It's me, hi! Your resident beverage enthusiast here with a very important update in the world of fun little drinks.
Recently, Starbucks announced the addition of a new drink to its summer rotation: the Frozen Lemonade Refresher! The drink — which is made up of flavored refresher beverages, real fruit pieces, lemonade, and strawberry puree — comes in three flavors: Pineapple Passionfruit, Strawberry Açaí, and Mango Dragonfruit.
The frozen lemonades have been making the rounds on Twitter and seem to have people prettttty excited. So, obviously, I had to go try them myself ASAP. Let's get into the review and ranking, shall we?
🥉 In third place is Pineapple Passionfruit:
This one was overall really light and very sippable. The pineapple flavor was definitely the first thing I tasted — I didn't really get much of the passion fruit or lemonade flavor at all. I feel like the best way I could describe this would be like a super diluted dole whip. It's certainly not as creamy or rich, but it feels a bit like the dole whip's lighter, younger cousin if you catch my drift.
I didn't hate this at all. When I first tried it, I was, like, 90% sure it was gonna be my favorite, actually! I am a pineapple stan™️. But of the three new drinks, I'd say it's the weakest. It just felt a bit one note. I kinda wish it'd either been a tiny bit sweeter and more passion fruit-flavored, or perhaps that they leaned in and gave it a bit of extra lemonade sourness. I enjoyed it the most when it was a slushie texture, but as the ice started to melt*, I didn't think the flavor of the refresher quite held up to how much it was being watered down.
*Note: The ice melts really fast with these frozen refreshers and starts to turn into floating ice clumps. So the drink kinda feels like a slushie for a little bit, then pretty much just a classic refresher.
Overall, I give it a 4.3 out of 5. It's good, but I think the others are better.
🥈 Coming in second place is Strawberry Açaí:
This one really grew on me. At first I thought it was a bit basic, but unlike the pineapple one, it actually got better as it melted. It's very reminiscent of Starbucks's original strawberry açaí refresher, but sweeter and with a more distinct strawberry flavor. As a pink drink (aka the strawberry açaí refresher but with coconut milk) fan, I was definitely into it. There's also something really nostalgic and classic about the strawberry flavor — it feels a bit like a grown-up version of your classic mall food court strawberry lemonade.
This one came in second, though, because it's a bit rich. It'd certainly still make for a refreshing summer treat, but it's on the sweeter side for sure. But if you do have a sweet tooth, this might just be the summer drink for you! It was just a tad too much for me.
Overall, I gave it a 4.5 out of 5.
🥇 And in first place...Mango Dragonfruit!:
I'm gonna be honest — this was the underdog for me. When I first tasted it, I couldn't quite make up my mind whether it was my absolute favorite or my least favorite, which is pretty unusual for me. I really enjoyed the tropical flavor, but initially, it felt a bit...lacking?* But as I kept sipping on all three of the frozen refreshers, this was the one I kept coming back to and ultimately almost finished. Something about it is suuuuper addicting. So, if you're interested in trying this but not quite sure if it'd be your thing, I'd say give it a chance! It just might surprise you.
*To be completely fair, I did try this one for the first time right after the strawberry one, and that drink is so sweet it definitely made this one feel more subtle than it actually was in comparison. So, note to you: I maybe wouldn't pair this drink with anything super sweet if you want to get ~the full flavor experience~.
Now, let's get into everything I loved about the drink: First of all...the color? Stunning. She's bright, she's photogenic, she screams ~summer~. As for the flavor — out of all three drinks, I would say this one was the most balanced. It definitely had a tropical vibe to it, but none of the flavors were noticeably overwhelming. It had a hint of mango (and not that super-sweet artificial flavor some mango-flavored things tend to have, if you know what I mean), but not so much that I couldn't still taste the dragon fruit, too. Also, strangely enough, I swore I could taste some coconut??
All in all, I'd describe this as very similar to a classic Starbucks refresher, but more subtle. If you're looking for something light and refreshing this summer (and you, like me, are a bit more of a flavored sparkling water girlie than a soda girlie), I think this is the drink for you. It was soooo close to being a perfect 5 stars for me, but I wish it'd been just the tiniest (and I mean tiniest!!) bit sweeter and that the flavors were ever so slightly stronger. Nonetheless, I'll 100% be adding this to my list of go-to Starbucks drinks this summer.
Overall, I gave it a 4.8 out of 5. Alllllmost perfect!
Thanks for coming on this very important journalistic quest of knowledge with me, y'all! In the comments below, let us know which of these flavors you're most excited to try!
