REVIEW: Starbucks Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher

Starbucks Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher 1.

Well if this isn’t the drink of the summer, I don’t know what is.

Starbucks just released its summer drink menu, which includes the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher. It marries lemonade and ice with guava and passionfruit flavors, and you’ll find mango-pineapple pearls and a butterfly pea flower infusion.

Wow, that description sounds like there’s a lot going on. But rest assured, this drink tastes and looks beautiful. Like seriously, you’re going to want to get your camera out. The color cascades from purple to pink to orange, thanks to the pearls at the bottom.

I loved it at first sip, and then the refresher truly got better as I went. The mix of fruity flavors is smooth, unique (in a good way) and the right amount of sweet, and the lemonade adds a refreshing touch. It did have a tiny hint of tart to it – which I LOVE – but you might want to get the lemonade-free version if that isn’t your jam. While the butterfly pea infusion didn’t have a strong taste, the guava was the strongest fruit flavor.

Starbucks Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher 2.

The pearls were a nice fruit burst to finish everything off. The mango was definitely more prevalent than the pineapple in the pearls. The flavor held strong as I nursed it, and my colleagues once again made fun of me for taking my time on an iced drink. But it was in the name of research! (And, OK, it IS how I normally do it…)

One of the coolest things about this new Refresher is the ability to adjust your caffeine. There are three options: light caffeine (that’s what I chose, as it was my afternoon beverage), extra caffeine (which makes it an Energy Refresher), or caffeine-free. I am absolutely loving the ability to customize depending on your caffeine situation. Go Starbucks!

Starbucks Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher 3.

I’m looking forward to trying the other options, including the Energy version and the one with coconutmilk. If these don’t become a permanent addition, I might be writing a strongly worded letter to Seattle. Enjoy!

Purchased Price: $5.55
Size: Tall
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 90 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 21 grams of total sugars, 0 grams of protein and 20 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Zero Sugar

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Zero Sugar cans

Have my taste buds have been spoiled?

Monster Ultra Energy Drinks have been my go-to energy drink for years because they’re sweet, and despite being zero sugar beverages, they usually don’t taste like it. So after one sip of Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Zero Sugar French Vanilla, I found myself wondering, given all the sweetener advancements we’ve seen over the past few years, why am I tasting something so disappointing?

I’m no food scientist, and if my high school and college science grades are any indication, I don’t have a strong grasp of science period. But I did get a C- in a college logic class, so I feel I can say with some confidence that because there are great tasting zero sugar drinks, there should be a way to make tasty zero sugar coffee energy drinks without them tasting like I’m licking artificial sweetener packets at a diner.

If you're going to drink a Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Zero Sugar, don't get this vanilla one.

Along with the French Vanilla, which has a flavor that tastes like I was drinking sugar free French Vanilla creamer straight from the bottle, there’s also a Dark Chocolate variety, and if I had to choose between the two, I’d go with the latter. Something about the cocoa makes the artificial sweetener taste, which comes from sucralose and inositol, a little more tolerable. But both have an aftertaste I can only describe as medicinal. There’s no mistaking these are zero sugar beverages, and I feel like more could’ve been done to hide that. But they’re milky and creamy, which is better than watery, but it would’ve helped if these were also delicious.

If you're going to drink a Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Zero Sugar, get this dark chocolate one.

Also, as I’ve complained about before with Starbucks’ ready-to-drink coffee beverages, the can doesn’t say how much caffeine it has. So you don’t have to go digging, I scanned the PepsiCo website, which says these have 160 milligrams of caffeine, which is 25 more than most standard Starbucks Doubleshot Energy drinks.

While I’m throwing numbers around like a livestock auctioneer, let me throw out a few more. These are zero sugar but not zero calorie — the French Vanilla has 80 calories and the Dark Chocolate has 90. More surprisingly, both have 10 grams of protein, which the regular Starbucks Doubleshot line also has. So get yo’ gains. And they each have two grams of fiber. So get yo’ fiber gains too.

As someone who drinks a lot of zero sugar energy drinks, sodas, and sparkling waters, I’m disappointed with how these taste. Unlike my high school and college science grades, they’re not awful. But like my college logic class grade, they’re disappointing.

Purchased Price: $3.28 each
Size: 15 fl oz cans
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10 (French Vanilla), 5 out of 10 (Dark Chocolate)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) French Vanilla – 80 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.Dark Chocolate – 90 calories 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.

Starbucks Iced Ube Coconut Macchiato Review

Starbucks Iced Ube Coconut Macchiato layers

If you’re looking to put some Spring in your step, your mouth, or your Instagram stories, look no further than the Iced Ube Coconut Macchiato from Starbucks. While the new toasted coconut syrup and toasted coconut cold foam are permanent additions to the menu, this ube incarnation is only here for a limited time. Combining milk, espresso, and toasted coconut syrup, this drink is served over ice and topped with a layer of ube coconut cold foam and a toasted coconut topping. For those counting, that’s triple the coconut, so let’s hope this flavor profile is a pleasant one because they’re going all in on it.

This macchiato is visibly striking thanks to its thick top layer of purple cold foam. The foam gets its color from ube powder, and it’s definitely a head-turner. I could sense the eyes of many intrigued kids staring at the cup as the barista set it down; apparently, my Starbucks turns into a fifth-grade cafeteria at 4 pm.

