(Editor: This Strawberry Acai Refresher recipe post was originally published on July 20, 2016 and was updated May 12, 2020)
I have been on this major Starbucks kick lately. I have never realized the enormous variety of drinks they offer- from highly caffeinated espresso lattes to coffee bean Frappuccinos to iced fruit refreshers. One of my favorites is the Strawberry Acai Refresher.
The Refresher Craze
Back in 2016, while I was trying to recreate the Pink Drink at home, I learned about one of the newer Refresher flavors. The Refresher craze started with the Cool Lime Refresher, then Starbucks introduced the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher and the Valencia Orange Refresher. While new flavors are introduced seasonally, it seems the Strawberry Acai Refresher is a mainstay on the Starbucks menu.
Perfect for Summer
I love these Refreshers- they are just so perfect in the summer – icy, cold, and fruity. But I have a hard time ordering these at Starbucks because (a) they are fairly expensive and (b) I feel like they are just so watered down for the price. So what’s a girl to do? Make our own of course! So here is my version of the Strawberry Acai Refresher recipe.
The Strawberry Acai Refresher basics
I already tackled the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher, so now it is time to make the newest flavor- the Strawberry Acai Refresher. It’s very easy to make at home, but not as convenient as one may think. Mainly just because you have to go on a bit of a hunt for the freeze-dried strawberries, green coffee bean powder, and Acai powder. However, once you find these, making the Strawberry Acai Refresher recipe is very simple. And once you buy these products, you will many uses out of them, or at least many glasses of this delicious and refreshing drink!
Special note: If you are unable to find the green bean coffee powder, you can purchase of bottle of the breakable capsules and use the powder from two capsules.
The Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe
- 1 cup Freeze Dried Strawberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1/2-1 tsp Green Coffee Bean Powder, or the powder of about four capsules broken open
- 1 tbsp Acai Powder
- 3 cups cold filtered water
- 2 cups white grape juice* see note
- ice for serving
- freeze-dried or fresh strawberries, for garnish
Add the freeze dried strawberries, sugar, 2 cups filtered water, the green coffee bean powder, and the Acai powder to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Simmer for ten minutes to create a syrup. (note: The sugar will dissolve while the green bean coffee powder and Acai powder will not)
Pour the strawberry mixture into a fine mesh strainer, capturing the syrup in a wide lipped cup or bowl. (optional: you can get extra liquid out of the berries by gently pushing the berries into the strainer with the back of a spoon)
Allow the syrup to cool, 30-45 minutes. You should have slightly over two cups of the syrup.
To a 2-quart pitcher, add the strawberry syrup** (see note), 3 cups of cold filtered water, and white grape juice. Store in the fridge until ready to drink.
When serving, pour over ice and top with fresh or freeze dried strawberries. Serve immediately.
To be Starbucks authentic when serving, add some of the Strawberry Acai Refresher and some ice to a cocktail shaker and vigorously shake before pouring into the serving glass.
* I prefer substituting filtered water for the grape juice as the juice makes the drink very sweet.
** You can adjust the strawberry syrup depending on how strong or weak you want the drink to be.
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Other Starbucks copycat recipes
Check out my other Starbucks copycat recipes- just click on any image for the recipe.
Another good-sounding one 🙂 Keep going and maybe we can eventually have a new drink every day of the year 🙂
I love that you make imitation recipes out of the Starbucks favorites. I haven’t had the refreshers, but those kinds of drinks are some of my favorites! I would love to try this, and I imagine it’s a bit cheaper than Starbucks. 😉
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Instructions mention white grape juice but it’s not in the ingredients list?
Christopher- thank you SO MUCH for pointing that out- I added it into the ingredients list. So sorry about that!!
Could a batch of the syrup be made ahead of time and used throughout the week? If so, how long could it be kept in fridge?
Hi Alicia! Oh yes. I make the syrup and use it throughout the week. The syrup will last at least 7 days, and I have used the last mine 10 days later. Hope that helps!!
Thank you!
Does this taste exactly like Starbucks? There are a lot of copycat recipes but they taste off compared to Starbucks. Thanks
No it doesn’t 🙁 I made it and was so excited but something is completely off with the taste
Ready to order these ingredients and try this ASAP! This has been my go-to drink, but they just raised the price AGAIN! I already felt guilty spending $4.45 for a trenta sized drink, but they’ve shot the price up to $4.75… Ridiculous!! Crossing my fingers it is at least a close comparison! Thank you!!
Me and my granddaughter love this drink and can’t wait to try it!
I was so excited to try this. Have to say I am Very disappointed with this recipe 🙁 it tasted like dirt. I did everything the recipe said. Not pleased at all.
I think it is the white grape juice. It doesn’t taste very good. Any suggestions?
While the Starbucks version uses the white grape juice, I personally prefer just regular water as the grape juice is just so sweet!
Is the green coffee bean really necessary? Does it change the flavor if taken out of the recipe? Can the drink be caffeine free?
The green coffee bean powder is totally optional. it does not change the flavor, only adds caffeine. Leave it out and go caffeine fee!
I tried this, as it is my favorite drink at Starbucks. This was disgusting, and tasted nothing like it. What a waste of money to get all those ingredients. Not impressed.
