Starbucks Has 3 New Mango Drinks, and My Favorite One Surprised Me

There are a few ways to tell when spring is coming. Daylight Saving Time ends. Flowers start blooming. And new flavors arrive at Starbucks.

If strawberry was the defining flavor of February, and if lavender, ube and coconut signaled March, then it's time to shake things up once again. Starbucks is adding a few new drinks to its menus, all starring a tropical fruit that screams warm, sunny days to come: mango.

What are Starbucks' new mango drinks?

Starbucks is launching Mango Strawberry Refreshers, Iced Mango Cream Matcha and Iced Mango Cream Chai.

In a press release, the chain describes the Refresher as "a vibrant, fruit-forward pick-me-up" made with freeze-dried strawberry pieces. You can choose from a base of water, lemonade or coconutmilk. You can also adjust the level of caffeine. A classic Refresher contains 25 to 100 milligrams, depending on the size, while new Energy Refreshers (available in any flavor and made with added B-vitamins) contain 100 to 175 milligrams. For reference, the average cup of coffee contains around 100 milligrams of caffeine. All Refreshers are available caffeine-free, too.

The new matcha and chai drinks simply take the classic recipes and top them with the chain's new Mango Cold Foam. You can add the foam to any Starbucks drink, as well as mango syrup.

I got to order a Refresher, matcha and chai ahead of their nationwide launch. Here's what I thought of them.

My honest review of Starbucks' new mango drinks:

I tried the Refresher first, which I ordered with coconutmilk. Unfortunately, my store was out of strawberry inclusions. It was my least favorite drink. I found it overly sweet — I was done after two sips. The coconut flavor, which I was most looking forward to pairing with mango, was overpowered by the sweetness of the drink. The mango and stawberry also faded to the background. I got some of the fruit flavors in the aftertaste, but mostly it was sugary. Not for me.

I tasted the matcha next, hoping for some bitterness, and it delivered. The mango cold foam was super creamy and played very well with the mango flavor. (Mango and dairy are a tried-and-true combo, so this made sense to me.) I also thought the sweet fruitiness of the mango was a nice contrast to the grassy matcha flavor. It was still on the sweet side for my taste, but thankfully, Starbucks has made that easier to customize than in the past. I'm not usually a matcha person, but this was easily my favorite of the lineup. (This tasting served as my morning caffeine fix, and the matcha is the only drink I finished!)

I tried the chai last. Unsurprisingly, I found it sweet, but the spices really came through. It was actually hard to taste the mango at first, especially compared to the matcha — at first sip it was just a sweet, very creamy iced chai latte to me. Not bad, if you're into sugar and spice and cream, though I didn't taste much of the tea or mango.

When can you order Starbucks' new mango drinks?

You can order the new mango drinks starting tomorrow, April 7. All of them, including the Mango Cold Foam, will be available year-round.

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