Pink Drink (Starbucks Strawberry Drink Copycat Recipe)
on Jul 15, 2020, Updated Mar 31, 2021
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Make Starbucks’ super-popular Pink Drink at home! This copycat recipe is a real deal and you can easily customize it to your preferred level of sweetness. The best part? The homemade pink drink recipe uses fresh strawberries to make it even more flavorful and healthier!
Starbucks’ rainbow-themed drinks have taken over Instagram and the internet! The Pink Drink is one of my favorites, together with Green Drink, Purple Drink, and Yellow Drink.
The original Starbucks’ pink drink uses freeze-dried strawberries, but I wanted to use fresh strawberries for my pink drink, especially in the summer season. Nothing can beat fresh ingredients! It’s healthier with so much more flavor!
What is the Pink Drink?
Pink Drink is a popular Starbucks’ refreshing beverage made with Strawberry Acai Refresher and coconut milk. It started as a secret menu item but was so popular that it became an official Starbucks beverage on the cold drink menu in 2017.
According to Starbucks’ website, the “crisp, Strawberry Açaí Refreshers® Beverage, with its accents of passion fruit, is combined with creamy coconutmilk. A fruity and refreshing sip of spring, no matter what time of year.”
Ingredients
- Strawberries: I recommend using fresh strawberries for the best result. Alternatively, you can sub freeze-dried strawberry powder or freeze-dried whole strawberries.
- Acai Berry Powder: Acai adds a wonderful berry flavor to the drink. It’s available online from Amazon. You can also use acai juice for this recipe.
- 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. You can also use almond milk or soy milk as a substitute.
- Simple Syrup or Sugar: Add the sweetener gradually until it reaches your preference.
- Green Coffee Extract: Original Starbucks Pink Drink uses green coffee extract to add caffeine to the beverage. It’s available 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 also substitute green tea, or skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor.
- Passion Iced Tea Bags: This is an optional ingredient which helps to add a brighter pink color to the drink. You can skip it if you don’t have one.
How to Make this Starbucks Strawberry Drink at Home
1. Prepare the passion tea. Pour hot water over the passion tea bag.
2. Steep the tea for 5 minutes. Then let it chill in the refrigerator.
3. Slice strawberries into halves and add them into a blender together with 1/2 cup of white grape juice.
4. Blend until smooth and then strain them through a fine mesh.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together acai berry powder, green coffee extract, and the rest of the white grape juice until dissolved. (Strain them through a fine mesh to remove the small black and white particles if you prefer.)
6. In a medium jar, add strawberry juice, acai powder mixture, chilled passion tea, and coconut milk. Mix well.
7. Add simple syrup or sugar. Stir to combine. (Add the sweetener gradually until it reaches your desired sweetness level).
8. Fill a glass 3/4 full of ice. Then pour in the mixture. Add more sliced strawberries to garnish. Serve and enjoy immediately.
Tips for DIY Pink Drink
- Make sure to chill your passion tea before making the drink.
- Mix the acai powder and green coffee extract with 1/2 cup of the grape juice until it’s completely dissolved. It may take a few minutes but it’s important to dissolve the powder completely.
- If you don’t like the tiny black and white particles from the powder, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
- The color of your drink depends on the ratio among the ingredients of strawberries, passion tea, and coconut milk. You can skip passion tea if you don’t have one, but it will give your drink a more vivid pink color.
- You can customize the level of sweetness and caffeine of your drink. Start with less amount of syrup and slowly add more. Taste and adjust for the perfect flavor. You can skip the green coffee extract for a caffeine-free drink.
Keto Pink Drink
You can easily make this drink Keto if you make the following adjustment:
- Substitute Stevia for simple syrup if you’d like your drink to taste sweet. Or you can skip the sweetener completely.
- Sub water for grape juice.
- Make sure your coconut milk is unsweetened. Alternatively, you can also use heavy cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pink Drink Have Caffeine?
The pink drink from Starbucks is lightly caffeinated. A grande cup has about 45 milligrams of caffeine. For a homemade version, you can skip the green coffee extract and make this drink completely caffeine-free.
How Many Calories Does a Pink Drink Have?
According to Starbucks, a grande (16-oz) Pink Drink has 140 calories: 2.5g fat, 60mg sodium, 27g carbs, 1 g protein, and 45mg caffeine. So a tall cup has about 105 calories, and venti has about 210 calories.
How to Order a Pink Drink at Starbucks?
To order the “Pink Drink”, simply ask your barista for a blend of Strawberry Acai Refresher made with coconut milk instead of water, and have them over ice. Add a scoop of strawberries.
Is the Pink Drink Good for You?
The pink drink is one of the healthy drinks at Starbucks. Both strawberries and acai have many health benefits. When making it at home, you can use the higher-quality ingredients and lower the sweetness for an even healthier drink.
If You Like this Recipe Try these out:
If you’ve tried this pink drink, leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!
Pink Drink Recipe (+VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh strawberries, (half of the container)
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk, (You can also use almond milk, soy milk or regular milk)
- 1/4 teaspoon freeze-dried acai powder, (you can omit this ingredient if you don’t have one)
- 1 cup white grape juice, (divided)
- 2 tablespoons simple syrup, (or sugar, to taste)
- ice cubes
- 1 teaspoon green coffee extract, optional
- 3/4 cup passion tea, optional, this will give your drink a brighter pink color
Instructions
- Place the passion tea bag in a cup and add hot water.
- Let the tea steep for 5 minutes and chill in the refrigerator.
- Slice strawberries into halves and add them into a blender together with 1/2 cup of white grape juice.
- Blend until smooth and then strain them through a fine mesh.
- In a small bowl, whisk together acai berry powder, green coffee extract, and the rest of the white grape juice until dissolved. (Strain them through a fine mesh to remove the small black and white particles if you prefer.)
- In a medium jar, add strawberry juice, acai powder mixture, ¾ cup of the chilled passion tea, and coconut milk. Mix well.
- Add simple syrup or sugar. Stir to combine. (Add the sweetener gradually until it reaches your desired sweetness level).
- Fill a glass 3/4 full of ice. Then pour in the mixture. Add more sliced strawberries to garnish. 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
