Dunkin's New At-Home Powdered Drink Mixes — The Good, The Bad, And The One That Tastes Like Cough Syrup

Refreshers appear to be all the rage. Just sit outside some of the bigger coffee chains and watch the parade of colorful beverages exiting the doors. Dunkin' has been offering a line of Refreshers on its menu for some time. I can tell you first hand that they are super popular with the tweens and teens. If you walk around anywhere teenagers congregate, you will witness a sea of Refreshers in their hands and their cell phones in the other, taking selfies for SnapChat while they all sip different variations. The fruit forward beverages have made a mark, and also offer non-coffee options to those who aren't into a cup of Joe from their favorite coffee chain. 

Clearly, Refreshers are having a moment, and Dunkin' just made them even cooler (pun intended). Starting May 12, you can have a Dunkin' Refresher literally any time, anywhere. That's right: Dunkin' just took four Refreshers and made them an on-the-go sensation. The Refreshers come in individually portioned portable drink sticks you can easily throw in your purse or pocket and add to a bottle of water whenever you please. 

With flavors like Strawberry Dragonfruit Lemonade, Mango Pineapple, Kiwi Watermelon, and Peach Passion Fruit Lemonade, Dunkin' is starting a Refresher revolution with its new zero sugar drink mix sticks just in time for summer. If you load your beach bag with Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mix Sticks, you'll have crisp, cool, caffeinated beverages on demand.

You can spot a drink made with dragonfruit from a mile away. The beautiful signature shade of magenta is unmistakable and hard to ignore. This particular type of Refresher is extra-popular in my home. I am pretty certain that I have easily spent at least 20% of my income on dragonfruit-flavored Refreshers between my two daughters just in the past. I get the draw, because they do always look pretty and tasty. The first sip of the new Dunkin' Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher was so incredibly sweet that I involuntarily winced a little when it hit my tongue.

I know there are many people who love the sugar high that comes with a fruit forward Refresher. However, I am not one of them, and the dragonfruit flavor from Dunkin' is impossibly sweet. I can taste the dragonfruit, but it's so dominant in the beverage that I don't really taste any of the other flavors. There's also a pinch of tartness as the sip goes down which I'm guessing is from the lemonade. Overall, it's much stronger in flavor and the sweetness is a lot. 

I realize there are people who prefer not to get their caffeine from coffee. Those are the folks who may well love Dunkin's Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher — and if you appreciate an extremely sweet fruity pick-me-up, you'll probably be a repeat customer. For me, it's a no.

Given how sugary the first Refresher tasted, I assumed they would all be sweet traps. I was pleasantly surprised that the Dunkin' Mango Pineapple Refreshers Drink Mix was not overpowering. The color of the icy mango pineapple drink is a subtle hue of orange. I braced myself for the inaugural sip, and it was much more mild and understated than the Dunkin' Dragonfruit Refresher. I liked it, but I just didn't taste any distinct mango or pineapple flavors. Seriously, if somebody made me do a blind taste test to guess the flavor, I don't know if I would figure it out. It's more like a whisper of mango and pineapple, but I'm good with that. Sometimes less is more.

Because all of the new Dunkin' Refreshers contain caffeine derived from green tea, they are perfect for non-coffee drinkers who still want a wake-up call they can sip to give bright eyes and bushy tails vibes. I also found this beverage more extra-refreshing than the others. I'm not saying I guzzled it down like a frat boy doing a keg stand, but I easily could have. 

Next time I feel like taking my kids on a Dunkin' Run (so, like tomorrow), I could see myself grabbing the new Mango Pineapple Refresher Mixed Drink sticks instead. With the heat index only going up from here, this is a great summer sip to have on hand.

Traditionally, anything I have ever tasted that is kiwi flavor is painfully sweet and reminds me of the old-school body sprays from Bath and Body Works. This fruit with an edible peel finds its way into many summer beverages — often pungent and excessive. However, Dunkin' has a knack for bringing exciting additions to its summer menus. Last summer's Dunkin' lineup was a dairy lover's dream. 

