• by Tanya Gazdik , April 16, 2024

Starbucks is aiming to spice things up this summer with new drink selections. 

The chain is offering three “Spicy Lemonade Refresher” flavors — dragon fruit, pineapple and strawberry.  The heat is legit — it comes from a spicy chili powder blend. 

“The Spicy Dragon Fruit Lemonade Refresher also incorporates mango and dragon fruit flavors and dragon fruit pieces; the Spicy Pineapple Lemonade Refresher has pineapple and passion fruit flavors and pineapple pieces; and the Spicy Strawberry Lemonade Refresher combines strawberry and acai flavors and strawberry pieces,” according to People magazine. 

Other coffee drinks can be taken up a notch with spicy cream cold foam. All drinks, not just the lemonade, are part of a buy-one-get-one-free promotion on Thursday. 

The new refreshers and cold foam flavor will be available for a “very limited time” this spring only while supplies last, according to Starbucks, 

USA Today calls the new drinks “swicy,” a combination of sweet and spicy, also known as "sweet heat." 

“The craving has kicked up a notch in recent years, with more ‘swicy’ products emerging, especially from the condiment and drink categories,” according toUSA Today. “‘Swicy’ items on menus were up 38% in 2023, according to market research firm Datassential.”

This offering follow another group of new items on the chain’s springtime menu, including lots of lavender.

“Customers have been split on their opinions of the lavender drinks, which were first announced in March," according to Today.com. “Some Today.com staffers tried the drinks when they dropped, calling them ‘very subtle’ and not too sweet. But Today’s Dylan Dreyer said they tasted ‘like a jar of perfume’ when she tried them on-air."

The new offerings are “a 180-turn from the flowery drinks it introduced earlier in the month for spring,” according to TheTakeout.com, which tested the new flavors and proclaimed the Spicy Pineapple to be the best option. 

“At first glance, the chili powder blend can be seen resting at the bottom of the cup," per TheTakeout.com. "Getting an even distribution of lemonade, fruit base, and chili powder takes some shaking around. Once that’s done, the pineapple scent completely masks the spice aspect, so it’s sort of like going in blind to the experience. I’m not one for overly spicy foods or drinks, but the pineapple flavor helps offset the twinge of the chili powder as it hits the back of the throat. Spicy Pineapple serves up the exact balance of sweet and spicy that Starbucks describes.”