I was enjoying the hot summer Florida afternoon the other day when Mr. Beet asked me if I had ever heard of the Pink Drink at Starbucks. I had not. It is part of the Starbucks secret menu and not only is it trending on Twitter, there are also over 100,000 posts with the hashtag #PinkDrink on Instagram. And as far as I could see every single #PinkDrink picture was that of a drink at Starbucks. I was intrigued. It seems that somewhere some how some way this pink drink has exploded on social media. I had to make a Starbucks Pink Drink recipe copycat.
So what’s a blogger to do? Hop in the car, go buy one and figure out how to make it home. I am all about trying to copycat Starbucks drinks (check out my copycat Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher). Here is how the Pink Drink has been explained to me – it is the Strawberry Acai Refresher made with Coconut Milk instead of water. Many say this is on the Starbucks Secret Menu but I am here to break it to you- Starbucks does not have an official secret menu. What they have are drinks that people have custom ordered and shared. So if you go to ask for the Pink Drink, please do not get upset if your barista does not know what it is. Simply let them know you want the Strawberry Refresher with Coconut Milk instead of water.
My local Starbucks is next door to both a Publix Supermarket and a Trader Joe’s, which made shopping for ingredients easy. I know all the refreshers are made with white grape juice and green coffee bean extract as a base. For the coffee extract I bought a bottle of green coffee bean extract in capsule form and just popped open the capsules, using the powder inside. I found mine at a health food store but Amazon sells them here and here as well.
I started by making a strawberry simple syrup. I made two batches, one using fresh strawberries, the second using freeze dried strawberries. The freeze dried version made a frothy more concentrated syrup which I prefer, but using fresh berries will work as well. (Just double the amount of syrup)
In looking at pictures online, I learned that most Starbucks garnish the Pink Drink with freeze dried strawberries, and some stores used blackberries. I like it both ways, but I prefer adding fresh strawberries. (I have been told by some baristas at Starbucks that no stores use fresh strawberries, just the freeze dried)
I found it fairly easy to recreate the Starbucks version and I think my version is pretty close to the real thing. And it is delicious. Sound off in the comments below and tell me what you think!
- 1 cup Freeze Dried Strawberries, or fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1/2 cup sugar, I prefer coconut sugar
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Green Bean coffee powder, the powder of about two capsules broken open
- 1 cup white grape juice
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 cup fresh sliced strawberries, for garnish
- blackberries, for garnish
- ice
- Add the freeze dried strawberries, sugar, white grape juice and green coffee bean powder to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally so the liquid does not burn.
- Pour the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer, capturing the liquid into a wide lipped cup or bowl. Gently push the liquid out of the strawberries. **
- Allow the liquid to cool. Using freeze dried strawberries should yield about 1/4 cup of syrup, fresh strawberries will make about 1/2 cup. (You can speed up the process by placing the liquid in the refridgerator or freezer, just do not use a glass container as it will crack)
- Add a few strawberry slices to the bottom of a serving glass and fill glass with ice. Add the cooled syrup, then add the coconut milk. (Using the fresh strawberry syrup will have less room for the coconut milk so adjust the milk amount accordingly)
- To be even more Starbucks authentic, add everything to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously before pouring back into your serving glass.
- Top with the fresh strawberries reserved for the garnish and/or blackberries, if using.
- Enjoy!
*Use more or less green coffee bean powder depending on how much caffeine you want in the drink.
**You can use the strawberries left in the strainer for a topping for toast, biscuits, pancakes, etc.
***The Starbucks version also has Acai in it- you can add 2 tsp of Acai powder to the tea process- add to the white grape juice.
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Check out my other Starbucks copycat recipes- just click on any image for the recipe.
Helen Corbin says
June 6, 2016 at 11:27 amThis sounds like a great thing – very delicious 🙂
Amanda says
June 15, 2016 at 9:46 pm1/4-1/2 what? Cup or tsp? Of green coffee?
Anna-Marie says
June 15, 2016 at 11:55 pmAAAgh!!!! Sorry about that Amanda! Teaspoon- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of Green Coffee Bean Powder!!
amanda says
June 16, 2016 at 12:00 amThank you! I can’t wait to try this it looks delicious !
