Did Starbucks Discontinue Strawberry Acai? (Explained) 2024

Last updated on October 26th, 2022 at 05:19 pm

It is no news that Starbucks discontinued sales of some drinks. Most of them seem to be fans’ favorites.

And due to the long list of discontinued drinks from Starbucks, you may be curious to find out if your favorite strawberry acai makes up the list too.

Hence the question, did Starbucks discontinue strawberry acai? Here’s a quick answer to that.

Starbucks did not discontinue sales of strawberry Acai drinks. However, Starbucks is experiencing a company-wide shortage of strawberries. This scarcity of strawberries has also made the drink unavailable. However, Starbuck did not discontinue the strawberry acai.

Is Starbucks Getting Rid of Strawberry Acai?

Did Starbucks Discontinue Strawberry Acai

Starbucks is not getting rid of strawberry Acai any time soon. It will interest you to know that Strawberry Acai Refresher is one of Starbucks’ major drinks that has come to stay.

Although Starbucks is experiencing a nationwide shortage of supply of the key ingredient- strawberry- the drink is still available at Starbucks stores.

The strawberry acai drink available at Starbucks no longer contains the regular freeze-dried strawberry toppings.

This development is a result of the unavailability of the fruit. And until the supply of the fruit returns to normal, you may have to enjoy your favorite strawberry acai without the toppings.

Though Starbucks cannot tell when this shortage supply will end, it continues production of the drink. The reason is that the drink is in high demand.

And because Starbucks cannot afford to lose its customers, it cannot discontinue sales of strawberry acai.

Also, you must have noticed that in some Starbucks stores, the strawberry acai drink is not available at all.

The reason is that the production of strawberry acai is no longer readily available due to the shortage of major ingredients.

Strawberry is not the only fruit that seems to be in short supply in Starbucks.

Other fruits such as Blackberries, Kiwi refresher, hazelnut, chai, and dragonfruit are also unavailable.

So, these drinks are temporarily unavailable and not discontinued from Starbucks stores.

However, due to less demand, shortage of supplies, or a need for menu updates, Starbuck discontinued some of its drinks.

Since the list of discontinued Starbucks drinks is quite long. A few of them are below. They are:

Valencia orange refresher

Eggnog latte

Dark barrel latte

Chile Mocha

Oprah chai

Although, there is a high possibility that some of these discontinued drinks may come back again.

However, it depends on consumers’ petitions and supply availability.

Is Starbucks Strawberry Acai Seasonal?

Thankfully, Starbuck strawberry acai is no longer a seasonal drink. It is now an official, all-year-round Starbucks menu.

This update means you can always get your favorite strawberry acai anytime you desire, irrespective of the season.

Although just like every other refresher, the strawberry acai was a seasonal drink only available in summer.

Because it seemed to be one of the fans’ favorites and was in high demand, Starbucks thought it wise to add the strawberry acai to their all-year-round menu staple.

What makes the Strawberry Acai?

The strawberry acai contains strawberry acai base, water, some freeze-dried strawberries, and ice.

The strawberry acid base contains fruit juice, sugar, water, citric acid, white grapefruit concentrate, natural green coffee flavor, and natural flavor (passion tea fruit flavor)

The strawberry acai is an antioxidant. It is cholesterol- and fat-free and contains few calories, making it a healthy drink suitable for consumption.

You can choose to make the strawberry acai in your home, especially now that it is not readily available in most Starbucks stores.

To make Starbucks standard Strawberry acai may be too expensive to make in your home.

The following slightly different recipes can help you achieve the same great taste you can get from Starbucks strawberry acai.

#1. Ingredients

Fresh strawberry/ freeze-dried whole strawberry

Acai powder/ Juice

White grapefruit/ any bright color fruit juice

Honey/sugar/ syrup

Green coffee extract (optional)

Cold water/ ice cubes

#2. Method of Preparation

Slice fresh strawberries and pour into a blender. Add a little water and blend.

After smooth blending of strawberries, strain the juice with a fine mesh.

In a bowl, pour a little water and add Acai powder.

Then whisk until the powder completely dissolves. You can choose to strain the mixture to get rid of black particles from the acai powder.

Pour the mixture into your already prepared strawberry juice. Add your desired fruit juice alongside green coffee extract if in use.

You can skip the green coffee if you desire a caffeine-free drink. This mixture forms the strawberry Acai base.

Get a large pitcher and pour in some ice cubes.

Pour the strawberry acai base into the pitcher and add some water.

Add sugar /honey/ syrup to your taste and stir well.

Your strawberry Acai Refresher is ready to be served.

This drink is best when chilled. Hence the need for ice cubes. You can also garnish the drink with strawberry slices for a perfect outcome.

The table below gives the nutritional information of the strawberry Acai Refresher with 90 calories and zero fat.

Nutrition	Nutrition in gram	% daily value
Sodium	15mg	1%
Cholesterol	–	–
Protein	–	–
Caffeine	45mg	–
Total carbohydrates	23g	8%
Sugar	20g	–
Dietary fiber	1g	4%

Strawberry Acai Refresher is also gluten-free when made with water.

When you use lemonade or milk in place of water, your acai is no longer gluten-free.

Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refresher Alternatives

Apart from the regular strawberry acai refresher, there are other alternatives you can get from Starbucks.

These alternatives result from strawberry acai lovers trying out new things and have led to Starbucks adding other alternatives for strawberry acai lovers.

So they can enjoy their favorite drink just the way they like it. The following are the alternatives to the famous strawberry acai.

#1. Pink Drink

The Pink drink contains a strawberry acai base, coconut milk, fresh or freeze-dried strawberries, and ice.

The pink drink is strawberry acai made from coconut milk in place of water.

The presence of coconut milk instead of water makes up the pink drink. So, you can say the pink drink is coconut water strawberry acai.

Yes, that is correct. However, the pink drink and strawberry acai are not the same things.

The drinks are different not just in color but also in texture, outlook, flavor as well as in uniqueness.

The strawberry acai contains 90 calories and 20g of sugar with zero fat. In contrast, the pink drink has 140 calories, 24g of sugar, and 2.5g of fat.

The coconut milk in the pink drink makes up for the added calories, sugar, and fat, which makes the strawberry acai refresher healthier compared to the pink drink.