One Starbucks Secret Menu Item Is Made For Harry Potter Fanatics

There's never been a better time to be a Harry Potter fan. Those of us who identify as "Potterheads" are fully aware there's an entire universe dedicated to the stories at both Universal Studios parks, a new Harry Potter TV show in production, a hit Broadway production, and Food Network's "Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking" airing every Sunday. Even Krispy Kreme got in on the Harry Potter action in 2025. If you want a taste of the wizarding world's beverages but identify as a mere muggle, you merely need to head to Starbucks to order a Butterbeer Frappuccino. However, it will require you to apparate into the "secret menu."

For those not in-the-know, butterbeer is a beverage dreamt up by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. She's described it as tasting like butterscotch but less sickly-sweet. Wizards and witches enjoy the drink at pubs in the village of Hogsmeade. At Starbucks, you won't find butterbeer on the menu, so you'll need to customize it yourself. Start by ordering a grande vanilla bean crème Frappuccino, ask for the cup to be lined with caramel drizzle, add three pumps each of caramel and toffee nut syrup, and top the whipped cream with a caramel drizzle. Fans agree this will give you an idea of what the fictional butterbeer might taste like. You can pair the drink with Butterbeer flavored Goldfish.

Of course, if you prefer hot butterbeer, like Harry first enjoyed it, there's a secret Starbucks latte for that, too. Order a grande whole milk steamer with three pumps of caramel, toffee nut, and cinnamon dolce syrups, then top with whipped cream and salted caramel bits.

If this butterbeer Frappuccino sounds sweet, make no mistake, it absolutely is. In a grande sized vanilla beam crème Frappuccino alone, there are 52 grams of sugar. With the additional syrups and caramel drizzles, you're looking at an absolute sugar bomb of a drink. A few years ago my son and I (being the Harry Potter fans that we are) ventured to try this Butterbeer Frappuccino. Armed with the recipe in hand, we headed to our closest location in the middle of the day, when we knew there wouldn't be a crowd. After all, I was well aware that secret menu orders can be annoying to baristas, especially at peak times. While the caramel cup drizzle was forgotten, we both agreed the icy drink had the definitive taste of butterscotch. We also agreed we probably wouldn't order it again, as even between the two of us it was too sugary.

Of course, if there's a Harry Potter beverage that rivals butterbeer, it's pumpkin juice, which is regularly served to the students at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter world. Naturally, someone came up with a Starbucks hack for this drink, too, but you'll only be able to customize it when the chain is serving its pumpkin spice drinks. For a grande version, ask for two pumps of pumpkin spice sauce followed by apple juice to the top line and the rest of the cup filled with ice. Shake or stir to combine the ingredients. This one could easily be re-created at home and is perfect for all those Harry Potter movie nights.