I also thought this was pretty far off and changed it. I think it tastes much more like the real drink with these changes:
1cup freeze dried strawberries
1/2 cup grape juice
1 cup water
1.5 capsules of green coffee bean powder
2tsp acai powder
2 tsp Stevia powder ( OR 3 TSP sugar)
Follow same instructions, except divide the mixture into thirds too make 3 drinks with added water and ice. ….
To me these mods make it taste pretty accurate…. Before I changed it, it was too sweet, I thought, but maybe that was the point… Some people think the store bought version is watered down.
Thank you for sharing this! I attempted to make it and it didn’t turn out how I’d hoped, maybe you can help?? The drink basically tasted like sugar water… Any thoughts??? I followed the recipe correctly (so I thought) but maybe I didn’t do the sugar juice mixture right?
Not sure about the people that say it didn’t tasteven right. I just had a Starbucks refresher and this side by side and the taste was pretty spot on.
Can the syrup be made with fresh strawberries? Or frozen ?
You could use fresh or frozen strawberries. With frozen, the syrup will be a little sweeter and thicker as the strawberries will break down quicker. The freeze dried berries work better as they are more concentrated. Fresh berries will work but they will take a little longer to breakdown. Thanks for stopping by Amber!
I could not get the acai powder to dissolve, it was in the drink any suggestions? And it was very darkly colored not bright reddish pink at all
I am not sure. The acai powder should naturally dissolve as the water is boiling?
So should I boil it longer??
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Can this be ore made in a big batch? I like having this in the morning before work and won’t have time to do this every morning..
Thanks
I order the Acai with no water and no ice.
How would you go about making a weeks worth of syrup and how much syrup would you use at a time? Don’t have time to do all hat in the morning before work
Hi Julia! The current recipe will make several servings to fill a jug to keep in the fridge for the week. I make the whole batch then drink ti during the week. The recipe will make the whole drink, not just the syrup.
Mine tastes a lot like tea. I have no idea why. Anyone else have this problem? It’s no where near the real taste.
Re: *And by the way, if you want to make the pink drink, substitute the water for coconut milk.
How does switching coconut milk for water make the drink pink?
Hi Ann! The Strawberry Acai Refresher and the Pink Drink are essentially the same drink, only one uses water and the other coconut milk.
starbucks barista here! refreshers are way more caffeinated than anything else on our menu. obviously if you’re making them at home it doesn’t matter but for everyone thinking ordering them will cut back on caffeine, I’m sorry, but that’s the worst option at sbux for low caffeine.
How you going to come on here and be a barista knowing how to make this yet not give us the recipe as it is made at STarbucks. Apparently this recipe isn’t true to the Starbucks taste of the drink. Could you possibly let us know how you do it at work?
Hi Briana! I am confused. At any time during my post, did I mention that I worked at Starbucks? I am not a barista not have I ever claimed to be. This is a homemade version of the recipe, not from an employee confused how you thought I was one?
i think she was replying to whitney who said she was a barista… as in why did whitney not share the real recipe if she works at starbucks
Is the geeen coffee bean extract just for caffeine? Does it impact the taste at all? I’m very caffeine sensitive, so I’m looking to make this caffeine free! 🙂
Hi Marisa,
I really just use it for caffeine, the taste is not impacted at all by it.
Does the green coffee bean extract add to the flavor or is it just to add caffeine?
Hi Madison,
The green bean coffee extract only adds caffeine. If you leave it out the flavor will not be impacted.
Could you see fresh Strawberries instead of freeze drided one? Which works better?
Hi Sierra,
Fresh strawberries will work well making the syrup. It’s an easy swap!
Can I skip the step of using the mesh strainer and just add the ice and water?
You can skip the mesh strainer step but the syrup will be chunky with the strawberries instead of a pure syrup. The end result will end up with the chunky strawberry mush in it. It certainly won’t be like the Starbucks version if that is what you are going for.
I was thinking of using a hand blender at that step.
I found this to taste pretty decent, however not exactly the same taste. I can’t figure out what’s different about it though. Maybe I should try less water and more syrup. The good part is now I have the foundation of this drink and I can’t keep making batches different ways till I find just the right blend!
Btw I found the açaí and the coffee capsules both at Walmart not to hard to find thankfully!
How many ounces is each serving?
Thank you for sharing. Anna-Marie. Sounds yum!!!
My first try did not come out well at all. Granted, I didn’t make the açaí syrup with berries, just with the açaí. And clearly I should have just used water, or less juice, cause it is soooo sweet. I’m also having problems with the green coffee powder. It is not dissolving well and the somewhat strange flavor of it is overpowering the drink
Starbucks version has stevia in it. That’s missing in the copycat recipe.
This recipe doesn’t even come close to tasting like Starbucks. It was very expensive to order all the ingredients just to be a nasty flop! I thought maybe it was me but my friend tried it as well and got the same result! Don’t waste your time or money! Just go to Starbucks and order a trenta with no water, no ice and no berries (they get nasty sitting in the base) I put mine in a mason jar once home and in the fridge. Add ice and water and it will make about 6 large drinks! Enjoy!
I am sorry you didn’t like the recipe. The ingredients are meant to be used for multiple recipes so you should easily get your money’s worth!!