Starbucks Dragon Drink Copycat Recipe
on Feb 03, 2023
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Make the stunning Insta-worthy Dragon Drink at home! Starbucks Dragon Drink is very similar to Mango Dragonfruit Refresher but sweeter and creamier! This copycat recipe is a real deal with the bright pink color and refreshing flavors! The best part? You can easily customize it to your preferred level of sweetness, and make it with or without caffeine!
When it comes to Starbucks iced beverages, this refreshing and creamy dragon drink is one of my favorite drinks to order, along with Pink Drink, Violet Drink, and Strawberry Acai Refresher.
If you like Mango Dragonfruit Refresher or Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade, you’ll love this mega-refreshing dragon drink, which is basically mango dragon fruit refresher mixed with coconut milk.
What is Dragon Drink?
The Dragon Drink is a popular Starbucks’ iced beverage made with Mango Dragonfruit and coconut milk. According to Starbucks’ website, a “tropical-inspired pick-me-up—crafted with a refreshing combination of sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors—is handshaken with creamy coconutmilk, ice and a scoop of real diced dragonfruit.”
The base of this drink is Mango Dragonfruit Refresher. It comes 3 ways: regular refresher which is made with water; “Dragon Drink” which is made with creamy coconut milk; and “Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade” when mixed with lemonade instead of water.
What You’ll Need to Make this Beverage
- Dragon Fruit Powder: Dragonfruit (pitaya) gives this drink a beautiful pink color while adding a mild sweet tropical flavor. I recommend using freeze-dried red dragon fruit powder for the best result. You can also use fresh dragon fruit or frozen dragon fruit pitaya packs (under the Pitaya Plus brand) at health food stores or Whole Foods next to acai packets.
- Mango Juice: Both bottled mango juice and homemade fresh mango juice work for this recipe. If you make your own mango juice, make sure to remove the pulp before adding to the drink.
- White Grape Juice: You can substitute other fruity juice such as apple juice. Just make sure to avoid the ones with dark colors.
- Coconut Milk: It adds a silky richness and creaminess to this drink. Coconut milk beverage works better than canned coconut milk, which contains solid chunky lumps of the white stuff. Both sweetened and unsweetened coconut milk work for this recipe, and you can adjust the amount of syrup accordingly.
- Green Coffee Extract (Optional): You can order green coffee bean extract online from Amazon. If you use the coffee bean pills, you’ll need to pop them open and use the powder from the capsules. You can substitute green tea, or skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor.
- Simple Syrup or Sugar (Optional): You can customize this drink with your preferred sweetness level with simple syrup, sugar, or honey. Use Stevia for a healthy option. If you use sweetened coconut milk, you can omit this ingredient.
- Diced Dragon Fruit (Optional): It’s used for serving only. I found the red fresh dragon fruit at my local Asian grocery store. You can also use freeze-dried dragon fruit or skip this ingredient.
How to Make a Dragon Drink
1. Whisk together dragon fruit powder, optional green coffee extract, and grape juice until dissolved. (Make sure to let the powder to dissolve completely. It may take a few minutes)
2. Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then pour in mango juice. (If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you can use a large mason jar.)
3. Add the dragon fruit mixture.
4. Pour in coconut milk.
5. Secure the lid. Hold the shaker with both hands (one on each piece) and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.
6. Fill a glass halfway with optional diced dragon fruit and ice. Then strain the mixture into the glass. Add optional simple syrup or sugar to taste. Serve and enjoy immediately.
Important Tips
- To make sure the dragon fruit powder and green coffee powder dissolves properly, you’ll need to mix them with a small amount of liquid first. Mix very well until there are no clumps of powder in the mixture.
- If you don’t like the tiny black and white particles in the drink, strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter before adding the mixture to the cocktail shaker.
- The color of your drink depends on the ratio between the dragon fruit powder and coconut milk. If you add more coconut milk, you’ll get a softer pink color.
- This recipe has caffeine in it, but you can omit green coffee extract and have a caffeine-free drink.
- Add the sweetener gradually until it reaches your desired level of sweetness. Use Stevia for a healthy option. (If you use sweetened coconut milk, you might not need to add simple syrup or sugar.)
Calories and Nutrition
A 16-ounce grande Dragon Drink from Starbuck has 130 calories: 3g fat, 60mg sodium, 26g carbs (23g sugar), 1g protein, and 45mg caffeine. So a tall cup has about 100 calories, and venti has about 190 calories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does the Dragon Drink Taste Like?
It’s smooth, creamy, sweet, and very refreshing with tropical fruity flavors. Compared to the regular Mango Dragon Fruit Refresher, it has a nice creaminess and tastes sweeter.