Now, with two of the new Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mixes under my belt, one yes and one no, this could be a tiebreaker. It's not as pretty as the pink and orange tinted Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mixes. The muted greenish complexion of the Kiwi Watermelon Refresher from Dunkin' is foggy. The cool beverage resembles a green juice or a diluted iced matcha, but it is satisfying.

At first taste, this Refresher is a good kind of sweet. It stays in its lane and is not nearly as in-your-face as the aggressive notes of the Dragonfruit Refresher. Both the kiwi and watermelon flavors are subtle but detectable. I also feel like any cold beverage that contains watermelon flavor tastes extra-vibrant and fresh when the temps start to soar. If summer had an official drink, it could easily be the Kiwi Watermelon Refresher. Do yourself a favor and throw a few Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mix Sticks in your pocket, your car, or your gym bag, and take a sip of summer whenever the craving hits.

If you love iced drinks all year long, the Dunkin' Summer roster is legit. The exact moment I ripped off the top of this particular drink mix stick, I knew it was peach flavored. The smell is undeniable. I love peach flavored things, and was personally invested in Dunkin's new Peach Passion Fruit Lemonade Refresher before I even tasted it. The vibrant tinges of orange and pink look like a beach sunset in a glass. I went in for the first impression sip and immediately, no. Remember when I said the scent of peach is without question front and center? Well, that was definitely not the case as far as flavor.

Dunkin's Peach Passion Fruit Lemonade gives maybe a small swish of peach flavor, and that's being generous. The rest of it, along with the lemonade, are buried by the passion fruit. Sometimes fruity flavors play well letting others have their moment. In the case of this Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mix Stick, it's the passion fruit that steals the spotlight. 

I don't like it. It's very pretty, but the passion fruit is just so aggressively alpha. The flavor is too close to cough syrup for my liking. Sorry, Peach Passion Fruit Lemonade Refresher. You may have zero sugar, but you also have zero chill. I was really pulling for you with this one, Dunkin'.

Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mix is exactly the kind of energy I like to see out there. The more likely something comes in a to-go, pre-measured serving, the more likely I'll buy it. As someone who does not leave home without her emotional support water bottle, drink mix sticks are one of my favorite inventions. At any given time, I have at least three varieties in my purse if I need to refill while I'm out and about. My water intake absolutely skyrocketed at the very notion of drink sticks.

The four flavors are split right down the middle for me. The Strawberry Dragonfruit Lemonade and the Peach Passion Fruit Lemonade Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mixes are both entirely too sweet. On the other hand, the Mango Pineapple and the Kiwi Strawberry both had a more low key sweetness. Remember in the taste tests when I said sometimes less is more? It's probably not a coincidence that I just so happened to favor the two Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mixes with two flavor components instead of three.

The fact that these new Dunkin' drink sticks contain zero sugar is a huge plus for me. That coupled with the boost of caffeine makes them a fantastic and refreshing option if I want to deviate from that afternoon coffee. Being able to select one flavor or a bigger variety box is great, too. Bravo to Dunkin' for giving us access to crisp, fruity, and cool refreshers whenever it feels right. I would definitely recommend trying all of them (even the two I dismissed) because my too sweet could be your just right.

Dunkin', partnering with The Jel Sert Company, launched its portable drink sticks on May 12, 2026. They come in single flavor boxes of 10 sticks and variety packs of 30 sticks. 

Each single serve stick of Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mix contains 80 mg of caffeine sourced from green tea infused with B vitamins. All of the flavors are sugar free, with only 5 calories per serving and no artificial colors. Each packet simply needs to be added to a 16 ounce serving of water in a tumbler or bottle, and then shaken or mixed.

The new Dunkin' Refreshers Drink Mix sticks are available at major grocers, on Amazon, and in Dunkin' stores. Prices and availability may vary depending on retailer and location.