Veronica says
July 12, 2016 at 3:05 pmHey! Did you use sweetened coconut milk or unsweetened?
Thanks!
Anna-Marie says
July 12, 2016 at 3:49 pmHi Veronica! I personally used unsweetened plain coconut milk.
Christina says
August 2, 2016 at 10:52 pmWhat brand of coconut milk did you use??
Brooke says
July 19, 2016 at 5:59 pmAny thoughts on how to make this sugar free, or lower sugar?
Anna-Marie says
July 19, 2016 at 6:11 pmHi Brooke!
I use coconut sugar to cut down on using white sugar, but a sugar substitute such as Splenda would work as well. I would probably not recommend using honey or agave syrup as I think that would affect the flavor too harshly. Hope this helps.
Susana says
July 30, 2016 at 4:14 pmDoesn’t this drink have Acai in it?
Anna-Marie says
August 1, 2016 at 12:30 pmYes it does. You can use this recipe and change out the water for milk- https://beautyandthebeets.com/strawberry-acai-refresher/
Darlene Gambuti says
January 27, 2017 at 4:36 pmHi, this looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it! Do you think I can use stevia instead of sugar?
Anna-Marie says
January 28, 2017 at 1:25 pmAbsolutely!!!!!!! I prefer Stevia and Truvia to regular sugar. I personally used coconut sugar for this recipe when I make it now and I love it!
Fabiola Cervantes says
June 25, 2017 at 5:45 pmI use the 1 cup of strawberries and my drink didn’t can out pink and the picture. It can out brown. What did I do wrong
Fabiola cervantes says
June 25, 2017 at 5:54 pmI use the 1 cup strawberries in the recipe and my drink didn’t come out pink like the picture. What did I do wrong
Anna-Marie says
June 25, 2017 at 6:04 pmHi Fabiola! Did you use the freeze dried or fresh strawberries? The fresh strawberries won’t make the drink as vibrant a pink while the freeze dried version will. It will taste the same though.
Helen says
July 8, 2017 at 11:43 amIs there any way to make a stash and save for continued use?
Amanda says
August 4, 2018 at 12:20 amI have the same question.
Jontel says
August 10, 2017 at 12:49 pmWhere do you buy the Tea? I can’t find it anywhere
Zahra-Bobat says
May 20, 2018 at 3:07 amI love your recipe Anna-Marie. I can’t wait to try it out.??
Mary says
July 30, 2018 at 9:07 pmI can’t have full caffeine because of an irregular heart rate(I can have decaf )so I’d the green tea powder key to the flavor?
Anna-Marie says
July 31, 2018 at 1:24 pmThe green tea powder is only to add caffiene- if you omit it the flavor will not be affected. Thanks for stopping by Mary!
Amanda says
August 4, 2018 at 12:17 amIs there a way to make a batch of this at one time and keep it for further drinks? I drink a trenta sized pink drink. What would I need to make to get the right proportion for that size?
Anna-Marie says
August 4, 2018 at 4:45 pmThis recipe makes enough for several trenta drinks. You can stash the leftovers in the fridge for the next day. I recommend you just shake it and go!
Allie says
February 17, 2019 at 4:36 pmIt’s a really good start but I followed the recipe to the letter and it was way more milky than the Starbucks drink. I don’t know if it’s because they do more acai tea and just splash some coconut milk or what. I might try and water it down some and I think that’ll help thin it out a little more. I think brewing the tea with some sugar and the dried strawberries and then mixing that syrup with coconut milk and a little water might make a closer copycat. But thank you for the recipe and giving me a way to make it at home! I will say, it looks very pretty!
Miranda C says
March 26, 2019 at 11:45 amlol I used canned coconut milk that is used for baking and now I am scared to try it. definitely not the right kind of coconut milk…………
Also used frozen strawberries…..
just trying to make it as cheap as possible.
Anna-Marie says
March 26, 2019 at 12:01 pmFrozen strawberries would be fine, but not the cooking coconut milk!! Oh no, tell me how it tastes, if you try it. 🙂