Frappuccino was the name of Starbucks’ first blended ice beverage, introduced in 1995.
Starbucks launched the drink after acquiring rights to the name and concept from The Coffee Connection, a Boston-area coffee retailer. The original Frappuccino combined coffee, ice, and other ingredients into a cold blended beverage.
The product became one of Starbucks’ most recognizable creations and later expanded into many coffee-based and crème-based flavors. Some versions contain coffee, while others are made without coffee, so the word does not always mean a caffeinated drink.
A common mix-up is treating Frappuccino as a generic name for any iced coffee. It is a Starbucks trademarked beverage brand, and recipes, names, and availability differ by country.