Taco Bell Is (Finally) Bringing Horchata Drinks Nationwide

Taco Bell has never been known for keeping its drink menu simple. Between Baja Blast, colorful freezes, and whatever else its beverage team dreams up, ordering something to wash down your Crunchwrap can be a whole decision in itself. And now, horchata is getting the Taco Bell treatment.

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The chain has announced a lineup of new horchata-inspired drinks, including a purple frozen concoction, a chocolate cold brew float with churro crumbles, and two fruity, vanilla-spiced Refrescas. Regular horchata who?

Four drinks are launching at Live Más Café locations on October 15th, but there’s good news for everyone who doesn’t happen to live near one. Some of the horchata lineup is heading to regular Taco Bell locations nationwide on December 10th, so you won’t need to hunt down a specialty café to try it.

What’s In Taco Bell’s New Horchata Drinks?

First, a quick refresher if you’re unfamiliar with horchata. Mexican horchata is traditionally a sweet, creamy, rice-based drink flavored with cinnamon. I’ve had more than my fair share of the stuff, and somehow I’m still not sick of it. Taco Bell is taking inspiration from those familiar vanilla and cinnamon flavors and giving them a few rather colorful makeovers.

The Purple Horchata Chiller might be the most eye-catching of the bunch. It combines Taco Bell’s creamy vanilla ice cream Chiller base with horchata syrup, whipped cream, and a drizzle of purple horchata syrup. Because if you’re going to order a frozen dessert drink, why not make it purple, too? It starts at $4.19.

Then there’s the Chocolate Horchata Cold Brew Float, which sounds like someone couldn’t decide between coffee and dessert and decided to have both. It starts with cold brew coffee, adds a blended mixture of the Chiller base and vanilla-spiced horchata syrup, and finishes with churro crumbles and a Mexican-inspired dark chocolate syrup with warm cinnamon notes.

Coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, and bits of churro sound like a pretty convincing combination, although I suspect I’d spend half the time hunting for the churro crumbles with my straw. It starts at $4.79.

Two New Refrescas

If you’re after something a little less dessert-like, there are two Refrescas. The Strawberry Horchata Refresca combines the creamy, vanilla-spiced horchata flavor with wild strawberry syrup and real freeze-dried strawberry pieces, served over ice.

The Vanilla Spiced Horchata Refresca keeps things simpler, focusing on the creamy vanilla flavor with hints of cinnamon. No purple syrup, no floating churro pieces, just a drink that sounds a little closer to what you’d expect when someone says horchata. Both Refrescas start at $4.19, and prices vary by size and location.

When Are Taco Bell’s Horchata Drinks Coming Nationwide?

Here’s where things get slightly complicated. All four drinks are available at participating Live Más Café locations starting October 15th, but not every one of them is making the jump to regular Taco Bell restaurants.

On December 10th, two of the café drinks―the Strawberry Horchata Refresca and Vanilla Spiced Horchata Refresca―are rolling out to participating Taco Bell locations nationwide, joined by a brand-new Vanilla Spiced Horchata Freeze. All three will be available for a limited time.

So, unfortunately, the Purple Horchata Chiller and Chocolate Cold Brew Float aren’t part of the nationwide rollout, which feels a little cruel, considering those are arguably the two most ridiculously intriguing drinks in the lineup.

Me, I’d go straight for the Chocolate Horchata Cold Brew Float. I’m not entirely sure whether it counts as coffee, dessert, or both, but I doubt I’d care once the churro crumbles got involved.