Make a delicious Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher at home! This Starbucks copycat recipe gives you all the refreshing flavor and beautiful color of the store-bought iced beverage at the fraction of the price. It’s incredibly easy to make this tea-based drink and you can easily customize it with lemonade or coconut milk!

Featured on 15 Best Starbucks Refreshers

It’s no secret that I love Starbucks iced beverages, right? Through my blog, you can find Mango Dragonfruit Refresher, Iced Pineapple Matcha, and my favorite Strawberry Acai Refresher.

Recently many people noticed that Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher is not available at some locations. If you are a fan of Very Berry Hibiscus or violet drink, you can easily re-create a version at home, made from scratch, with an incredible flavor that tastes just like the one from Starbucks! This very berry hibiscus copycat recipe is Fast. Simple. Delicious.

Table of Contents Show

What Is Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher?

Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher is a caffeinated cold drink that Starbucks introduced in 2012. Key ingredients include fruit juice, muddled berries, green coffee extract, and hibiscus syrup.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Very Berry Hibiscus ingredients on the counter.

Hibiscus Tea Bags

Hibiscus tea gives this drink a beautiful red color while adding a tart, cranberry-like hibiscus flavor. You can order the tea bags online from Amazon or buy them at Whole Foods. You can also substitute dried hibiscus flowers.

Blackberries

I used fresh blackberries for this recipe, but you can also use freeze-dried whole blackberries.

White Grape Juice

It adds a refreshing, sweet, and crisp flavor to the drink. It’s available at your local grocery stores. You can substitute other juice such as lemonade.

Green Coffee Extract

Green coffee beans are not roasted and taste differently than traditional coffee. You can order green coffee bean powder or pill 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 if you want your drink to have caffeine in it, or skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor.

How to Make a Very Berry Hibiscus Drink at Home

Very berry hibiscus recipe: step 1 and 2 photos.

1. Pour hot water over the hibiscus tea bag.

2. (Optional) Add green coffee powder and mix.

Very berry hibiscus recipe: step 3 and 4 photos.

3. Steep the tea for 5 minutes. Then let it chill.

4. In a medium jar, add white grape juice and chilled hibiscus tea. Mix well.

Very berry hibiscus recipe: step 5 and 6 photos.

5. Fill a glass halfway with ice and pour the mixture into the glass.

6. Add blackberries to garnish. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Tips and Tricks

Make sure to steep your hibiscus tea to let the flavor develop. Then let it chill until it’s very cold before making the drink.
Your drink will have a vivid deep red color if you use white grape juice. If you use coconut milk instead, your drink will become creamy with a violet color.
Add lemonade to your drink to turn it into a very berry hibiscus lemonade refresher.

Very Berry Hibiscus with Lemonade

If you love lemonade, you can replace the white grape juice with lemonade. Depending on the lemonade you use, you’ll need to adjust the amount slightly to thin out the flavor.

Very Berry Hibiscus with Coconut Milk: Violet Drink

You can make this beverage with coconut milk. It’s called “violet drink” when the coconut milk is mixed in. Simply replace white grape juice with coconut milk beverage. It’s best to use the one in a carton instead of canned coconut milk. If you use unsweetened coconut milk, you’ll need to add simple syrup or sugar to the drink.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Starbucks Very Berry Hibiscus Tea Healthy?

Very berry hibiscus is one of the healthiest options at Starbucks compared to other high-sugar drinks they sell. When making it at home, you can use higher-quality ingredients for an even healthier drink.

Does a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Have Caffeine?

Yes, it has caffeine as it’s a fruity iced drink laced with the “natural energy” from the green coffee extract. But if you make it at home, you can skip the green coffee extract and make this drink completely caffeine-free.

How Many Calories Does It Have?

According to Starbucks, a grande (16-oz) Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher has 120 calories, a tall cup has 90 calories, and venti has 170 calories.

How Much is a Very Berry Hibiscus at Starbucks?

A Tall of the regular Very Berry Hibiscus refresher is $3.99; Grande is $4.49; Venti is $4.99 and $Trenta is $5.29. The lemonade version and violet drink version are more expensive. So it’s much cheaper to make it at home if you drink it very often.

Has Starbucks Discontinued Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher?

Starbucks temporarily paused production of the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher in mid-2021, citing lackluster demand. However, they also signaled it would return eventually.

What Is Hibiscus Flower?

Hibiscus, also known by the scientific names hibiscus sabdariffa or roselle, is a type of flowering plant native to India, Africa and Asia. The hibiscus we consume consists of the sepals that support the flower, as opposed to the flower itself. Hibiscus has a tart and sour flavor that is prized for herbal teas and other uses.

Where to Buy Dried Hibiscus Flowers?

You can buy dried hibiscus in specialty grocers and health food stores. Note that what you buy are not the flower petals, but the sepals or calx that support the flowers.

Can I Make It Ahead of Time?

Yes, you can make a hibiscus refresher and store in the fridge for consumption later the same day. You should not store it overnight according to the CDC due to the risk of bacteria developing.

Other Starbucks Copycat Recipes You’ll Like

Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Recipe (+VIDEO)

Make a delicious Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher at home! This Starbucks copycat recipe gives you all the refreshing flavor and beautiful color of the store-bought iced beverage at the fraction of the price. It’s incredibly easy to make this tea-based drink and you can easily customize by adding lemonade or coconut milk!

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 10

Servings: Glasses

Author: Izzy

Calories: 83kcal

Ingredients

▢ 1 hibiscus tea bag
▢ 1 cup hot water
▢ 1 cup white grape juice
▢ 1 scoop fresh blackberries (or freeze-dried whole blackberries)
▢ ice cubes
▢ 1/2 teaspoon green coffee extract* (this is optional, and it’ll add caffeine to your drink)

Instructions

Place the hibiscus tea bag in a cup and add hot water.
(Optional) Add the green coffee extract to the tea. (If you use the coffee bean pills, you’ll need to pop them open and use the powder from the capsules. You can skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor.)
Let the tea steep for 5 minutes and chill in the refrigerator.
In a medium jar, add white grape juice and chilled hibiscus tea. Mix well.
Fill a glass halfway with ice and pour the mixture into the glass.
Add blackberries to garnish.

Notes

*If you use the green coffee bean pills, you’ll need to pop them open and use the powder from the capsules. You can substitute green tea if you want your drink to have caffeine in it, or skip this ingredient and it won’t affect the flavor.

Video

Nutrition