You’ve heard of the Pink Drink, and this is its refreshing cousin. Strawberry and açaí work so well together and make a delicious lemonade.

You can buy it at Starbucks or make your own at home at a lower price and with less sugar. Refreshers have a lot of added sugar (which makes them so good), but you can make a fresher, less sweet version at home.

It’s an excellent drink for a party or in a big batch to drink over the week. You can also make them creamy and refreshing with different types of milk. The options are endless, and this drink takes less than 5 minutes to make.

Here’s how to make a delicious strawberry açaí lemonade at home!

What is Açaí?

Açaí berries are small, grape-like berries from the açaí palm trees in South and Central America. They’re small and blueberry-sized, with dark purple skin and yellow-white flesh with a pit!

So, technically, they’re not berries, but they look like one. They’re extremely popular for their taste, and they are high in antioxidants.

However, açaí berries have a short shelf life and are sold in powders, frozen, and other fruit forms. They are great in smoothies, juices, and, most famously, açaí bowls.

Açaí berries have been around and eaten by indigenous people in South America but skyrocketed in popularity after being promoted as a health food.

What Does Açaí Taste Like?

Açaí has a unique taste. It’s like a mix of blueberries, blackberries, and grapes, with a hint of cocoa and earthiness. It kind of tastes similar to a chocolate-covered blueberry.

While they may sound sweet, these berries actually taste slightly sweet, tart, and bitter when ripe. So it’s common to mix them with sweeteners like honey or other fruits to make them taste better and be refreshing.

In açaí bowls, people usually blend açaí with milk or bananas to give it a smoother, creamier texture. Without it, you’d end up with an icy sorbet. The milk and banana help round out the açaí flavor while giving it a great texture.

It pairs great with other fruits like strawberries, mango, kiwi, and pineapple and nutty flavors like almonds or grains like oats.

Is Açaí Healthy?

Açaí has a lot of antioxidants and vitamins, which are great for getting those nutrients.

However, commercial açaí bowls can have a lot of added sugars, from the açaí base to the toppings added. You don’t know what’s been added to the açaí to make it taste so good (the berries by themselves aren’t the most appetizing).

It’s best to make açaí bowls at home, where you can control what goes into it. It’s similar to smoothies, where many commercial places add sugary juices, ice cream, or frozen yogurt to frozen fruit, making it less healthy and more of a frozen dessert.

So, açaí berries are quite nutritious, and açaí bowls can also be healthy, but without the added sugars. Just like most fruit, eat it in moderation!

What is Starbucks Strawberry Açaí Lemonade?

Starbucks has a line of drinks called refreshers, essentially fruit juice drinks. They’re made with water, sugar, white grape juice, green coffee extract, and fruit flavorings. They’re sweet drinks that are perfect for a hot day.

The most popular one is the strawberry açaí, which has a whole fan following behind its coconut milk rendition, the Pink Drink. You can add lemonade or coconut milk to the juice base for a different spin.

Is There Caffeine In It?

Contrary to what I thought, yes, Starbucks Refreshers do have caffeine in them! They all have green coffee extract which has caffeine naturally derived from arabica beans.

At first, it sounds like there shouldn’t be caffeine in Refreshers if they’re a fruit drink, but it’s Starbucks “healthier” fruit alternative to coffee. There’s only a little caffeine in the drinks, but it’s still there.

Are Starbucks Refreshers Healthy?

As with most Starbucks drinks, Refreshers have a lot of added sugar. A 16 oz. Strawberry Açaí Lemonade has 32 g of sugar, which is almost the same amount of sugar in a 12 oz. Coca Cola can (39 g).

While refreshing, Refreshers aren’t the healthiest, but they are more nutritious than other options at Starbucks. For example, refreshers have less sugar than a 16 oz caramel frappuccino, which has 54 g.

If you want a healthy option at Starbucks, it’s any drink with minimal additions, like black or brewed coffee, teas, etc.

Where to Get Açaí?

You can get açaí from most grocery stores. The most popular form of açaí is juice, frozen, then freeze-dried.

You can get premade açaí bowls from a smoothie or açaí store or even find frozen ones in grocery stores. At stores, you can usually build your own bowl with different smoothie bases, fruits, and toppings.

Juice is the best for making refreshing drinks, while frozen berries are best for smoothies or bowls. Açaí powder is best for baking or flavoring dishes or desserts.

How to Flavor Lemonade

You can flavor lemonade in multiple ways, but the best way is with fruit juice or freeze–dried fruit powders.

Fruit juice is a great, convenient way to add fruit flavor to lemonade, but it might dilute your lemonade with the extra water.

Powders are great for keeping a refreshing lemonade while adding a concentrated fruit flavor. However, freeze-dried fruit powders can be hard to find and are often found online vs. in-store.

I think açaí powder works best with lemonade because you don’t need much, and you dont need to open a juice bottle for a drink (which you’ll have to finish relatively fast).

Tips

Here are some tips on making a delicious strawberry açaí lemonade that’s better than Starbucks:

• For easy making, you can combine all your ingredients in a blender and serve directly from the pitcher. That way, you have fewer dishes and a serving jug!
• Use sparkling water instead of regular water if you want a sparkling beverage. Just combine your fruit powders, sugar, and lemon, then add sparkling water before serving.
• Use different sweeteners if you’re looking to cut sugar from your diet, like agave, honey, monkfruit, maple syrup, etc.
• Add coconut milk for a creamy and refreshing lemonade! You could also substitute it for condensed milk for a sweet and creamy drink (like a Brazilian lemonade).