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Keeping things sweet yet healthy with this summery Strawberry Pink Drink. Freshly brewed iced strawberry acai tea made creamy with sweet coconut milk. This summery iced tea latte is creamy, perfectly sweetened with just fruit, and best enjoyed…well, any time of day. For breakfast, as a snack, or even as a dessert (it’s so creamy, it’s almost milkshake like). Perfect for sipping on the hottest of days!
Everyone, meet my new drink of summer. This is possibly one of my most delicious drink creations. And yes, it’s 110% inspired by the Starbucks pink drink. But…I did mine up my own way, and with way less sugar. So you can drink this and not get a headache after.
Promise you, this one really does live up to the hype – it’s delicious!
Here’s the story
I’m not a big Starbucks drinker. Though I do love and welcome their coffee any chance I get, especially while traveling. But here’s the thing, unlike the rest of the world, I’ve only ever ordered coffee from Starbucks. Black coffee or an espresso shot. Both amazing, and exactly what I want…
But when I was in the airport last week I couldn’t help but notice their “pink drink” on the menu. There wasn’t any denying, it sounded really good. And more than anything, I was so intrigued by the color, the prettiest shade of light pink.
It’s really the color that got me, I knew I wanted to create something similar. And as soon as I got home I did, and it actually turned out better than I hope. Like a strawberry milkshake, but healthy, and with more flavor.
The details – the strawberry acai tea
Start with the strawberry acai tea or as Starbucks calls it, strawberry acai refresher. I used passion fruit tea and added dried hibiscus into the mix. I then steeped the tea along with acai powder.
At this point, you can choose to sweeten the tea with sugar or honey…or simply skip. If you enjoy a sweeter drink, I recommend adding the sugar or honey. I personally did not add any sweetener as I felt the fruit made it sweet enough.
Next strain the tea into a jug and add a couple cups of unsweetened green tea.
While the tea is steeping, puree the strawberries with fresh mango or pineapple juice. You can also use white grape juice, but I love something a little more tropical and sweet. Mango juice is my go-to!
Add the strawberry puree to the tea and stir to combine. This makes about five cups worth of tea, so keep the extra in the fridge to enjoy at any time!
The Pink Drink
From here the pink drink is simple.
Add ice to a tall glass and pour the strawberry tea over top. Then add creamy coconut milk and a handful of sliced strawberries. Stir to combine and witness the prettiness of the drink. The swirls of pink and white are almost perfect.
I have not a clue what Starbucks does for their drink, but this homemade version?
It. Is. Delicious!
And you can really sweeten this up to your own personal liking too!
Each iced latte is thick, creamy, perfectly sweet, and made with just the right ratios of strawberry tea and coconut milk. It’s also naturally vegan. Cool. Cool.
To sum it up, this drink is pretty hard to beat. It’s the perfect, refreshing summer drink. Not as thick as a smoothie or milkshake, but just creamy enough to be considered dessert like.
Looking for other strawberry recipes? Here are some favorites:
4 Ingredient Creamy Fruit Popsicles
Skillet Strawberry Bourbon Cobbler
Lastly, if you make this Strawberry Pink Drink, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Strawberry Pink Drink
Servings: 1 drink, with leftover tea
Calories Per Serving: 1317 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 passion fruit tea bags
- 1 teaspoon acai powder
- 1-4 tablespoons sugar or honey (optional)
- 2 cups unsweetened green tea
- 2 cups halved strawberries
- 1 cup mango, pineapple, or white grape juice (I use mango)
- 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries (optional)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Instructions
- 1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the tea bags and acai powder, cover and steep for 5-10 minutes. Strain into a pitcher. Stir in the honey or sugar (if using, I don't add any sugar) and the green tea. 2. In a blender, puree the strawberries, mango juice, and dried strawberries (if using) until smooth. Strain the strawberry puree into the tea. Stir to combine, then chill. The strawberry acai tea will keep 1 week in the fridge. 3. To make the pink drink, fill a tall glass with ice. Pour over 1 1/4 cups strawberry tea. Add the coconut milk and 2-3 sliced strawberries. Stir to combine. Drink and enjoy!
Love this glass! Can you share where it is from?
Thanks so much Leah! Here is the link:
https://shopstyle.it/l/bwiGQ
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This looks wonderful! It says it’s 1300 calories, though – Is that correct? It seems really high.
Hey Kali,
I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
Can I use the regular Tazo passion tea bags or is this best with the iced tea bags?
Hi Rachel,
You can use the regular ones:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions!! xT
The smell was spot on! However, mine was very watery and not very flavorful. With the tea, when you say you steep it all together, did you do 2 cups total of water for all the tea bags (green and passion)?
I was so excited about this but was so bummed it didn’t hit the spot. Would love to get it right because I love this drink!
Hey Kera,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, yes that is correct. Please let me know how I can help for next time! xTieghan
Hey! Love your recipes! If I wanted to leave out the “milk” part altogether would I have to alter the recipe at all? Starbucks has one without the “milk” part!
Thanks 🙂
Hey Jenna,
The milk is a huge part of this recipe, if you omit that, you would want to use extra tea, etc. Please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Very good! My Starbucks-obsessed teen loves her pink drink so we loved making it at home. We ended up using some sugar and some extra freeze dried strawberries to get it to her preferred level of sweetness, but a hit all around.
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Friday! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
In the blog, you mentioned dried hibiscus flowers but do not see that in the recipe. How much do you add to the tea and then strain it?
PS – All of my family follows you! We have all your cookbooks and your recipes are amazingly delicious! Thank you!
Hey Andrea,
Yes, if you want to add the hibiscus, add to step 1 and strain:) I hope you love this drink! xTieghan
Which loose leaf passion fruit tea did you use? And for the green tea?
Hey Kim,
Here are the links for what I used:
https://shopstyle.it/l/bwekQ
http://l.thrv.me/HBH4150-thrive-market-organic-sencha-gre
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Do you use the super thick canned coconut milk or the kind in a carton?
Wow, I would have thought for sure canned coconut milk but when you click the ingredient in the recipe, it goes to the milk substitute in a carton kind, as you would use for cereal. Looks really good!
Hey Katy,
Honestly either one works well for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I think you’re missing the green tea steep in the step by step instructions!
Hey April,
The green tea is used in step 1. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hey, your recipe never clarifies where to use the green tea. Thanks.
It says to mix it in with the acai passionfruit tea once its steeped 🙂
Hey Jules,
The green tea is used in step 1. I hope you enjoy this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
You mentioned the dry hibiscus, I’m totally interested in that addition- but curious if I buy it, what else could I use that for?! Thanks!!
You can make tea with it or even snack on it! Its sweet and tart
Hey Heather,
You could use it in other drinks or as a syrup. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hiiiii,
You have 2 cups of passion fruit tea and 2 cups of green tea….Do you steep the green tea with passion fruit tea? I’m not clear where the green tea goes? Looks delish!
Angela
Hey Angela,
Yes, you are going to steep all of the tea in step 1. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Do you have any recommendations for coconut milk substitutes? Sounds like a delicious drink!
Hey Julie,
You can use any other milk that you enjoy. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
What would you recommend if I didn’t want to put in green tea to keep it herbal? TIA 🙂
Hey Charlotte,
You can just use water in place of the green tea. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know it turns out! xTieghan
Where does the green tea come in?
Hey there,
The tea is added in step 1:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan