There’s nothing like an icy, summer drink on a hot day. And if you’re a fan of the cold drinks on Starbucks refresher menu, you’re definitely not alone.

The only thing better than the tropical flavor and beautiful pink color of the Starbucks mango dragonfruit refresher is the fact that you can make your own at home and save a ton of money with this Starbucks copycat recipe.

Dragon fruit might seem like a psychedelic vision when you first see one, but along with making a delicious refresher, dragonfruit drinks can have medicinal properties, like improved immune system and better digestive health.

This tropical fruit is a popular complement to other tropical tea flavors, such as mango and pineapple. Keep reading to learn how to make the perfect Starbucks dragon fruit drink. This vibrant colored drink just may become one of your favorite drinks for a hot summer’s day

Dragonfruit Mango Refresher at Starbucks

Starbucks describes the mango dragonfruit beverage like this:

A tropical-inspired pick-me-up–crafted with a refreshing combination of sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors and hand-shaken with ice plus a scoop of real diced dragonfruit.
Starbucks Website

This post may contain affiliate links. My full disclosure policy is sort of boring, but you can find it here.

What are the Ingredients in the mango dragon fruit refresher?

According to the Starbucks website, the ingredient list for this mango dragon fruit refresher contains:

Water
Sugar
White grape juice concentrate
Natural flavors (maybe mango juice or mango puree, since it’s not listed elsewhere?)
Citric Acid (A common food additive that boosts flavor and tartness)
Natural green coffee flavor (the green coffee bean extract provides the caffeine boost)
Rebaudioside-A (A form of the sweetener Stevia)
Freeze dried dragon fruit pieces.

A few of these may seem like not so simple ingredients, but the important ones are widely available at health food stores or online. If you live in a big city with specialty markets, you may even find them at your local grocery store.

Nutritional Information for the Dragonfruit Mango Refresher

In a 16 oz serving, the Starbucks dragonfruit refresher has the following nutritional values:

90 calories
19 grams of sugar
45 milligrams of caffeine
0 grams of fat

Copycat Mango Dragonfruit Refresher Ingredients

To make this drink at home, you’ll need these ingredients. These are all links so you can see exactly what I used:

Freeze dried dragon fruit powder
White grape juice
Mango puree
Green coffee bean powder
Water
Ice cubes
Frozen dragon fruit chunks (Expensive from Amazon! Mine were from Target’s frozen food section.)

Mango Dragon Fruit Refresher Instructions

In a shaker cup or cocktail shaker, stir dragonfruit powder and green coffee bean powder into white grape juice until well mixed.
Add water, mango puree, and ice cubes. Shake well
Pour into a tall glass and add dragon fruit chunks.

Mango Dragonfruit Refresher Recipe – Starbucks Copycat

Copycat Mango Dragonfruit Refresher

Name: Copycat Mango Dragonfruit Refresher
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 tsp freeze dried dragon fruit powder; 1/4 tsp green coffee bean powder; 2 Tbsp white grape juice; 16 oz cold water; 2 Tbsp mango puree; Ice; 2 Tbsp frozen or fresh dragon fruit chunks

Yield: 1 16-oz serving

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

This vibrantly colored, tropically sweet refresher is easy to make at home with just a few ingredients you can buy online.

Ingredients

1 tsp freeze dried dragon fruit powder
1/4 tsp green coffee bean powder
2 Tbsp white grape juice
16 oz cold water
2 Tbsp mango puree
Ice
2 Tbsp frozen or fresh dragon fruit chunks

Instructions

In a shaker cup or cocktail shaker, stir dragonfruit powder and green coffee bean powder into white grape juice until well mixed.
Add water, mango puree, and ice cubes. Shake well.
Pour into a tall glass and add dragon fruit chunkc.
Enjoy!

Notes

You can adjust the amount of caffeine to your liking by adding more or less green coffee bean powder.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 87Saturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mg

Nutrition figures are estimates. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information for any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe.

Other Drinks on the Refreshers Menu

Besides the mango dragonfruit refresher, other popular drinks on your local Starbucks menu with the delicious flavors of the tropics are:

Dragon Drink
Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade
Paradise Drink
Strawberry Acai Lemonade
Pineapple Passionfruit
Iced Guava White Tea Lemonade
Strawberry Acai – Here’s my copycat Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe
The Famous Pink Drink (Strawberry acai Refresher with creamy coconut milk)
Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher (clink the link for my take on this discontinued refresher menu item)

Delicious Variations to Try

Once you’ve made the original drink from the Refresher’s menu, why not mix things up to find the perfect drink for your personal tastes? Here are some things to try:

Change up the caffeine boost: Instead of the green coffee bean powder, try making it with a green tea bag, green tea extract or even matcha powder.
Ditch the caffeine: Leave out the optional green coffee extract.
Try a different tropical fruit: Instead of mango puree, try some passionfruit, papaya, or kiwi.
Reduce the added sugar: Replace the fruit juice concentrate with sugar free grape juice. Replace the simple syrup with a sugar free version.
Make it sweeter: The natural sweetness in this drink may not be enough for you. If you’re a fan of sweeter drinks, add a splash of simple syrup.
Mix up a lemonade: Replace the water with lemonade for a refreshing dragon fruit lemonade. Use sugar-free lemonade if you want less sugar.
Make it fizzy: Replace the water with soda water for an effervescent version.
Make it creamy: Replace water with a cup of coconut milk for a creamy tropical fruit drink.
Try a boozy version: Add a shot of vodka to your drink for an alcohol kick.

What Is Dragon Fruit?

