The Starbucks Refreshers line of drinks come in an instant packet form known as Starbucks VIA and is also available in canned carbonated versions. The flagship of these is the company's offering of iced energising juice drinks that are available to purchase in-store. They've decided to take a slightly different route and make a natural and healthier energy drink via the use of Green Coffee Extract sourced from Arabica coffee beans. We've just tried the Starbucks Very Berry Hibiscus Refreshers drink and today have a review of what we think.
Let's start off this review discussing the first aspect, and that's the appearance which is succulently colourful and juicy. A number of whole blackberries can be seen floating within the juices presenting a natural and healthy aroma. It's definitely an attractive looking summer drink.
The Refreshers are hand crafted using real fruit juice and whole blackberries shaken with Green Coffee Extract over ice. The red berry and blackberry juice flavours taste diluted and weak. It isn't sweet in taste either and leaves an unpleasant bitterness within the mouth. The appearance of the Very Berry Hibiscus Refreshers is so inviting and it looked as if it would ooze what we thought would be a sweet berry flavour. Starbucks claim that a hint of Hibiscus is included within the recipe, but we couldn't really detect it at all in the taste although we could smell it. The overall taste reminded us of a flavoured water drink; it's not disgusting but simply not that amazing.
What was exceptionally annoying when drinking this Refresher were the loose seeds from the blackberries. We continually kept sucking them up through the straw and jamming them into our teeth.
What may possibly be more disappointing than the flavour and the seeds was the small serving. Over half the cup had been filled with ice. It felt like we were tricked. It was certainly cold and quenched our thirst but we think this amount of ice is excessive.
One thing this Refresher definitely did deliver on was its natural energy boost. We could feel the effects produced from the green coffee extract within a matter of minutes. That makes this drink an option that someone could purchase from a Starbucks for an afternoon pick-me-up if they disliked the taste of coffee severely.
Overall we think the Starbucks Very Berry Hibiscus Refreshers is one to avoid from the Starbucks drink menu. This is a case of not judging a beverage by its appearance.
