Review: Starbucks' 2026 Summer Drink Menu Is Great, As Long As You Don't Want Coffee

As May blossoms and makes way for end of the year field trips, graduations, vacations, and blooming flowers, this can only mean one thing: Summer is coming. Though the official first day of summer isn't until June 21, 2026, Starbucks has unleashed its summer menu just in time for the excitement to build for relaxing beach vacations and days in the sun.

The 2026 menu is a collection of sweet and spicy flavors, a new line-up of Refreshers, and other drinks utilizing horchata flavors. On the day of the menu's release, I set out to my favorite Starbucks location to sample the Tropical Butterfly Refresher collection in all its colorful, layered glory, Horchata Frappuccinos, and even a shaken espresso. After sipping (and gaining quite the sugar and caffeine high), I was determined to decide if you should give these drinks a try or stick with your summer favorites for the season.

I was eager to taste these new summer drinks, so I headed to my favorite local Starbucks stop bright and early on May 12 to load up. I made my decision on whether these summer drinks were worth a try based on the taste of these beverages. If there was a balance of ingredients that were sweet, but not over the top, that accurately reflected the named flavors with a texture that was easy to drink without being too thick or thin in consistency, I would consider this summer menu worth your time.

The newest Refresher additions to the menu are based on what the chain is calling its Tropical Butterfly Refresher. The drink utilized a new tropical passionfruit guava refresher base. This is mixed with water and green coffee extract. Tropical Butterfly Refreshers also get the tropical mango pineapple pearls on the bottom of the cup with an infusion of butterfly pea flower on top for color. This butterfly pea flower is strictly for coloring and a cascade effect. It does not change the flavor in any significant way.

Most of the Refreshers on the Starbucks menu don't taste great with simply water, but this Tropical Butterfly Refresher was surprisingly enjoyable without the inclusion of coconut milk or lemonade. There was an abundance of pearls at the bottom of the drink, and this made for a fun texture and a flavor that tasted like something you'd enjoy on the beach, perhaps even with a little room for rum. The layered effect of the drink was quite lovely, and since the butterfly pea flower wasn't an actual flavor, but more of just a coloring, I felt no qualms about enjoying the drink in its layered form rather than mixing it up.

As of the release of Starbucks' mid-spring menu, the chain offers energy versions of its drinks. The only difference with these is additional pumps of the green coffee extract. For the grande Refresher I ordered, there were 45 milligrams of caffeine, 90 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrates, and 20 grams of sugar.

Starbucks' Pink Drink is the shining star of secret menu success stories. What started as a customer innovation (replacing water with coconut milk), has turned into a whole category of drinks the coffee shop now offers. The summer 2026 menu was no different with the release of the Butterfly Drink. This sweetly named drink takes the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher and adds coconut milk in place of the water for a lavender-hued mixture.

I have to admit that the Butterfly Drink is nothing but charming, and the name is giving me all the Mariah Carey vibes. More than other coconut-based refreshers, I felt the coconut milk added a deep smoothness that helped mellow out some of that tropical fruity sweetness. It didn't taste as sugary as the other Refreshers of this release did, and I found it tasted more subtle. It was still very refreshing though, even with that delicate flavor, but the name Butterfly Drink feels only vaguely appropriate. The light lavender color didn't necessarily give me butterfly vibes as much as it was giving bridesmaid lavender. I think we could've called it a lilac drink and probably gotten closer to the actual color. My grande Butterfly Drink had a slightly higher calorie count at 120 per serving, with 2 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 23 grams of sugars, and (curiously) 5 fewer milligrams of caffeine.

Historically, my favorite way to enjoy Refreshers and teas has been pairing them with Starbucks' tangy, concentrated lemonade. I find it adds the perfect amount of sour and sweet to up the rather bland flavor of some teas and Refreshers. However, the lemonade is working overtime with the chain's butterfly tea line of drinks.

While the basic Tropical Butterfly Refresher was enjoyable on its own, the lemonade made the drink that much sweeter. Predictably, the lemonade added a tartness that wasn't present with the regular Refresher, and this made it taste more like some kind of a sweet-and-sour candy than a Starbucks drink. The sugar load of this Refresher was really strong, and while it was still barely within my sweetness preferences, I could imagine it being way over the top for others. On the other hand, if you're looking for a sickly sweet drink, this would be an absolutely delicious option. 

The sweetness content comes through in nutrition with my grande Tropical Butterfly Lemonade Refresher having 30 grams of sugars, 140 calories, 33 grams of carbohydrates, and the same 45 milligrams of caffeine. Color-wise, the lemonade allowed that middle layer to have more of a pink color and it didn't fall into a mostly purple and orange drink quite as fast, like the regular Refresher. If you're planning for an Instagram post and really want that triple color effect to last longer than a few moments, the lemonade Refresher is really the way to go.

