This year for homecoming spirit week, exclusive drinks have been made available at the Western Springs and LaGrange Starbucks. Not only are these drinks to enjoy, but also for the different campuses to compete against each other. LaGrange offers the gold drink, while Western Springs houses the blue drink, which showcases LT’s school colors. 

As I walked up to the counter at the Western Springs Starbucks located on 47th Street, I noticed a nicely drawn sign on the counter stating the drink and its ingredients. The sign was made by Will Condron ‘26 and when ordering I simply asked the barista if I could get the “LT drink.”

The blue drink is the Summers Skies Refresher drink customized with no raspberry pearls, one scoop vanilla bean powder, blended with whip priced at $8.45. After waiting for about three minutes for the drink to come out, I noticed it looked kind of like a blue frappuccino. The first sip of the drink was decent, you could really taste the vanilla and it was extremely sweet. By the time you get to your third or fourth sip the drink starts to taste watered-down and almost like sweet flavored water due to the drink being blended with ice. To fix this solution I would recommend ordering the drink with light ice, and also paying a couple extra dollars for whip cream or cold foam and mixing it well before sipping to enhance the drink for a better overall taste. 

My next stop was the LaGrange location located right on LaGrange road. Once again I went up to the counter with its pleasing sign, and I asked for the “LT drink.” The yellow drink is a Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher customized with no berry inclusions, pineapple base, and one pump vanilla syrup priced at $6.88. I waited about a minute and a half for it to come out, which was way faster than the blue drink, and it looked similar to the Strawberry Acai Refresher, another Starbucks drink, but yellow instead of pink. The first sip of the drink was very fruity with lots of pineapple flavoring with a subtly hint of vanilla. The taste was consistent throughout the drink and after finishing, I felt extremely rejuvenated. If you are a pineapple or fruit lover I would highly recommend getting this drink not just for spirit week, but also to add to your usual drink rotation.  

Both Starbucks locations kept a total tally of how many were ordered on Wednesday, Sept. 18 to see which campus is the most spirited, but the drinks are available for the rest of spirit week up until homecoming on Saturday, Sept. 21. 

Overall I think this is a unique spirit day that brings fun and flavor to both LT campuses, with delicious affordable drinks. The NC juniors and seniors were definitely dealt the better hand with the more flavorful drink bringing a delightful energy to my day. Showing my true bias as a junior, I think we will be taking on the win for the designated spirit day. These drinks are all made possible with the partnership between the local Starbucks and our student council president, Jack Fielding ‘25, as well as student council treasurer, Mily Patel ‘26