Avoiding the chaos, I took my drink to go and noticed that the foam held up quite well despite the walk and didn’t immediately dissipate into the liquid below. The fuchsia foam is sweet and airy, with a velvety mouthfeel and a nice blend of vanilla and coconut. Does it taste like ube? It’s hard to say; ube is described as tasting sweet and nutty, with notes of coconut and vanilla, so perhaps this does actually taste like ube, but it’s getting a boost from the vanilla and coconut syrups the foam contains. Either way, it’s delightful. The little bits of coconut topping sprinkled over it have a pleasant chew, somewhere between coconut flakes and coconut candy.

Starbucks Iced Ube Coconut Macchiato coconut flakes and ube cold foam

The first few sips are mostly just sweet, though never cloying, and then the espresso integrates itself, bringing some bitter notes to balance things out. Things get increasingly coconutty as you go further into the drink, and it feels like a true coconut flavor as opposed to artificial or sunscreen-adjacent.

I was impressed that, even though this looks like it could be a gimmicky drink, it doesn’t fall into the category of dessert masquerading as coffee. You could drink this and feel like you’re having a normal, albeit purple, coffee drink and not just a cup of sugar. It’s also worth noting that you will look normal (well, assuming you look normal to begin with) after drinking this and won’t be left with a purple mouth.

The last time I had an ube macchiato, it came from Dunkin’ and was underwhelming in both appearance and flavor. Where they failed, Starbucks delivers in spades. At over $7 for a grande, I’m not sure I can afford to treat myself to this as often as I’d like, but it’s such a playful and enjoyable drink that I can’t be mad at it. If a perfect blend of vanilla, toasted coconut, and coffee sounds appealing to you, ube-tter get to Starbucks before this macchiato leaves the menu.

Purchased Price: $7.16
Size: Grande
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 380 calories, 18 grams of total fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 41 grams of total sugar, 11 grams of protein, and 150 milligrams of caffeine.

Starbucks Iced Toasted Coconut Latte Review

Starbucks Iced Toasted Coconut Latte in a cup

Starbucks keeps rolling out spring drinks like it’s trying to will warm weather into existence, and honestly? I respect the optimism. This year’s lineup features toasted coconut everywhere: in a cold brew, a macchiato, and a Toasted Coconut Latte, which Starbucks now offers hot or iced. The drink combines the new toasted coconut syrup with signature espresso and milk.

OK, so here we go right out of the gate: The biggest downfall of this drink was that the coconut wasn’t strong enough. It was very mellow and muted, despite there being three pumps of syrup in a tall. Between the toasted flavor and the milk, it just… fell a bit flat. I wonder how it would differ if you swapped dairy milk for coconut milk? Coconut on coconut could be interesting…

Looking down at Starbucks Iced Toasted Coconut Latte in a cup

But what I DID like about it was that it wasn’t a super sweet drink. Even with 19 grams of sugar in a tall, I felt like I was having my morning latte versus a dessert. I was also pleasantly surprised with the protein content – always an added bonus!

If you’re a coconut enthusiast, it’s worth a try. But I’d be interested to see if the flavor shines through more in the other new toasted coconut drinks. Let me know if you’ve tried any of the others!

And as a small aside, when I got this drink, my two-year-old tried the new Frog Cake Pop, also here for spring. She would definitely give it a 10 out of 10!

Purchased Price: $5.45
Size: Tall
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 130 calories, 3.5 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of total sugars, 6 grams of protein, and 75 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Starbucks White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew

Starbucks White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew

I’ve decided Starbucks’ new game is to fit as many words into their drink titles as humanly possible. Here’s another mouthful, just in time for Valentine’s Day: the White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew. This one pairs the signature cold brew with vanilla syrup, then adds a white chocolate strawberry cold foam and chocolate curls on top.

Well, let’s just get right to the verdict here. This drink was fabulous. The strawberry flavor in the cold foam was fantastic – it was very authentic. I didn’t really get any white chocolate feel, but it didn’t bother me since the strawberry was so good. The best way I can describe this cold brew is light and fluffy. Went down easy, tasted great, and the cold foam melted beautifully into the drink. If you want a drink that tastes pretty, this is definitely it.

Starbucks White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew foam
I always love a vanilla syrup in the cold brew, so that didn’t disappoint either. Overall, the sweetness level was perfect – both in the cold brew and cold foam. Everything was perfectly balanced.

I took this down one point in my rating because the chocolate curls were nowhere in sight. In case it might have been a fluke, I got a second one of these at another location in my area and, again, no chocolate curls. I asked the barista at the second stop, and she told me they were completely out of the curls. The Midwest recently had a slight snowmaggedon, so I’m wondering if it’s a supply chain issue. I went as far as to chat with a customer service rep online who said there wasn’t any information available on whether the chocolate curls were a standard part of the drink… even though it’s in the description. If anyone else gets them, I would love to know how they are in the comments!

Without the missing chocolate curls, I would have given this a 10 out of 10. But I’ll certainly be getting this one again. I’m hopeful that Starbucks keeps up the fruity additions in the months to come, as they’ll be perfect for spring and summer.

Purchased Price: $5.25
Size: Tall
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 170 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, and 145 milligrams of caffeine.

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