Starbucks' Frappuccinos come either crème or coffee-based. By and large, the crème-based options do not contain caffeine (with the exception of the matcha and chai varieties), while the coffee ones do. In general, I've considered the crème Frappuccinos to be the more kid-friendly options at Starbucks, and, while that remained true with the Horchata Crème Frappuccino, it may have just been my favorite sip from the summer menu.

When I prepped for this piece, I wasn't planning on including this crème-based Frappuccino since it wasn't mentioned in promotional articles. But, when I saw it pop up on the app, I knew it would be a must-try. This was an outstanding horchata drink, and it brought me right back to picking up iced horchatas with my sister at our favorite Mexican restaurant after school. For those avoiding caffeine, the Horchata Crème Frappuccino might very well become a new go-to (at least as long as the horchata syrup sticks around). The mix of milk with cinnamon flavors gave it something like a Cinnamon Toast Crunch taste, but I think it could have been even better with the cinnamon dolce sprinkles on top rather than the cinnamon powder. Still, this drink definitely reads more like a dessert than other parts of the menu, with 380 calories, 16 grams of fat, 53 grams of carbohydrates, 53 grams of sugars, and no caffeine. For the ultimate in Starbucks dessert, consider pairing this one with one of Starbucks' popular cake pops.

For all the tasty notes in the Horchata Crème Frappuccino, the Horchata Frappuccino fell dramatically behind. Simply put, the coffee-based option didn't quite blow me away. The coffee really smothered a whole lot of that horchata flavor, and, while I enjoy coffee and think this was an okay drink, the cream version is so much better. The cinnamon sprinkled on top added an overall burnt taste, which would be dramatically improved with those cinnamon dolce sprinkles.

While all coffee Frappuccinos use a Frappuccino roast, the flavor would have paired better with Starbucks' blonde espresso. To achieve this mixture, I would recommend adding blonde espresso shots to the crème based Frappuccino for a better mixture. I could tell that there was something good there, but it was so hidden by other, not as enjoyable flavors. The Horchata Frappuccino is even heavier than its crème counterpart. My grande drink had 400 calories, 63 grams of carbohydrates, 61 grams of sugar, and 90 milligrams of caffeine.

The Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso made its return from the 2025 summer menu when Starbucks introduced a new espresso drink that shook up the iconic Mexican beverage. Since my go-to coffee drink normally involves a heavily modified shaken espresso, I was eager to try the horchata version to see if it could surpass what I already enjoyed. Unfortunately, the drink ended up tasting like watered-down espresso with nearly no sweetener, even though my grande was certainly highly caffeinated at 255 milligrams, 150 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrates, and 16 grams of sugar.

I always take a long time to drink my iced coffees, so I'm familiar with drinks that aren't flavored enough to withstand ice melt, and, unfortunately, the Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso fell into this category. The espresso really overpowered the horchata, but I can imagine enjoying a Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso with a horchata cold foam on top. Based on my tastings here, I think the problems come about when the horchata mixes in with the coffee, but when combined with cream, it really shines. In general, there's definitely a way to make horchata work and be absolutely delicious, but a shaken espresso as it currently sits on the menu just isn't it.

I think the summer 2026 drinks are absolutely worth it, especially if you are more of a Refresher fan than a coffee drinker. The coffee drinks (as they appear on the menu with zero modifications) didn't quite celebrate the horchata the way that they could, and it tasted like the flavoring was simply added to drinks rather than attempting to make it shine in a way that is unique and really works.

In general, though Starbucks' summer menu has left some fans wanting more, I found it delicious, provided you're not looking to order coffee. It was a nice mixture of refreshing drinks perfect for the beach, and, with the horchata, I have a new flavoring element to play around with. I think my next drink might put the horchata syrup in cold foam to pair with my iced matcha. As long as you're willing to experiment, there's plenty of potential there.

Starbucks' summer 2026 menu hit cafes on May 12, 2026. Like all summer menu offerings, the included drinks will surely be around for the summer season, or as long as coffee shops are able to stock the ingredients. I've found that the items are available for a shorter time if the drinks go viral, but may stick around for longer if they don't gain the same kind of traction.

The specialty ingredients in these drinks include horchata syrup, a new refresher base, fruity pearls, and a butterfly pea flower infusion. If it happens that these drinks leave the official menu before products run out, you can often ask baristas to make them if you know what to ask for. Not to mention, popular drinks often come around again, like the horchata lineup, for instance. While you might be sad to see those summer drinks leave the menu, wipe those tears because the loss of summer menu means one thing: It's pumpkin spice season.