Homemade Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refresher gives you all the delicious flavors of the store-bought beverage at the fraction of the price. You’re going to love this DIY copycat recipe as it tastes and looks just like the real thing! Plus you can make it healthier and customize how much sweetness or caffeine you prefer.
Featured on 15 Best Starbucks Refreshers
Strawberry Acai is my favorite summer drink to order at Starbucks, right along with a delicious Mango Dragonfruit Refresher! You can easily turn this DIY strawberry acai drink into a Pink Drink by adding coconut milk; or make a Strawberry Acai Lemonade Refresher by substituting lemonade for water. All the ingredients can be found at your local grocery stores or on Amazon.
I love this fruity refresher from Starbucks coffee shop, as it’s loaded with strawberry and acai berry flavors. But I’d like to make my OWN homemade strawberry açai base using fresh strawberries. After watching how a Starbucks Barista made it, I did a few experiments. Now I’m completely satisfied with my version and it tastes just like the one from Starbucks!
The best part? You can make it healthier and adjust according to your own personal desired sweet level.
What Are Starbucks Refreshers?
Starbucks refreshers are summer drinks that can keep you energized and refreshed! They typically contain fruits and are served over ice!
What’s in Strawberry Acai Refresher
My version uses some easily accessible ingredients to create an equally delicious flavor combination: fresh strawberries, acai powder, white grape juice, simple syrup, ice, and water, and optional green tea (see photo below).
- Best strawberries to use: As one of the star ingredients for this recipe, strawberries add the refreshing fruity flavor to this drink while giving it a bright red color. I find that fresh strawberries taste best. Alternatively, you can use freeze-dried strawberry powder or freeze-dried whole strawberries.
- Acai Berry Powder: Acai has a flavor somewhere between wild berries and chocolate. It adds a wonderful berry flavor to the drink. I ordered the acai powder online, and you can also use acai juice for this recipe.
- White Grape Juice: It adds a refreshing, sweet, and crisp flavor to the drink. They’re available at your local grocery stores. You can substitute other fruity juice such as apple juice. Just make sure to avoid the ones with dark colors.
- Simple syrup: I like simple syrup for easy mixing. You can also substitute honey or sugar. Alternatively use stevia for a healthy drink.
- Green Tea: The store-bought version uses green coffee extract, but I didn’t feel like getting the expensive green coffee bean powder. I substitute green tea to keep it simple. You can skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor.
You’ll also need some cold water and ice cubes.
How to Make a Strawberry Acai at Home
1. Prepare the green tea ahead of time: pour hot water over the green tea bag.
2. Steep the tea for 2 minutes. Then let it chill in the refrigerator. (You can skip these 2 steps if you use the green coffee powder or you’d like to make a caffeine-free drink.)
3. Slice strawberries into halves and add them into a blender together with 1 cup of water.
4. Blend until smooth and then strain them through a fine mesh.
5. Whisk together acai berry powder and 1/2 cup water until dissolved.
6. Add açai mixture, white grape juice, and chilled green tea to the strawberry juice. Mix well, and now you have a delicious strawberry acai base!
7. In a large pitcher with ice cubes, pour in the strawberry acai base and the rest of the water. Stir and mix well. Add simple syrup or sugar to your desired sweetness.
8. Fill the glass about 1/3 full of ice and pour the mixture into the glass. Garnish with a scoop of fresh strawberry slices and serve immediately!
Tips & Tricks
- Chill your green tea completely before making the drink.
- The regular strawberry acai drink has a light red color when you use water. If you use coconut water, the drink will become creamy with a soft pink color.
- Mix the acai powder with water until it’s completely dissolved. It may take a few minutes but it’s important to dissolve the powder.
- If you don’t like the tiny black particles from the acai powder, strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter.
- 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 green tea for a caffeine-free drink.
Strawberry Acai Refresher with Lemonade
If you love lemonade, you can replace the water with lemonade. Depending on the lemonade you use, you’ll need to adjust the amount slightly to thin out the flavor.
Strawberry Acai Refresher with Coconut Milk: Pink Drink
Pink drink is another popular drink at Starbucks. It’s actually a strawberry acai refresher made with coconut milk instead of water. You can substitute soy milk or almond milk, but I would give coconut milk a try first because it adds creaminess and depth to the drink, making it absolutely amazing!
Coconut milk beverage works better than canned coconut milk for this recipe, as some canned coconut milk contains solid chunky lumps of white stuff that could be unsightly in the drink.
Storage Tips
This acai refresher tastes the best when it’s freshly made. You can store it in the fridge without adding ice for up to 1 day. Stir well before serving.
Healthy Strawberry Acai
Replace simple syrup with stevia, and substitute water for grape juice for a completely healthy beverage!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Strawberry Acai Drink Have Caffeine?
