The Best Starbucks Refreshers on the Regular and Secret Menus
Updated: Jan. 11, 2024
Here's everything you need to know about our favorite Starbucks Refreshers, from caffeine content to grams of sugar to customizations you can request.
If your go-to Starbucks order is usually one of the Starbucks Refreshers, then you know just how delicious these drinks are. Real fruit juice provides the flavor you know and love while green coffee extract from unroasted arabica beans provides a hint of caffeine to start your day.
Let’s look at a rundown of the iconic chain’s best chilled drinks, including how to customize them into Starbucks secret menu items.
Mango Dragonfruit Refresher
Dragon fruit is one of the exotic fruits you might see at your supermarket from time to time, and it’s definitely worth a try. It has a kiwi-like texture and a beautiful pink outer shell. For a taste of this tropical fruit, order a Mango Dragonfruit Refresher. The combination of sweet mango and dragon fruit flavors with real diced dragon fruit is sure to cool you down! It has 45 milligrams of caffeine and 19 grams of sugar.
For an extra-thirst-quenching option, try the Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher. It uses the same base, plus lemonade. This option still has 45 milligrams of caffeine, but there are 31 grams of sugar in the lemonade version.
Dragon Drink Refresher
If you’ve already tried the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher, then this Dragon Drink twist might become a regular Starbucks order for you. It has all the same ingredients as the Mango Dragonfruit (mango and dragonfruit flavors with diced dragonfruit), plus it’s shaken with Starbucks’ signature creamy coconut milk. This bright pink drink has 45 milligrams of caffeine and 23 grams of sugar.
Can’t make it to Starbucks? Shake up a copycat Dragon Drink at home. There is green coffee bean powder in the recipe, but it’s optional, so no sweat if you don’t have that in your pantry.
Strawberry Acai Refresher
Iced, blended and shaken strawberry drinks are the pinnacle of summer refreshments, so we love the Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refresher. The flavor of strawberry is accented with hints of passion fruit and acai, which are shaken with ice and mixed with strawberry slices. This drink has 45 milligrams of caffeine and 21 grams of sugar.
Go one step further and make it a Strawberry Acai Lemonade Refresher; the caffeine count stays the same and the lemonade brings the sugars to 32 grams.
Pink Drink Refresher
This bubble gum pink drink is too pretty to pass up. Fans of the Strawberry Acai Refresher will love this Pink Drink Refresher because it has the same base of strawberry, passion fruit and acai flavors. The light pink hue comes from the coconut milk that is swirled into this drink. It has 45 milligrams of caffeine and 25 grams of sugar.
Skinny Pink Drink
This secret menu skinny pink drink is so easy to order! Because the strawberry acai juice in the original Pink Drink Refresher has a lot of sugar, customizing your drink can mean fewer grams of sugar make it into your daily Starbs. To order, ask for a Venti Passion Tango Iced Tea with no water. Then, add a splash or two of coconut milk, one to three pumps of sugar-free vanilla (depending on how sweet you want it) and a scoop of strawberries.
The iced tea base is caffeine-free, so if you like the original Pink Drink, but could do without the caffeine, opt for this instead!
Fruit Punch Drink
There’s something so nostalgic about fruit punch. If you sipped it all summer long as a kid, it’s time to fall back in love with this beverage and order a secret menu fruit punch refresher. There’s quite a lot to it, but the end result will be so worth it. Ask for a Venti Passion Tea Lemonade, unsweetened, and then add two pumps of pineapple ginger syrup, one pump of raspberry syrup, a splash of Peach Infusion Tea and a splash of Mango Dragonfruit Refresher. Top the drink with a scoop of strawberries, blackberries and diced dragonfruit.
Since there are so many ingredients in this, make sure you have the recipe on hand when ordering. Starbucks employees aren’t trained on making secret menu drinks, so having the recipe ready will help them out!
Pineapple Passionfruit Refresher
This tropical fruit can be hard to find, but you can enjoy it at Starbucks in the Pineapple Passionfruit Refresher. Pineapple and passion fruit flavors are shaken with ice and diced pineapple for a punchy yellow drink that will make your day so much brighter. It has 45 milligrams of caffeine and 19 grams of sugar.
Try what Starbucks calls “sunshine in a cup” by ordering the Pineapple Passionfruit Lemonade Refresher. Caffeine content stays the same, while the sugar content in the lemonade version has 30 grams of sugar.
Gummy Bear Refresher
If gummy bears were your favorite candy as a kid (or still are!), then this secret menu gummy bear refresher is a must-try. Order a venti Strawberry Acai Refresher with no water, and then ask for peach juice and two pumps of raspberry. If your local Starbucks location is out of peach juice, try swapping it for guava juice.
Paradise Drink Refresher
This Starbucks Refresher is like an island vacation in a cup. Pineapple and passionfruit juices mix so well with Starbucks’ coconut milk, and you’ll find bits of diced pineapple mixed throughout. There are 45 milligrams of caffeine and 23 grams of sugar.
Ombre Drink
Starbucks Refreshers are bursting with color and ombre drinks are even more vibrant! Go for something like a layered lemonade or try a firecracker ombre drink, which has a base of mango dragonfruit lemonade topped with a pump of raspberry syrup and Passion Tea.
Originally Published: April 25, 2023
