Pink Drink (starbucks) Recipe
Make the Pink Drink (starbucks) Recipe: a creamy, fruity iced beverage you can mix and serve in minutes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) just-boiled water at about 200°F (93°C), for steeping tea
- 1 green tea bag (or 1 teaspoon / 2 g loose green tea), for a light caffeine base
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) cold water, filtered if possible
- 1 cup (240 ml) white grape juice, chilled if possible
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) finely crushed freeze-dried strawberry slices or strawberry powder
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) açaí powder (unsweetened)
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) pure vanilla extract, at room temperature (optional, for depth of flavor)
- 2 cups (480 ml) unsweetened coconut milk beverage, well chilled (carton style, shaken; not canned coconut milk)
- 2 cups (about 260 g) ice cubes
- 1/4 cup (about 4 g) freeze-dried strawberry slices, lightly crushed by hand
- 2 medium fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Step 1: Steep and cool the green tea
Warm, friendly start — bring water to just off-boil and steep a single green tea bag (or 2 g loose leaf in an infuser) in a heatproof measuring cup. After a precise 3-minute steep, lift and discard the bag so the liquid reads a light golden, delicate and translucent rather than bitter. Immediately add the measured cold water to briskly bring the temperature down to lukewarm; the cup now holds a clear, warm-gold tea base ready to meet fruit.
Step 2: Build and whisk the strawberry açaí base
In the same heatproof measuring cup or a single medium glass mixing vessel, add the chilled white grape juice, granulated sugar, finely crushed freeze-dried strawberry, açaí powder and the optional vanilla to the lukewarm tea. Use a whisk to vigorously dissolve the sugar and evenly suspend the strawberry and açaí particles — whisk until the liquid becomes uniform, slightly viscous from dissolved sugar, and a soft, dusty-pink hue with tiny suspended flecks of freeze-dried fruit. The whisk should show fine pink specks and light surface froth as evidence of thorough emulsification.
Step 3: Chill the base and prepare the coconut milk
Cover the uniform strawberry açaí base and refrigerate until very cold and slightly dewy on the outside (35–40°F/2–4°C). While chilling, retrieve the carton-style unsweetened coconut milk from the fridge and shake or stir until perfectly homogenous and silky — no separated watery layer. The chilled base should look smooth, opaque pale berry-pink, and the coconut milk a cool, creamy white ready to create the signature gradient.
Step 4: Ready the glasses with ice and freeze-dried fruit
Just before assembly, set out two clear 16-ounce serving glasses on the marble. Fill each about two-thirds full with large ice cubes so the ice bed rises close to the rim. Scatter the lightly crushed freeze-dried strawberry slices into and atop the ice so they begin to rehydrate and color the immediate area with concentrated ruby fragments. The glasses should read cold and crystalline, the freeze-dried shards fragile and powdery against the hard, glossy cubes.
Step 5: Assemble, swirl, and garnish — serve very cold
Divide the chilled strawberry açaí base between the two glasses, pouring gently over the ice and fragiles so the pink base pools in the crevices. Slowly and deliberately pour the chilled coconut milk on top of each glass to create a soft ribbon of creamy white that threads and swirls into the pink base; then stir gently from the bottom up 3–4 times until the drink achieves an even, opaque pale pink. Finish by floating a few thin fresh strawberry slices on the surface and, if desired, slipping a clear straw in. Serve immediately while very cold.
Notes
- Use carton-style unsweetened coconut milk, not canned, for the right texture.
- Chill both the strawberry açaí base and the coconut milk thoroughly before assembly.
- Use finely crushed freeze-dried strawberries for concentrated flavor and color.
- Do not oversteep the green tea to avoid bitterness; stick to 3 minutes.
- Assemble just before serving for the best gradient and freshest texture.