Dragon fruit is a member of the cactus family and is a native fruit of South America, Mexico, and Central America. This exotic-looking pink dragon fruit is also known as pitaya or strawberry pear.

Dragon fruit is a popular addition to fruit salad desserts, smoothies, and other sweet-flavored foods, but it is also a delicious ingredient in tea and iced drinks.

What Does Dragon Fruit Look Like?

Dragon fruit is a bright fluorescent pink oval fruit that is covered with distinctive green scales. It’s these scales that give dragon fruit its name since they mimic the look of a reptile’s scales.

Once you cut open a dragon fruit, the interior of the fruit is a stark snow white color, and studded with tiny black seeds sprinkled evenly throughout the flesh.

When made into dragon fruit tea, dragon fruit is peeled out of its inedible skin, and the white flesh is steeped in hot water.

What Does Dragon Fruit Taste Like?

Dragon fruits have a very mild flavor, which makes them a popular fruit to mix into fruit salads that are sweetened with a dressing. It’s also a good pairing with stronger flavored fruits.

The flavor of dragon fruit is similar to the taste of pears or kiwis. It has a slightly sweet flavor with a crispy texture similar to watermelon.

starbucks copycat mango dragonfruit refresher recipe — *Dragonfruit smoothie*

Health Benefits of Dragonfruit

Did you know that dragonfruit has health benefits besides the tropical taste? One of the major reasons that many people drink dragon fruit tea is because of its health properties. Like many fruits, dragon fruit is known for having several medicinal properties.

Here are some of the main health benefits associated with dragonfruit :

Blood sugar control: The botanical compounds present in dragon fruit tea can lower high blood sugar, making this tea a good option for treating diabetes.
Prebiotic properties: Dragon fruit is a prebiotic, meaning it is full of organic matter that beneficial gut flora require to thrive. This helps improve digestive health over time.
Immune system boost: The chemicals in dragon fruit tea can help to bolster the human immune system, making it easier for a person to fight off bacterial infections and viruses.
Antioxidants: Dragon fruit is rich in antioxidants known as polyphenols and catechins that are responsible for helping to ward off degenerative disease.

Dragon fruit offers plenty of essential minerals and nutrients that make it a healthy choice for breakfast or any other time of day.

Side Effects and Risks of Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit is generally safe to eat and drink. However, dragon fruit may cause an allergic reaction in some people. An allergic reaction to dragon fruit tea can look like the following symptoms:

Hives (sudden outbreaks of red, welted skin)
Abdominal cramping and vomiting
Swelling of the mouth, tongue, and throat
Tingling or itching sensation in the mouth

Most people who have an allergic reaction to dragonfruit are not in serious danger, but if allergies are encountered, stop drinking the dragon fruit tea and contact a physician.

Can You Make Tea from Dragonfruit?

Dragon fruit tea is a tea made from dried or fresh dragon fruit steeped in hot water. Dragon fruit tea can be brewed by itself or with other herbal tea ingredients.

Dragon fruit tea is also known as a tisane, or a tea made of fruit or foliage that is steeped in boiling hot water. This quality sets it apart from traditional tea, which is made from tea leaves gathered from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis).

copycat mango dragonfruit refresher recipe — *This copycat mango dragonfruit refresher is a vibrant pink color.*

How to Make Dragon Fruit Tea

Dragon fruit tea is an easy drink to make even if you have never made it before. The tea can be made either from fresh muddled fruit and leaves or from prepared dragon fruit tea bags.

Another option is to use dragon fruit powder, which can be used similarly to matcha tea powder.

Here are the steps you should follow to make a pot of dragon fruit tea:

Heat the water. Heat enough water for a pot of tea in a tea kettle on the stovetop or in an electric tea kettle.
Prepare the dragon fruit. If you’re making tea from fresh dragon fruit, skin the fruit and chop up the flesh into small pieces.
Steep the dragon fruit tea. Place either the tea bags or the dragon fruit and leaves into a mug and pour boiling water over it. Allow the fruit to steep for five minutes.
Serve or store the tea. After the dragon fruit tea has steeped, serve the fresh tea hot or move the dragon fruit to a pitcher and refrigerate for 9-12 hours before serving cold.

Once the dragon fruit tea is steeped, you can discard the fruit pulp and leaves and strain the tea, or drink it as-is. The longer the dragon fruit is kept in the tea, the stronger it will taste.

Other Tea Flavors to Blend with Dragon Fruit Tea

Because dragon fruit has a mild flavor on its own, dragon fruit is often mixed with other dried tropical fruits or herbal tea blends to give it more body and a stronger taste.

These are some other ingredients you can add into dragon fruit tea for more botanical advantages and improved flavor:

Freeze-dried or dehydrated fruit (mango, papaya, strawberries)
Dried citrus peel (orange, lime, lemon)
Dried flowers (hibiscus, blue butterfly pea, blue malva, calendula)

Along with adding more flavor and health benefits to dragon fruit tea, adding dried fruits and flowers can give the tea more visual appeal, too.

How to Serve Dragon Fruit Tea

Dragon fruit tea is often sweet enough on its own to be served without any kind of sweeteners or garnishes.

People who want additional sweeteners in their dragon fruit tea can stir in honey or sugar while the tea is still hot and steeping.

starbucks mango dragon fruit refresher copycat recipe — *Want to save for later? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board and pass it on!*

Other Copycat Starbucks Recipes

If you love a good Starbucks copycat recipe, I have tried a ton. Here are my all time Starbucks drinks you can make even better than the Starbucks’ version, and save so much money !