Refreshers

Starbucks is now selling Refreshers in a can in grocery stores

by Melody on March 15, 2012

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It’s been a long time coming, but the Starbucks Refreshers in a can are now hitting grocery stores everywhere in the United States.  Just as a short recap, Starbucks tested a fresh version of Refreshers in stores in Arizona and California.  The barista-made versions of Refreshers came in two flavors:  Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime.  I still prefer the barista-made in-store versions  a little more than the canned versions, but the canned versions are absolutely delicious too.  I mean that!  They really are very refreshing!

The grocery store version comes in three flavors:  Strawberry Lemonade, Orange Melon, and Raspberry Pomegranate.  Starbucks has an official website for the national launch of these, and you can download a coupon from the website too:

When I first heard that Refreshers had been spotted in Seattle, I was pretty giddy.  It feels like I have been waiting for a long time for this to happen. Last July, I wrote about canned Refreshers in Arizona in this blog post here.  One thing that is interesting about that blog post is that you can compare how the design of the Refreshers can has changed.  From what I can tell, the product has not changed, just the design of the can.  It is still a bubbly energy drink that tastes like a cross between a tea and a juice.  However, the extremely unique thing about the Refreshers is that it is made with a green coffee extract.  So at least technically, it is a ‘coffee’ beverage; however, there is absolutely zero coffee flavor in these beverages.

Here in Seattle, I’ve only found the Refreshers in a limited number of Safeway stores.  By the way, I do not think these drinks are intuitively placed in the stores.  They’re hard to find!  Both times I looked for them, I first went straight to the aisle with lots of bottled and can beverages.  This is not where I’ve found them.  They were placed in the deli area of Safeway, on a separate display.  Also, I noticed that there is only a warm display of them, and apparently no way to buy a cold can in the store.  I definitely recommend that you look for these, though I am giving the heads up that they might be a little difficult to find.  Last but not least, I think the price of each can is a bit steep.  Safeway has them for $2.39 each, and there does not appear to be any four-pack price.  Just in case you have an Albertson’s near you, one partner told me that she found Refreshers at her neighborhood Albertson’s.

They are delicious!  My favorite is the Raspberry Pomegranate, but the Orange Melon is a close second.  What do you think of them?  Have you tried them?

 

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Starbucks Refreshers

by Melody on September 1, 2011

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This is another episode about Refreshers.  I still love them.  I still want them to launch nationally.  Just as a reminder, Refreshers are the delicious light drink that tastes a bit like a tea or a juice, but actually has green, unroasted coffee in them.  The two flavors are Very Berry Hibiscus, and Cool Lime.  There have been several rounds of Refreshers testing, and as I write this, they’re available only in limited areas of California (from San Diego up to about Stockton), and stores in Arizona, for a grand total of about 2000 stores.

I was just in California at the end of August, and had the chance to try them again.  In fact, I constantly ordered them.  Many of the stores I visited were sold out of the Berry flavor, which seems to have been the more popular flavor.   This Starbucks beverage  innovation is solidly two thumbs up.

Some readers may remember that one year ago I went to San Diego to try the Refreshers, which were a San Diego-only test item at that time:

Melody tries Refreshers

I’m not going to repeat that blog article here, rather I’ll just share a few Refreshers-related photos from this trip.  Maybe you’ll be enticed by them too!

^ That in-store signage was in many stores, and I even saw it at the airport Starbucks as I was leaving California.  That particular photo is from Starbucks store #5704 on Tustin Avenue, in Orange.

And at one point I got  a Trenta Very Berry Hibiscus just because I could:

 

It was really difficult to get a good photo of the menu boards listing the Refreshers.  Many menu board have lights shining on them that create a distracting glare.  Here’s one photo that seemed to come out pretty readable (and for the record, I took this picture at a store in Anaheim).

Here are two more photos of the actual drink.  This cool lime photo was taken at store #5704, and the very berry hibiscus was taken at a store in Anaheim (store 6561).

 

What do you think? Have you tried them?  Which is your favorite?  Most test products never launch nationally, but this one just might really make it.

