We Talked To The Starbucks Barista Behind The FRIENDS Frappuccino And Here’s What She Has To Say!
We are SO there for these Starbucks drinks, and so is Jocelyn Smart, the mastermind Starbucks store manager of the Belleville store who created the Friends Drink for their 25th Anniversary! (You can follow her on instagram here and here.)
Jocelyn said, “So I’ve recently become a Store manager. I’d love to share a story about myself and what brought me to working at Starbucks!
When I was a young child, I preferred to watch FRIENDS over any other tv show. I religiously watched it, and I used to beg and plead to my parents to let me open a coffee shop in my basement, because I loved the atmosphere of central perk and also that the FRIENDS crew would just hang out in and enjoy their time there.
It was always the beginning or the end of their day, and they could just go there and be them, no judgment, just acceptance. I wanted to create that, for anyone who entered my cafe, (even if it was out of my basement) haha. From that moment I knew I was meant to have a cafe, and my journey took me to Starbucks.
Friends has been on the air for as long as I’ve been alive, so it’s been there with me since day one! I’ve read the book about the making of friends and I’ve re-watched the show about 100 Times
️When coming up with the Frappuccino, it’s something I like to do to bring customers in to see my team and my store, so I made an exclusive Frappuccino for my Store, and my community.
Sometimes I feature already established secret menu drinks and I create the signs because I love the art aspect of my job, and it’s something I want my end game to be (with Starbucks or on my own to be;) creating wonderful signs and sharing my art with everyone.
However, for the FRIENDS Frappuccino, I knew this anniversary was to close to my heart not to do something special, so I wanted to make a drink that would look cool, but still taste great.
I went through many different recipes, making my team try them all. Some too sweet, some too bitter; until I came across this combination- raspberry and cream Frappuccino with a scoop of dragonfruit pieces, a ring of pumpkin sauce around the cup and topped with whip cream. Even though it sounds strange, all the ingredients really do work together, kind of like the true friends group.
I knew from the beginning I wanted to colours to be purple For Monica’s apartment and orange for the couch they are always on in central perk, it just took figuring out the right combination of flavours!
So now, 25 years since airing on tv, I continue to re-watch it religiously; and this time I do run my own coffee shop, (no it’s not out of my basement).
I am so happy I had a show like FRIENDS to help me figure out where my passion is.
Here is something I did to help celebrate with my team, and my community for the 25th anniversary of FRIENDS. And remember- I’ll be there for you! ☂️”
We love Jocelyn SO MUCH. And we can’t wait to feature more of her secret drink creations. (That’s a hint, Jocelyn. Get to creating!)