By now, you've undoubtedly been alerted to the colorful array of unofficial Starbucks secret menu beverages enjoying their 15 minutes of fame on social media. And deservedly so — they're delicious. So to save you the hassle of troubleshooting how to score one of these tasty libations, I've put together a complete guide on how to order all the Starbucks rainbow drinks: The Pink Drink, the Purple Drink, the Orange Drink, the Green Drink, and the Blue Drink. Are you ready to try this vibrant bunch of bevs? Get thee to a printer, and save this multi-colored crash course for future reference.
If you've yet to try even one of these super-trendy secret elixirs, don't feel bad. It's part of my job to drink these things; otherwise I'd likely also be in the "what the heck is a rainbow drink?" boat. To give a little history, this colorful collection of drinks not on the real Starbucks menu started popping up all over Instagram beginning with the Pink Drink — which was, apparently, all it took for a viral mass of multi-colored, Bux-lover-created concoctions to sweep the internet. In rapid succession, we've been #blessed with nearly every shade of the rainbow, save red and yellow. (Although, let's be real, it surely won't be long before the Red Drink and the Yellow Drink become a thing, too.)
But enough chit-chat — let's get to Bux rainbow drink biz, shall we? It's worth noting that the first step for ordering any Starbucks rainbow drink is the same: Find your nearest Starbucks. If you need help, you can always refer to the handy Starbucks Store Locator (after all, those things spring up left and right like wildflowers). Then you'll need to select your size. Personally I'm a non-caff Grande, caff-Trenta kind of girl, but you do you. So now that we've gotten that covered, here's a rundown of how to order every glorious color.
1. Pink Drink
UPDATE: As of April 10, 2017, Pink Drink has officially joined the Starbucks menu. It brings together the flavors of Strawberry Acai Refreshers, passion fruit, acai, and coconutmilk, topped with a scoop of strawberries.
EARLIER: Order a Strawberry Acai Refresher, a chilled beverage "accented by passion fruit and acai notes and lightly caffeinated with Green Coffee Extract." But — and this is very important — you have to ask them to make it with coconut milk instead of water. It should come served with strawberries mixed in, but you may want to specify that by asking for them as an add-on.
2. Purple Drink
More of a purple than pink person? Don't worry; there's a rainbow drink for you, too. There's a bit of mixed info about how to order it, so I'll give you both versions. In the first scenario, you would order a Passion Iced Tea (specifically, the Teavana Shaken Iced Passion Tango Tea) — a "blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips and apple flavors lightly sweetened and handshaken with ice." However, as you did with the Pink Drink, you'd need to ask for it to be made with a non-dairy milk. The most prevalent recipe on the internet suggests soy milk, but coconut milk is also an option. Then you'd finish your order off by requesting a shot of vanilla syrup and adding on blackberries.
Now, there is another popular camp of opinion where the base of the Purple Drink is concerned. According to some Buxers, you need to order not the Passion Iced Tea, but rather the Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refresher — "real fruit juice and whole blackberries shaken with Green Coffee Extract for a boost of natural energy, served over ice" — in order to get the lovely pale lavender hue seen in pics. The rest of the steps would remain the same, although you may not need to add on blackberries if you start with the Very Berry refresher.
3. Orange Drink
Here's a relatively easy one, you guys, and we have Starbucks store manager Eric Olson to thank for it apparently — the brilliant barista is responsible for creating this color of the rainbow drink spectrum, which he then shared with FoodBeast. To order it, you simply ask for orange mango juice with two scoops of vanilla bean powder and a splash of coconut milk, served over ice.
4. Blue Drink
If you're a fan of the Purple Drink, well, you're gonna love the Blue Drink. Why? Because they're basically THE SAME THING. To order a Blue Drink, you ask for a Passion Iced Tea/the Teavana Shaken Iced Passion Tango Tea, soy milk (or coconut milk, depending on your druthers), and vanilla syrup. As you'll notice, the only difference between this and the Purple Drink order is you ask for the Blue Drink sans blackberries. And if your order comes up and still looks more purple than blue, try adding more milk.
5. Green Drink
I know what you're thinking — there's a green drink?? Trust me when I say I was totally in the dark about this black (er, green?) sheep of the rainbow drink fam, too. This little guy has been getting the social media shaft (although it did appear in that Instagram image touting the Blue Drink), so let's work on fixing that. To order one of these woefully underrated green bevs, start by asking for a Teavana Shaken Iced Black Tea. Like several of the other rainbow drinks, request it be made with coconut milk instead of water. And, finally, ask your barista to add matcha. If you like your secret menu elixirs to be both colorful and not too sweet, you're gonna love this one so matcha.
Oh yes. I went there.
Or you could just order an iced Green Tea Latte, like the Twitter user seen here did. That works, too.
Images: Starbucks Instagram; Giphy
