The Best Starbucks Refresher Beats Out Tried-And-True Classics

In addition to coffee and tea, Starbucks sells many other beverages – refreshers constitute one such major addition (though, yes, they technically contain green coffee). All come fruity and chilled, made with either a lemonade, coconut milk, or alternative fruit juice base. They can be customized into an extra-caffeinated form (which makes them an energy refresher) or kept with a moderate dose, as well as no caffeine at all. Available in over a dozen base options, the refresher selection is wide-ranging.

To see which flavors delivered and which disappointed, our own Food Republic reviewer tried and ranked 12 Starbucks refreshers. Many of the thirst-quenchers hit the spot; even lower-ranked entries appealed to our reviewer. Even so, one offering stood out especially strong among the rest, beating out an array of tried-and-true classics: the Cannon Ball Drink.

This refresher starts with a lemonade base, then is mixed with a two-fold punch of strawberry-açaí and mango-dragonfruit refreshers, all before a finish of both dragonfruit and strawberry fruit inclusions graces the top. It's a lot of flavors in one go — but impressively — our reviewer found that the ingredients came together tremendously. They loved the drink's fruity, tart, and tropical notes, describing it as an "explosion of fruity flavor." The positive sentiment is echoed online: "It was a good blend of sweet and sour[,] and it's really pretty!" cited a Facebook user. "I'll be drinking this all summer long," added a TikTok user. So if you're looking for a refresher bursting with flavor, try out this boldly named option.

Refreshers are now some of the best Starbucks drinks you can order; the Cannon Ball is the newest addition to the selection. The drink debuted as a limited release in January 2026 to promote the second season of MrBeast's "Beast Games: Strong v. Smart." Yet although the show's finale aired on the 25th of the next month — as of September 2026 — the Cannon Ball drink hasn't disappeared since.

In fact, Starbucks doubled down on the concept, releasing the Pink Cannon Ball on March 3, 2026, as well as promoting a cold foam-topped Cannon Ball. The two beverages reinterpret the fruity refresher with a creamy twist. The former swaps the lemonade base for coconut milk – a contentious composition one Food Republic reviewer described as a belly flop, although the drink was assessed more favorably in the ranking.

Meanwhile, the other version — a so-called secret menu item — consists of a grande Cannon Ball, topped with a vanilla sweet cream cold foam. Generally, this drink draws a positive reception, although customers report interactions between foam and lemonade: "The base is lemonade[,] so the cold foam is gonna curdle," claimed a Reddit user. So for a more consistently well-regarded refresher option, stick to the classic Cannon Ball. Starbucks can be cryptic regarding limited release schedules– for now, this refresher is listed alongside the rest.