McDonald’s McCafe Is Launching Dirty Sodas and Refreshers in May

The Golden Arches are stepping into the future with a brand new slate of handcrafted beverages. Starting on May 6th, the McDonald’s McCafe menu adds six new specialty drinks intended to elevate your lunchtime pit stop (or replace your afternoon coffee-chain run). I was lucky enough to visit McDonald’s Headquarters in Chicago earlier this month to sample all six drinks; stay tuned to Sporked for my reviews.

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What are the six new specialty McCafe drinks?

These new refreshers and dirty sodas span a wide range of flavor profiles and formats, so there’s something for everyone. All three refreshers can be made with water or lemonade, depending on your preference. Regardless of which base you choose, all three refreshers also contain about 65 milligrams of caffeine–less than the smallest Red Bull, but nothing to scoff at either.

• Strawberry Watermelon Refresher: This classic fruit combination is topped with freeze-dried strawberry slices. This strawberry-watermelon drink balances the two sides better than most I’ve had before.
• Mango Pineapple Refresher: This tropical option includes a first for the McDonald’s McCafe menu: Popping Boba. These smaller-than-average strawberry bubbles shoot up the straw at an impressive velocity, helping to sweeten the lightly acidic pineapple tartness of the drink itself.
• Blackberry Passion Fruit Refresher: The last of our three new refreshers leans dark, semi-sweet, and rich. This drink’s secret ingredient is freeze-dried dragon fruit pieces, adding great texture and authentic fruit flavor.
• Sprite Berry Blast: While a bright-blue Sprite variant isn’t unheard of in the fast-food game, this McDonald’s McCafe entry takes it up a notch with vibrant blue raspberry syrup and a sweet cold foam that “unspices” the chain’s classic spicy Sprite.
• Orange Dream: The only non-carbonated dirty soda in this new lineup combines Hi-C Orange Lavaburst with a smidge of vanilla and a top layer of sweet cold foam. Finally, I can sip a Creamsicle with my McNuggets.
• Dirty Dr Pepper: Lastly, the most famous dirty soda concept that may have kicked off the whole trend will hit the McDonald’s McCafe menu. The 23 flavors of Dr Pepper, vanilla, and a sweet cold foam topping come together for something my pal Reach liked so much, he dipped fries into it.

How did McDonald’s come up with these wildly specific drinks?

These new McDonald’s McCafe offerings are hitting the market after multiple extensive market tests. These drinks started as menu items at CosMc’s, a spinoff chain focused on beverages intended to compete in the specialty coffee space. After less than two years in operation, McDonald’s closed all five CosMc’s locations in 2025. McDonald’s then began testing select CosMc’s innovations (including three of the drinks we’ll see nationwide in May) at locations across Wisconsin and Colorado last year. Following that successful test run, McDonald’s is now ready to roll out this beverage revolution to all domestic locations.

These CosMc’s menu items joining the McDonald’s McCafe menu may be a full-circle moment, since McCafe also started as a spinoff chain designed to compete with Starbucks. All the way back in 2001, McDonald’s launched their first domestic McCafe location in downtown Chicago. While the standalone coffee shop didn’t last long, the McCafe branding and menu offerings were later incorporated into McDonald’s standard menu nationwide. The fate of CosMc’s was in plain view the whole time for those with the gift of hindsight…