I Finally Tried the Starbucks Strawberry Açaí Concentrate at Home, and I Like It Better Than the Real Thing

I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker; there’s something about the taste that I just can’t get behind. My alternative when I go to the coffee shop is usually something fruity, and at Starbucks I get the Strawberry Açaí Refresher. The sweet strawberry mixed with the passionfruit and açaí yields the perfect sip for any day. 

So when Starbucks announced the arrival of a concentrate to make Refreshers at home, I was seriously so excited. The 32-ounce concentrate was released to grocery stores in December 2025, but it quickly sold out near me. Well, I finally got my hands on it — and, let me just say, it is amazing.

The concentrate mix is considered the “base” in the açaí drink — the pink part of the drink. Starbucks describes it as a mix of sweet, tart, and berry notes. The concentrate has 40 milligrams of caffeine per 6-ounce serving that comes from green coffee extract, and it contains 18% real fruit juice, according to the description of the drink on the Target website. 

Starbucks recommends making a Refresher at home using 6 ounces of the concentrate mixed with 6 ounces of water or your favorite mixer like lemonade or even coconut milk — my go-to is water. The 32-ounce bottle makes about five drinks. It’s shelf-stable before you open it, but once you crack the seal you need to store it in the refrigerator.  

A bottle of this concentrate is hard to come across. It took me until the middle of January to finally find it back in stock. It’s mostly sold out at my local Target, but I was able to find it at Walmart as well as Mariano’s for just under $10 per bottle. 

I was excited to try the at-home version of a Starbucks drink I love, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to taste the same (or be worth the months-long search for the bottle). But I knew I had to try it — and I was pleasantly surprised once I finally did. The mix tastes just like the Starbucks drink, plus I can make it in the comfort of my home and save some money. A Strawberry Açaí Refresher at Starbucks costs around $5, while each $10 bottle of the concentrate makes around five drinks, which comes out to just $2 per glass.  

When I mix the concentrate with water and take a sip, I immediately get a sweet, candy-like berry taste, similar to the one that Starbucks makes. I actually find it even tastier because I’m able to put more of the concentrate in my drink to really enhance the strength of the flavor. I’ve only ever used water as the mixer, but for a tangier taste you could try lemonade, or coconut milk for a creamy at-home Pink Drink. I wouldn’t necessarily say I feel super energized after drinking it, as the caffeine amount is pretty minimal, but the sweet, refreshing zing makes up for it!

Sometimes I find myself looking for a little pick-me-up after class, and now making myself an at-home Strawberry Açaí Refresher does just the trick.