How to Order the Dragon Drink at Starbucks?
Since the dragon drink is on Starbucks’ official menu, you can just ask your barista for a “Dragon Drink” and they’ll probably know what you’re talking about.
Alternatively, you can simply order a blend of Mango Dragonfruit Refresher made with coconutmilk instead of water, served over ice with a scoop of diced dragon fruit.
How Much is a Dragon Drink at Starbucks?
The drink costs $3.25 to $4.95, depending on size and location. So it’s much cheaper to make it at home if you’d like to drink it very often.
Is the Dragon Drink Good for You?
The dragon drink is not the healthiest beverage out there, but it has some great nutrients from dragon fruit, mango juice, and coconut milk. When making it at home, you can use high-quality ingredients and Stevia as the sweetener for a healthy drink.
Does this Drink Have Caffeine?
Yes, the dragon drink has caffeine in it and will give you an energy boost. You can skip the green coffee extract for a caffeine-free drink.
Make Your Favorite Starbucks Drinks at Home with These Copycat Recipes:
If you’ve tried this Dragon Drink, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know. I love hearing from you!
Starbucks Dragon Drink Copycat Recipe (+VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon freeze-dried dragon fruit powder
- 1/2 cup mango juice
- 1/4 cup white grape juice, You can sub other fruit juice such as apple juice. Just avoid the juices with dark colors
- 1 cup coconut milk, If you use sweetened coconut milk, you don’t need to add extra syrup to the drink
- ice cubes
Optional
- 1 scoop diced dragon fruit
- 1/2 teaspoon green coffee extract*, (It adds caffeine to your drink)
- simple syrup or sugar to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together dragon fruit powder, optional green coffee extract, and white grape juice until dissolved. (Make sure to let the powder to dissolve completely. It may take a few minutes. If you don’t have green coffee extract, you can skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor)
- Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then pour in mango juice. (If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you can use any other large container with a lid that fits the container.)
- Add the dragon fruit and grape juice mixture.
- Pour in coconut milk.
- Secure the lid. Hold the shaker with both hands (one on each piece) and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.
- Fill a glass halfway with optional diced dragon fruit and ice. Then strain the mixture into the glass. Add optional simple syrup or sugar to taste, and garnish with more diced dragon fruit. Serve and enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- *If you use the green coffee bean pills, you’ll need to pop them open and use the powder from the capsules.
- If you don’t like the tiny black and white particles in the drink, strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter before adding the mixture to the cocktail shaker.
- Add the sweetener gradually until it reaches your desired level of sweetness. Use Stevia for a healthy option.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
I don’t think this drink has hit UK Starbucks yet, but it drew me in immediately with looks like that. I’m bookingmarking this one to surprise my kids with once I’ve got my dragonfruit powder ordered – sounds super yummy and the recipe looks very straightforward.
We don’t get out to Starbucks very often so I am SO STOKED to be able to make this pretty pink drink at home! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Jenn. Glad you like it.
Welch’s makes a Dragonfruit Mango juice. Could it be used as a substitute instead of the white grape juice and mango juice mixture?
Hi Martin, yes you can use Welch’s dragon fruit mango juice if you have it. Hope it helps! Izzy
Its sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good jenn thanks for the recipe
The first time I tried this, I wasn’t wild about it, but the next day I mixed up a triple batch and let them sit in the sealed container overnight. What a huge difference that made. It was creamier and all the flavors had a chance to marry. I just gave it a good shake before pouring. Delicious and refreshing. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Amy, glad that you like the recipe. Thanks for sharing the tip. I never knew the flavors can develop over the night, but it makes a lot of sense. I’ll definitely give it a try! Izzy
I love this drink and just cant seem to get enough of it !!!!
Hi Tracy, great to hear that you like the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.
I have a question. I love this drink and was thinking of making this for a party. Do you have a suggestion on how to make this for 20 without making twenty individual servings and pouring in a bowl? Is there another way to mix it without a cocktail shaker? TIA
Hi Jen, you can use a large pitcher and use a wooden spoon to mix. Izzy
Id like to say thank you for creating the recipe. Also, thank you for making the recipe orderly and easy to follow. The recipe comes super close to the Starbucks recipe. With that said the brand of green coffee extract that I bought didnt make for a pleasant taste. It ruined the recipe. I made two separate serving luckily. I did one with coffee extract (for hubby) and one without it (for me). The one without was refreshing and I made small changes to your recipe. I used 1/2c unsweetened coconut milk, 1/4c water, 1/4c apple juice. Again thank you!
Here is the link to the coffee extract I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074WGLHFM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Superb Article, you have made me your fan and i will surely bookmark you for future reads.