Starbucks Isn't Fooling Anyone With Its Bumblebee Cake Pop Fail

With summer rapidly approaching, it's no surprise beverage chains are changing up their menus. Starbucks, your favorite place to get an $8 coffee while asking for the bathroom code, just released a press release about its new summer menu and there's one particular item making a not-so-flattering buzz online. Along with two new drink options, Starbucks also unveiled a cake pop. These small pieces of cake on a stick are popular enough to have their own cake pop copycat recipes, but it seems that some of these spherical treats can miss the mark when it comes to appearance.

Cake pops rotate in and out seasonally, with holiday-themed varieties, like the Snowman Cake Pop for the winter and the Mummy Cake Pop for Halloween. This new offering in question is the Bumblebee Cake Pop, which doesn't look like what it says it is. Users on Twitter were quick to pass judgment: One said it "looks like if a cartoon cat was drawn by the Bob's Burgers artist." That sounds fine — if it was supposed to look like that. Another tweeted an image of the cake pop saying it "Just looks like a SUPER STRESSED yellow cat man." So, not the highest praise. It's made of vanilla cake that's blended with buttercream and then covered in "chocolaty" icing, but the remarks here aren't about the flavors. Instead, the pop's design ends up being like an optical illusion. Occasionally you'll see a smiling bumblebee. Other times you'll see a cat who just found out he's getting divorced.

A feline/bee hybrid cake pop might have been a bit of a failure on Starbucks' part, but that isn't the only new product the chain is trying to promote. Starbucks was also attempting to announce three other items from its new summer menu before being overshadowed in the press by a dubious-looking piece of cake on a stick. Beginning on May 9, these new products — and the cake pop — will be available in Starbucks locations nationwide.

The Chocolate Java Mint Frappuccino has the flavors of mint, chocolate, white chocolate, and cream. If the white chocolate mention caught your eye, there's also the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew, which is flavored with macadamia syrup and cold foam and topped with cookie pieces. Both drinks are only available for a limited time. Starbucks Green Apron Blend, a new type of packaged coffee beans, was also announced, which is described as having flavors of graham cracker and Honeybell orange (which is actually a type of tangelo). Available only in corporate-run locations and created with input from thousands of Starbucks employees, the bag of coffee will retail for $5 with a portion of proceeds benefitting the chain's Caring Unites Partners Fund. All of that is very interesting, but we're not sure it'll make anyone forget about the bee cat cake pop failure anytime soon.