How to Make Strawberry Acai Refresher (Starbucks Copycat) (2024)

Skip the line and save some money by making your own Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refresher at home! With its light, refreshing flavors this easy strawberry drink is a great way to stay cool this summer. Even better, it’s easy to make and tastes even better than the original.

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Strawberries and acai are made for each other! The earthy, bitter, and dark chocolate notes of the acai pair with the sweet strawberry flavors creating something truly special.

This refreshing drink is inspired by one of my favorite Starbucks drinks but uses fresh fruit rather than mixes and powders for a healthier option.

Love strawberries? Try this strawberry limeade or use them in a summery berry salad! If you’ve got lots of strawberries around consider making a strawberry chia jam to make them last longer.

If you’re a fan of Starbucks copycat recipes you can make at home, try my copycat dragon drink and my matcha pineapple drink!

🥘 Ingredients You Need

All you need are a few simple ingredients from your local grocery store to make this drink.

There are two parts to this easy drink recipe. It starts first with making the strawberry acai syrup which you then mix up with everything else to make the drink. Let’s look at the main ingredients.

Strawberry Acai Syrup Ingredients

• Strawberries: You can use frozen or fresh strawberries. I’ve made this recipe several times with both types of strawberries with good results. However, unless strawberries are in season and quite flavorful and sweet, frozen strawberries actually work best.

• Acai pulp: Acai berries have a unique deep berry flavor that’s a bit smoky and bitter. Most commonly acai is found as a frozen puree or as a powder. I find for this drink, the puree works the best as the acai powder can remain a bit grainy. Look for acai pulp in the freezer section with other frozen fruits at your grocery store or local health market.

• Sugar: I prefer using organic sugar since it’s less processed and vegan. I haven’t tested this recipe with alternative sweeteners such as monk fruit, coconut sugar, or syrups so be cautious making these substitutions unless you are familiar with how their sweetness compares to sugar.

Copycat Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refresher Ingredients

Once you’ve got the syrup made you’re ready to make your refresher!

• Strawberry acai syrup: You will be using the syrup made from the previous ingredients to make each drink.

• Strawberries: I am using fresh strawberries rather than dried ones. Starbucks uses freeze-dried strawberries to float in the drink. You can use either depending on what’s available to you. I find they are more for a garnish rather than adding any additional flavor.

• Unsweetened green tea: Starbucks uses green coffee extract but I am replacing it with green tea instead. It’s more easily available, less expensive, and provides a similar flavor to the drink.

  I tested this with green coffee powder and it simply didn’t work well for me. But if you prefer to use the powder swap the green tea for one teaspoon of the green coffee powder and add additional water when mixing the drink. You can use a storebought green tea or make your own using green tea bags.

• White grape juice: Provides the fruity base for this strawberry drink. You can also use apple juice.

• Passion fruit puree: Use fresh or frozen passion puree. If using fresh, puree the pulp of the fruit and then strain well before mixing it into the drink mixture.

🔀 Variations

• Caffeine-free drink: Replace the green tea with cold water.
• Strawberry lemonade refresher: Swap the green tea with lemonade.
• Pink drink: Swap the green tea for coconut milk. If you like it creamier, use canned coconut milk rather than coconut milk beverage.
• Swap the strawberries: Use mixed berries, blueberries, or raspberries instead.

🔪 How to Make a Strawberry Acai Refresher

Here’s a brief overview of how to make your own Starbucks Copycat Refresher!

Step 1: Make the Syrup

1. Combine the strawberries, acai pulp, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the strawberries are very soft. Stir it frequently and mash the strawberries as they soften to release their juice.
2. Let the syrup cool slightly and then strain the acai strawberry puree using a fine mesh sieve to remove any fruit solids and seeds.

PRO TIP: If you are using frozen strawberries there’s no need to thaw them out but they may require a longer cooking time than fresh strawberries.

See Also

Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe (Starbucks Copycat Recipe)Ultimate Homemade Strawberry Acai Refresher (Starbucks Copycat)How to make Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refreshers at HomeStrawberry Acai Refresher {Starbucks Copycat} - We are not Martha

Step 2: Mix Up A Drink

3. Pour the strawberry acai base, green tea, grape juice, passion fruit juice, and water into a co*cktail shaker glass with some ice.
4. Shake it well and then serve up over ice in a glass with strawberry slices.

How to Store

Store the strawberry acai refresher base (syrup) in the refrigerator for up to seven days. The recipe makes about one cup of syrup which will make about 8 drinks. If you can’t use it all up within a week you can also freeze it to use later on.

Freezer Storage: Freeze the acai strawberry syrup in an ice cube tray in one tablespoon or two tablespoons measurements. Once frozen transfer the cubes to a freezer bag or container and store them in the freezer for up to three months. This method makes it easy to pull out just enough to make a single drink at a time.

After mixing up together all the ingredients to make an acai and strawberry drink you can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to three days.

💭 Expert Tips

• Use frozen strawberries when strawberries aren’t in season since they may not be as flavorful.
• Serve up your strawberry acai drink cold or over ice cubes for the best flavor on a hot summer day.

❓FAQs

More Fruity Drinks You’ll Love

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📖 Recipe

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