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Raspberry Pomegranate Refreshers by Starbucks = Delicious.

by Melody on August 2, 2011

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It’s time for another look at Starbucks Refreshers.  Next up:  Raspberry Pomegranate flavor.  Let me say, that without a shadow of a doubt, I am a complete fan of Refreshers.  They are indeed genuinely Refreshing.  Starbucks has experimented with a number of flavors and varieties of this product, so if you want to look at previous article on the Refreshers click here:

Previous StarbucksMelody.com articles on Refreshers

Since the current Refreshers are being tested in Arizona, I don’t have a chance to try them over and over again (I live in Seattle).  There are several canned flavors, and I received a can of Raspberry Pomegranate in the mail.  As I expected, this drink doesn’t disappoint.  I made a little video of me trying this drink.  Please be aware that this was a one take video.  Here it is:

 

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Starbucks Refreshers in a can – an early peek at the Strawberry Lemonade flavor

by Melody on July 8, 2011

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Starbucks is testing Refreshers in a can!  You may recall that I have written about Refreshers twice before on this blog:

Refreshers – Very Berry and Cool Lime flavors being tested in San Diego

Refreshers – Strawberry Citrus and Orange Mango flavors being tested in Washington State.

I really like the Refreshers.  So far, my favorite has been the Cool Lime version that was tested in San Diego in July and August of 2010.  The hallmark of the Refreshers lineup of beverages is that they include an unroasted green coffee in them.  The flavor, in my humble opinion, is a little heavier than a tea but not quite a juice-type flavor. They’re light and refreshing.

It’s clear that Starbucks wants to do something wonderful with this innovation.  I’ve heard that these beverages were also briefly tested in a small area of Chicago too, but I never had enough information to turn that into a blog post.

The new round of testing begins soon, and so here’s the early look:  Arizona will be receiving a CPG version of the drink.  (CPG stands for “consumer packaged goods” and it includes beverages that are ready to drink, and could be sold in a grocery store or in the refrigerated case at a Starbucks.  The bottled Frappuccinos and canned Double Shot beverages are examples of CPG products.)  I think that only Arizona gets the canned versions.

There are three flavors scheduled to be released as canned Refreshers, however I only have the photos of the Strawberry Lemonade.  The scheduled flavors are as follows:

  1. Strawberry Lemonade
  2. Orange Melon
  3. Raspberry Pomegranate

A close look at the can makes it look like the CPG version of Refreshers is a flavor similar to a version I tried in Washington: Strawberry Citrus.  The Strawberry Citrus drink that I tried previously did indeed have some lemonade-like flavor to it too, so it does sound like a similar drink to this canned “Strawberry Lemonade” Refresher.

I don’t have any review of the Strawberry Lemonade canned product yet;  I only have these photos but I wanted to share them.

This won’t be the last time that I write about Refreshers.  I have heard that starting on July 12, 2011, the Cool Lime flavor of Refreshers will be launching in Southern California.  I am very excited about this.  I might fly down and try the Cool Lime Refresher again.  My final thought:  I really hope the Refreshers do launch nationwide!  I’d like to see the Very Berry and Cool Lime launch! Delicious!

The pictures below come from a trusted source, so I wanted to share what the can looks like.  As I mentioned above, for sure I will be writing about Refreshers at some point again in this blog.

Please weigh in!  Have you tried these?

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NEW Starbucks Refreshers test beverages with unroasted green coffee: Strawberry Citrus and Orange Melon

November 9, 2010
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Some of my readers might remember that at the end of September, I wrote about Starbucks testing “Refreshers” beverages in San Diego, California.  These drinks use an extract of un-roasted coffee and produce a beverage that isn’t quite like a juice, but isn’t quite like a tea either.  They definitely do not taste like coffee.  [...]

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Melody tries the Starbucks “Refreshers” test drinks in San Diego

September 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Melody tries the Starbucks “Refreshers” test drinks in San Diego

Starbucks has been testing beverages called “Refreshers” in San Diego.  It was a widely-publicized test, so I had been aware of it long before discussing it with others on social media sites.  Through connecting with people on the blog and through twitter, a store manager in San Diego said, “Come to my store and try [...]

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