Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade (Starbucks Copycat)

This Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade is so refreshing and fruity yet without the truck loads of sugar you’re used to in the original Starbucks refresher. But fear not, I’ve created a copycat recipe that is not only refined sugar free, it is also low carb and super easy to make with ingredients that are easy to source!

Table of Contents

• What’s in Starbucks Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher?
• Why you’ll love this recipe
• Are Starbucks Refreshers healthy?
• The ingredients
• How to make a copycat mango dragonfruit refresher
• Faqs
• Variations
• Storage
• More refreshing drinks to try:

Let’s find out why there was a need for a healthier mango dragonfruit lemonade. For that, we will need to investigate what exactly is in a Starbucks version.

What’s in Starbucks Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher?

Well, besides all that sugar (6 teaspoons for a 12 ounce serving) it also has natural flavors. These “natural” flavors are not natural at all. To be deemed natural by the FDA, natural flavors do need to be extracted from plant or animal sources but can contain chemical additives and are actually highly processed. In fact, sometimes, natural flavors can also contain more chemicals than artificial flavors.

Please note in the ingredient list what it does not include: MANGO! Isn’t that crazy? I wonder why they would call it mango when it doesn’t have any mango? A marketing ploy maybe? Or perhaps the natural flavor is from an actual mango?

Why you’ll love this recipe

It’s healthier No refined sugar and no controversial ingredients.

It has minimal, easy to find ingredients Just four real food ingredients that are easy to find. If you live in the United States, Ahmed Tea and Good & Gather is available at most grocery stores as well as online. As is frozen dragonfruit.

it’s low carb/keto friendly Thanks to the monk fruit.

It’s cheaper While I didn’t crunch the exact numbers, I do know that a tall dragonfruit refresher costs close to $5 at Starbucks. We need the tea bags which cost $4-$5 for a pack of 20 teabags. The only other cost is for the frozen dragonfruit which is another $5. However, the bag can give us many dragonfruit drinks.

Are Starbucks Refreshers healthy?

So this begs the question, are Starbucks refreshers healthy? In my opinion, no, they are not.

The ingredients

Mango flavored tea bag Other copycat recipes on the internet have mango nectar and other high carb ingredients but since we are keeping it low carb, I found mango flavored tea bags and have tried both black and green tea with great results. The caffeine is minimum in both.

A word of caution:

Don’t steep the black tea bag for too long as it makes the drink bitter and strong. A quick 30 second steep is perfect.

Water To brew the tea.

Lemon juice I juiced 1 big lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Sweetener To keep it low carb, I used monk fruit.

Dragonfruit Available frozen in chunks. This will give the beautiful magenta hue signature of the Starbucks Dragonfruit drinks.

How to make a copycat mango dragonfruit refresher

You’re going to start by brewing the tea and letting that cool. Meanwhile juice the lemon and add the sweetener and stir to dissolve it completely. Mix the cooled tea and lemonade together and stir to combine. finally add to a glass filled with ice. Top with the dragonfruit chunks.

Faqs

Variations

If dragonfruit is hard to find where you live, you can use any other frozen berry e.g. blueberries, raspberries or black berries. Since they can impart a similar color into the drink. The taste will change slightly but not by much as dragonfruit is pretty neutral tasting.

If you need to add additional color, consider beetroot powder. I have yet to try this but have a feeling it will work out well.

Storage

This drink is best enjoyed immediately but you can make the lemonade tea mixture ahead of time and then garnish with the dragonfruit just before serving.

More refreshing drinks to try:

Mint Lemonade

Watermelon Juice

Pineapple Cucumber Smoothie