zongzi," the Frappuccino Zongzi, labeled with "bizarre flavors," has once again returned to consumers' view thanks to Starbucks' persistence. According to information circulating on social platforms, this year's Frappuccino Zongzi follows last year's specifications: a box of eight, in four flavors. Compared to last year, this year emphasizes a colorful visual路线, with translucent outer skins wrapping vibrant fillings, at first glance resembling rainbow candy. The most eye-catching among them is the sky-blue "Wave-Pounded Coconut Coconut" in the upper right corner, whose promotional copy claims it uses imported coconut and tastes "as blue and free as the ocean," yet netizens describe it as abstract to the point of being unimaginable. Blue food has always challenged the appetite; even though the ingredient list indicates the use of food coloring, many still exclaim, "It looks even less appetizing." In terms of flavor, Starbucks seems to have listened to outside opinions; this year's four new items are all primarily fruit-flavored. Although still unusual compared to traditional zongzi, netizens believe this might be the "most normal-tasting" edition ever. Whether the improved appearance and adjusted flavors can spark purchase desire remains to be seen, as most people still hold a wait-and-see attitude. After all, Frappuccino Zongzi are constantly criticized for being unpalatable, yet there are always those who pay for this "evil legend of the zongzi world." And among them, the sales prowess of Starbucks employees cannot be underestimated. During each Frappuccino Zongzi sales period, staff will vigorously recommend them to customers ordering at the bar, pulling out all the stops to sell a box of the gift set. Last year, the tote bag included in the gift set was highly favored for its good looks and large capacity, so employees seized the moment to chant "Buy the bag, get zongzi free," and even demonstrated painting and rope-weaving skills on-site to help customers DIY their bags, successfully persuading many customers to buy the Frappuccino Zongzi they didn't even like for the sake of the free gift. Therefore, as soon as this year's news broke, what most Starbucks employees care about is still the style of the free gift—after all, to clear out all these hard-to-review Frappuccino Zongzi, a pretty bag is a key assist.

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The Qingming holiday has just ended, and Starbucks has already started planning the next round of store events. But no need to worry, everyone—this time it's not a new collaboration with some popular IP, but rather the annually punctual, uniquely distinctive Frappuccino Zongzi of the zongzi world, about to appear in stores.

Mocked by netizens for "bizarre flavors" and being a zongzi that's not a zongzi, the Frappuccino Zongzi, through Starbucks' year-after-year persistence, has once again appeared before consumers. Discussions about this year's Frappuccino Zongzi on social platforms are already plentiful; it's understood that this year's Frappuccino Zongzi remains consistent with last year: eight zongzi, four flavors.

But unlike last year, this year's Frappuccino Zongzi takes a colorful route, with colors so rich they dazzle the eyes. From the pictures, the signature translucent shell of the Frappuccino Zongzi paired with colorful fillings, if not looked at closely, could easily be mistaken for "rainbow candy."

The most eye-catching among them is the sky-blue Frappuccino Zongzi in the upper right corner, rivaling mint candy. According to the promotional information on the picture, this blue zongzi is named "Wave-Pounded Coconut Coconut," claimed to use imported coconut, with a taste "as blue and free as the ocean," which netizens consider an abstract flavor beyond imagination.

Sky blue is a color many people love; in daily life, high-appeal sky-blue items are everywhere. However, in the food domain, bright and dazzling sky blue is extremely rare, so much so that when this special color appears on food, many people's first reaction is "the brighter, the more toxic."

Therefore, regarding this sky-blue Frappuccino Zongzi, although the ingredient list shows that food coloring is used to achieve this high-appeal look, some netizens still find it hard to accept: "Do humans really have an appetite for blue food?" "It looks even less appetizing."

As for the flavor that gets "cyberbullied" year after year, Starbucks seems to have listened to opinions from all sides and combined past experience to innovate again on Frappuccino Zongzi flavors, launching four flavors with fancy names.

From the ingredient list, this year's four Frappuccino Zongzi should be primarily fruit-flavored. Although compared to traditional Chinese zongzi, fruit-flavored Frappuccino Zongzi are still too unconventional. But in the eyes of netizens, this might be the "most normal-tasting" Frappuccino Zongzi ever.

Although Starbucks has improved the appearance of this year's Frappuccino Zongzi and made certain adjustments to the flavors, attempting to arouse fans' purchase desire, more people still maintain a wait-and-see attitude. After all, on major social platforms, the Frappuccino Zongzi, independent of the Chinese zongzi world, has always been criticized as "unpalatable," yet every year people still pay for this "evil legend of the zongzi world."

This brings us to Starbucks employees. Once the Frappuccino Zongzi are on sale, they will promote them to customers ordering at the bar, and will stop at nothing to sell a Frappuccino Zongzi gift set.

For instance, last year, the tote bag included in the Frappuccino Zongzi gift set attracted consumers' attention with its high appeal and large capacity, so Starbucks employees seized the opportunity, chanting "Buy the bag, get zongzi free" while demonstrating their painting and rope-weaving skills to help customers DIY bags, making many customers willing to buy the Frappuccino Zongzi they didn't like for the sake of the free gift.

So when news of the Frappuccino Zongzi spreads again, most Starbucks employees only care about what the free gift is this time—after all, to sell all these hard-to-review Frappuccino Zongzi, a pretty bag is indispensable.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.