Review: Starbucks' New Summer Drinks Look Better Than They Taste – Unless You Order Like This

For many of us, especially in the Northeast, summer has long felt like a distant dream. But after months of below freezing temperatures and seemingly endless blizzards, it finally feels within reach again. And with a new season comes a wave of seasonal menu launches from some of our favorite chains — including Starbucks.

Starbucks has officially launched its 2026 summer menu, featuring several brand-new items, including the Tropical Butterfly Refresher, Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher, Butterfly Drink, and the Horchata Frappuccino, as well as returning favorites like the Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso and Unicorn Cake Pop. The launch is an ambitious one, and is filled with arguably the prettiest drinks Starbucks has ever produced. But we all know looks can be deceiving, and unless you know what items to order, the bright, tropical colors and creamy coffee concoctions may lead you astray. Fortunately, I tried all the new beverages and have everything you need to know about Starbucks' 2026 summer menu drop.

To conduct my review, I ordered a Grande size of each beverage with no customizations. Since all of the new drinks are served cold, I tried each one at my local Starbucks location to prevent any watering down or melting. (No special ordering instructions were necessary for the Unicorn Cake Pop.)

Thanks to my status as Food Republic's go-to Starbucks reviewer (having tried everything from the chain's berry-filled February drink launch to its macro-friendly protein cold foam drinks and lattes), I came into my taste test prepared to conduct a thorough and honest review of the latest menu items. The most important factors I considered were flavor, presentation, and innovation. A menu item was most successful when it had a bold yet balanced flavor that matched its description, looked as good as it tasted, and added something new to Starbucks' current menu.

Starbucks' new summer menu launched on May 12, with beverages ranging in price from $5.95 to $6.45. The standard Tropical Butterfly Refresher and the Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso are the least expensive new drinks as both are priced at $5.95 for a Grande. The Horchata Frappuccino costs $6.25, while the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher and Butterfly Drink are the priciest additions of the lineup at $6.45 each. 

If you're hoping to spend less than $5 on a new menu item, the Unicorn Cake Pop is priced at $3.45. Of course, prices may vary by location, and all of the new items are available for a limited time while supplies last.

Starbucks' Summer 2026 menu is a bit lighter than some previous seasonal launches, with menu items ranging from 90 to 400 calories. The new menu offerings contain 22 to 63 grams of carbohydrates, 0 to 4 grams of protein, and 0 to 15 grams of fat. The Tropical Butterfly drinks are definitely the lightest options of the launch. The Tropical Butterfly Refresher contains 90 calories, with 22 grams of carbs, 0 grams of protein, and 0 grams of fat. The Butterfly Drink contains 120 calories, with 26 grams of carbs, 0 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat. Meanwhile, the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher contains 140 calories, with 33 grams of carbs, 0 grams of protein, and 0 grams of fat.

The Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso falls in the middle of pack nutrition-wise as it contains 150 calories, with 28 grams of carbs, 2 grams of protein, and 4.5 grams of fat. The Horchata Frappuccino is by far the most decadent drink of the bunch, with 400 calories, 63 grams of carbs, 4 grams of protein, and 15 grams of fat. As for the launch's sole food item — the Unicorn Cake Pop — it contains 170 calories, with 22 grams of carbs, 2 grams of protein, and 9 grams of fat.

I was most excited to try the Tropical Butterfly Refresher because of its fun combination of fruit flavors. Starbucks describes the beverage as "summer in a cup" thanks to its blend of guava and passionfruit flavors, mango-pineapple flavored pearls, and vibrant purple hue created by the addition of butterfly pea flower.

Visually, Starbucks really hit the nail on the head. The drink screams summer and is a 10/10 in terms of appearance (and honestly, even that rating seems too low for how stunning this color combo is). The beverage also excels in the innovation category. I've never seen a Starbucks drink with such a rich, royal purple color or one that featured this particular mix of tropical fruit flavors.

Unfortunately, the flavor itself didn't quite live up to the drink's striking appearance. I was especially looking forward to the passionfruit and guava notes in this drink, but both flavors tasted pretty mild. Passionfruit is typically such a strong, bold flavor (after all, it is the secret ingredient that can level up any dessert), so I was left wanting a bit more. Perhaps the drink could have benefited from additional guava or passionfruit inclusions, similar to the chain's Mango Dragonfruit and Strawberry Acaí refreshers. With that said, the mango-pineapple pearls were delicious. They were sweet and fruity with a fun popping texture. When drinking both elements together, the beverage was super fruity and subtly sweet. I just wish the actual drink itself packed a bit more tropical fruity flavor.

It's important to note that the Tropical Butterfly Refresher comes in various formats, and this one is essentially the standard Tropical Butterfly Refresher with the addition of lemonade. While the standard Tropical Butterfly Refresher and Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher may be visual twins (I can confirm this is not the same photo twice in a row), they taste surprisingly different.

