We Tried All The New Starbucks Blue Coconut Drinks

There’s something about sipping on something Smurf-colored that just screams “summer.” Whether it’s an Icee from the gas station, one of about 17 different varieties of bright blue Mountain Dew, or a Blue Razz original Four Loko (if you know, you know), it’s a drink color that feels sacrilegious to consume in the winter months. Perhaps Starbucks had this in mind when they unveiled a couple new drinks just in time for the unofficial start of summer. Instead of being made blue with some questionable food dyes, the ‘Bucks added blue spirulina to make the new drinks look extra refreshing. Plus, some proceeds will go straight to Water.org’s Get Blue project, so the drinks provide world relief on top of health benefits. I got my hands on both and I’m about to use my expert barista experience to lay out whether these bougie blue bevies are worth their weight in caffeine or if they’re all flash and no flavor.

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Blue Coconut Refresher

Pros: Let’s kick off the pros with the obvious: It sure is blue. Like, really blue. And I’m very into that. Maybe there’s something in our evolutionary biology that makes it exceptionally fun to sip on something neon colored. Starbucks managed to do it without the ickiness of artificial colors—a rare occurrence in the fast food world—to hit the nostalgia factor while still being health-conscious. The drink also isn’t too sweet. In fact, it’s sweet enough to be refreshing without bogging down the taste buds with sugar galore.

Cons: I simply cannot tell what flavors they were going for here. Apparently there’s strawberry and açaí, and coconut of course, then there’s also some lemonade in the mix. The blue spirulina (which tastes like seaweed) isn’t apparent in the flavor, thankfully. But still, I’m feeling like this drink is just too directionless to be a Starbucks win. Maybe they should have stuck with just coconut and left the berry out of the mix. Ultimately, the drink tastes like nondescript Juice™.

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Iced Blue Coconut Matcha

Pros: Like the refresher, the matcha version of the blue coconut drink is just the right amount of sweet. And, like any Starbucks matcha—one of my go-to drinks at the chain—it also has a nice tea-to-milk ratio. The fruity flavors give otherwise boring, earthy matcha a little oomph without being too potent. Unlike the refresher, I could actually tell what they were going for here, flavor wise.

Cons: I like the idea of a mango-coconut matcha more than the actual drink. I would have appreciated a more coconut water or coconut milk-esque taste. Starbucks’ coconutty syrup was pretty blatantly artificial. The mango could have also been a bit more potent to make the drink feel more beach-ready. As it stands, it’s more vaguely tropical.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks