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Key Takeaways
- After being teased back in April, Starbucks' summer menu is finally coming to cafés.
- The menu includes two returning fan favorites from last summer, and one brand-new iced espresso drink.
- We got to try the new drink early, and here's our honest review.
At this point, we know we sound like a broken record when we say that seasonal menus seem to be hitting restaurants earlier and earlier—but it’s still true. While it’s the most noticeable when pumpkin spice returns as early as August, it’s not just the fall and holiday menus that we see creeping in before the weather has had a chance to catch up to the offerings.
Despite the calendar saying we’re one month into spring, Dairy Queen has been offering its summer menu for weeks now. Red Robin’s barbecue- and peach-filled summer offerings are heading to restaurants soon. And McDonald’s has, yet again, teased that its beloved Snack Wraps will be returning on the 14th of one of the summertime months.
Now, Starbucks—which tends to lead the charge on early menu releases—is finally bringing its 2025 summer menu to cafés.
Starbucks 2025 Summer Menu
After rumors began swirling online that Starbucks was bringing back last year’s popping pearl-filled drinks—plus, introducing two new items—the chain confirmed the return with an Instagram post.
“It’s true – Berry Refreshers are coming back this summer,” the caption reads.
In 2024, Starbucks released its Summer-Berry Refresher, which is a blend of raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry flavors over ice with the raspberry-flavored popping pearls (similar to boba)—and it quickly became a fan favorite.
“MY FAVORITE DRINK EVER,” one fan commented on Starbucks’ post.
“I GOT THIS DRINK MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK I MISS IT,” wrote another.
Starbucks
In addition to the returning Summer-Berry Lemonade Refresher and Summer Skies Drink (which is the Summer-Berry Refresher with added coconut milk), Starbucks has also confirmed that it’s releasing two new menu items: an Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso and Strawberries & Cream Cake Pop.
Last summer, Starbucks introduced an Orange Cream Cake Pop to menus, which was made with orange cream cake, buttercream, and white chocolate icing. The new Strawberries & Cream Cake Pop is similar, and features strawberry cream cake mixed with buttercream, dipped in a chocolatey icing, and finished with a strawberry design.
As its name would suggest, the new Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso is inspired by the flavors of horchata, a sweet drink that’s beloved throughout Latin America and beyond. The summer sipper features Starbucks Blonde Espresso and horchata-flavored syrup with notes of cinnamon, vanilla, and subtly nutty rice milk, all shaken with ice and topped with oat milk.
I got a chance to taste the new Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso early. Here is my honest review.
My Review of Starbucks' New Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
Courtney Kassel/Allrecipes
Starbucks’ seasonal Shaken Espresso drinks have been some of my favorite releases from the coffee chain in the past few years (I still crave that Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso!), so I was excited to try the latest iteration. My first worry with Starbucks’ specialty drinks is always that they will be too sweet, but this one was pleasantly balanced and not too heavy on the syrup.
There are so many ways to make horchata, but the Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso draws inspiration from the Mexican version, made with rice milk and cinnamon. You taste the warm cinnamon first with an almost almond-y nuttiness on the back end. Sometimes, I find that oat milk dulls, or even overpowers the other flavors in the drink, but here it only works to amplify the toasty, nutty horchata flavor.
The drink immediately reminded me of the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso, which is a favorite of mine (and many others) but less sweet. It’s nice to see a spiced, warm flavor for summer; the Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso is a welcome reprieve from all the fruity and floral offerings that are more typical of the season.
Starbucks’ summer menu arrives in cafés nationwide on May 20, just in time for the “unofficial start of summer,” aka Memorial Day weekend. Summer-Berry Refreshers fans you can finally celebrate—warm weather and sweet, popping pearls are back.
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