In short, the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher was much more successful. The lemonade adds a tarter, fruitier element of the base drink that pairs especially well with the mango-pineapple pearls. This drink is brighter, more refreshing, and much more aligned with Starbucks' description of "summer in a cup" than the standard Refresher. It's definitely one that I am more likely to order again.

Like the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher, the Butterfly Drink was much more successful than the standard Tropical Butterfly Refresher. (I also kind of love the name. Doesn't "Butterfly Drink" kind of give the same energy as Pink Drink? Total 2016 vibes.) Appearance-wise, this drink is absolutely gorgeous. I loved that it had a lighter lilac color compared to the royal purple of the other versions of the drinks. And it excelled flavor-wise, too. To my surprise, this wound up being my favorite of the Butterfly beverages (and that's saying a lot considering I'm a huge lemonade fan).

The real game changer here was the coconut milk. Similar to how adding sweet cold foam to your Refresher gives it an extra sweet and creamy element to it, the coconut milk adds a subtle sweetness to this beverage that enhances the drink's fruity flavors. It's not the most refreshing of the bunch (which perhaps is obvious considering it doesn't have "Refresher" in the name), but it does feel like the most successful presentation of these tropical fruity flavors. (After all, what screams tropical more than pineapple and coconut?) If you're a fan of sweeter beverages but are still craving a refreshing fruity element, the Butterfly Drink may be exactly what you'll want to be sipping on this summer.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm a sweet coffee fan through and through. With that in mind, I typically avoid drinks like Starbucks' Shaken Espresso, which are often just a bit too strong for my palate. But the Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso is an espresso-forward drink that even a sweet coffee drinker like me can get behind.

Thanks to the horchata syrup — which combines cinnamon, vanilla, and rice flavors — and the use of Starbucks' smoother Blonde Espresso Roast (instead of its bolder Signature Espresso, which is featured in the chain's standard Iced Shaken Espresso), the drink feels surprisingly balanced. It boasts a subtle sweetness, a mild yet recognizable cinnamon flavor, and just enough espresso flavor to still give you that coffee flavor without being incredibly overpowering. It's safe to say it had me re-considering my entire anti-Shaken Espresso stance.

Last but certainly not least is the Horchata Frappuccino, which (to my surprise) ended up being my favorite drink of the entire launch. It was rich, almost dessert-like, and absolutely delicious. While I was disappointed that my drink didn't include the cinnamon topping promised on Starbucks' website, the beverage itself more than delivered. Sure, it isn't that stunning bright purple like some others on this list, but in terms of flavor and overall execution, this menu item felt most aligned with the description Starbucks provided.

The drink perfectly balanced the horchata and coffee flavors, creating something that felt sweet and indulgent without completely overpowering the espresso. If you aren't familiar with horchata, I'd describe the flavor profile as somewhat similar to gingerbread thanks to the warm cinnamon and vanilla notes. ("Christmas in July," anyone?) Starbucks does a great job of translating the flavors of the classic Mexican beverage into Frappuccino form, and the warmer notes make for a unique addition to the chain's current Frappuccino lineup. If you're hoping to try the horchata flavor in frappe-format but aren't a huge fan of coffee, Starbucks also offers it as a Créme Frappuccino (meaning it comes without coffee altogether).

The Unicorn Cake Pop is pretty much a unicorn-ified version of the Birthday Cake Pop we already know and love. It features the same sweet creamy vanilla cake with the fun addition of rainbow confetti sprinkles inside. Appearance-wise, Starbucks gets an A+ here. This cake pop is undeniably cute and totally Instagram-worthy.

With that said, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of sprinkles on the inside. I was expecting a full-on explosion of rainbow sprinkles inside, but I only spotted two: one blue and one red (yes, I counted). Still, the design is so adorable that if I'm craving a Birthday Cake Pop, I can definitely see myself reaching for this version instead.

Starbucks' 2026 summer certainly packs a punch — just not in the places I expected it to. While the Tropical Butterfly beverages are undeniably the visual stars of the launch (and the oh-so-adorable Unicorn Cake Pop definitely deserves an honorable mention), the horchata-inspired beverages are where the flavors truly shine. Both the Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso and Horchata Frappuccino struck a great balance between rich and refreshing and ultimately felt the most aligned with the flavor descriptions Starbucks provided. The brand-new Horchata Frappuccino, in particular, was one of the biggest surprises of the day as it ended up becoming my favorite drink of the entire launch.

As for the Tropical Butterfly lineup, these are easily some of the prettiest drinks Starbucks has released in years, and maybe ever — I mean, who knew purple and orange could look this good? But the beverage could easily leave you disappointed in the flavor department if you don't know what you're ordering. 

If you're looking for a sweet and creamy fruit flavor, opt for the Butterfly Drink. If you're looking for something more vibrant, refreshing, and tart, opt for the Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher. As for the standard Tropical Butterfly Refresher? Well, that's a different story. Let's just say you'll probably want the addition of either lemonade or coconut milk if you're truly looking for the "summer in a cup" Starbucks promises.