Yes, the strawberry acai refresher from Starbucks is lightly caffeinated. A grande cup has about 50 milligrams of caffeine. For a homemade version, you can skip green tea and make this drink completely caffeine-free.
Is Strawberry Acai Refresher Good?
Yes, both strawberries and acai have many health benefits. When making this drink at home, you can make it even healthier by using high-quality ingredients and lowering the sugar level.
How Many Calories Doe it Have?
According to Starbucks, a grande (16-oz) Strawberry Acai Refresher has 90 calories, a tall cup has 80 calories, and venti has 130 calories.
How Much is a Strawberry Acai Drink at Starbucks?
A Tall of the regular Strawberry Acai Refresher is $3.99; Grande is $4.49; Venti is $4.99 and $Trenta is $5.29. The lemonade version and pink drink version are more expensive. So it’s much cheaper to make it at home if you drink it very often.
More Starbucks Copycat Drinks
If you’ve tried this Strawberry Acai Drink then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know. I love hearing from you!
Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe (+VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh strawberries stems removed and halved
- 4 cups water (divided)
- 3/4 teaspoon freeze-dried acai powder
- 1 ¾ cups white grape juice
- 2 tablespoons simple syrup (or sugar or honey, you can adjust the sweetness by using more or less)
- ice cubes
- 2 tablespoons optional green tea (chilled, you can add more if you'd like to have more caffeine, or skip this ingredient for a caffeine-free drink)
Instructions
- Place a green tea packet into a cup, and pour hot water over the packet.
- Steep the tea for 2 minutes and let it sit until cool. (You can prepare this ahead of time and chill it in the refrigerator.)
- Prepare the strawberries by removing green leaves and cut them into halves.
- Add strawberries and 1 cup of water into a blender.
- Blend until smooth and then strain them through a fine mesh.
- Whisk together acai powder and 1/2 cup of water until dissolved. It takes a few minutes for the powder to dissolve completely.
- Add the white grape juice, acai mixture, and chilled green tea to strawberry juice. Mix to combine.
- (Optional) If you don’t like the the tiny black particles from the acai powder, you can strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter. (This step will give your drink a more beautiful clear look.)
- In a large pitcher with ice cubes, add the strawberry mixture and the rest of the water.
- Then add simple syrup to your desired sweetness. You can also use sugar or honey. Start with small amount, taste and gradually add more. Mix well.
- Fill each glass 1/3 full of ice cubes and a scoop of strawberry slices. Pour the drink into the glass and serve immediately!
Notes
- If you make this ahead, keep the pitcher in the fridge. Gently stir or shake before serving.
- To make Pink Drink: replace water with coconut milk.
- To make Strawberry Acai Lemonade Refresher: replace water with lemonade.
Video
Nutrition
Lisa says
This is such a cool and refreshing drink for summer. A new favorite!
izzycooking says
Great to hear that. Thanks, Lisa.
Kalee says
This recipe is perfect for cook outs and parties! I love how pretty it is, and everyone loves how the drinks taste!
Lindsey says
Are you only suppose to use 3/4 t of the açaí mix?
Izzy says
Hi Lindsey, feel free to use more acai if you like. Two things to keep in mind: 1) it has a sour taste so you might need to add more sugar to offset; 2) acai mix has a lot of black particles when dissolved, and you’ll need to strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter if you’d like to have a clear look.
Haylee says
Hi! I really loved this recipe! I actually opened a Starbucks in my home.! My sister loves this drink! Thank you for this recipe
Izzy says
Hi Haylee, glad to hear you and your sister loved the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.
Jamie T says
I made this the first time with lemonade for 3 & 1/2 cups of the water and it was good. This time I used lime-ade and didn’t add any sugar – yum!
Izzy says
Hi Jamie, great to know you like the recipe. Thanks for sharing your experience! Izzy
Tasha says
Finally got my acai powder! I tried making the pink drink using coconut milk and pear juice concentrate. I prefer the homemade version now, thank you for this recipe!
Melissa says
I’m excited to try this! If using açaí juice instead of powder is it 1/2 cup of juice to replace the powder + 1/2 cup water?
Willard Williams says
I want to try this but Starbucks says the color is made of bugs 🐞 so I want to know what makes it pink?
Anita says
Well if you look at the recipe and read the ingredients – strawberries would make it pink.
Donna Dowell says
Thank u so much…can’t wait to make it
Jean says
So you can make this recipe with just the water and açaí powder and not use tea or apple juice?
Izzy says
Yes you can, but it will be less flavorful.
Chelsea says
Hi! Can you use apple juice instead of grape juice?
Izzy says
Yes, you can use apple juice.
Chelsea says
Can you use apple juice instead of the white grape juice?
Izzy says
Yes, you can use apple juice instead.
Melinda says
I make it with Country Time Stawberry Lemonade and add a small (smidgeon) of acaí powder. It tastes just like Starbucks. The acaí bean is a natural stimulant so there is no need for any caffeine.