Last week, corporate coffee house giant Starbucks stuck its new non-coffee coffee drink, the "Refresher," on menu boards across the nation. The drink is meant to be a refreshing alternative to coffee for the warm summer months -- but we have to ask, isn't that what iced tea is for?
The Refresher comes in two flavors -- Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus, The drinks are made with real fruit, fruit juice, B vitamins, ginseng and -- drum roll please -- "the extract of green, unroasted coffee beans for a little of caffeine, without the coffee taste."
Interesting. Green coffee extract, you say?
My curiosity got the best of me this morning and I ditched my usually trenta iced green tea for one of these concoctions.
After talking with the girl at the register, I decided to try the berry hibiscus. Not because I have anything against lime (register girl actually liked the lime better), but because the berry had such a vibrant color and truth be told, I"m a bit superficial and wanted the pretty one, damn it.
So how did it taste?
It's different, that's for sure. It's reminiscent of Starbucks' own Tazo Passion tea -- but with chunks. Lots of chunks. And chunks in my drink is something I cannot handle. But other then the retched chunks of who-knows-what floating about (it kinda looks like something died in there and don't even get me started on the foam that never went away), it tasted like berry iced tea. Very sweet berry iced tea.
Who knows, maybe these things will be the next frappuccino (highly unlikely) but it sure wasn't my cup of tea, er, coffee.
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