Starbucks has a lot of fans but probably equally many haters. Whether it’s the working conditions in the shops, the issue of gentrification, the exorbitant prices, or the extreme amounts of sugar in many drinks… there’s a lot that’s problematic. But there is one thing you can’t deny – they are quite inventive when it comes to coffee and tea. The company made a lot of money, for example, with the Pink Drink in recent years. If you like that one too (but don’t really want to support the company), you can make the Pink Drink at home easily. It’s much cheaper, and you can make it with less sugar compared to the original ;P
As I said before – you can’t deny Starbucks’ inventiveness. The drinks are also (almost) all delicious… just too sweet for me. Way too much sugar in everything but the regular coffee and tea. As soon as flavored sugar syrup is added you’re doomed ;P f you order, for example, a Grande White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino, you will get a drink with about 60g of sugar. That’s about twice the amount of sugar you should, all in all, consume in a day. If you then treat yourself to a delicious blueberry muffin as well, you’ll add another 30g of sugar on top. That does not yet include all your other meals and snacks throughout the day ;)
My version here isn’t sugar-free, but at least without added sugar. The juices I use contain sugar, of course, but that’s enough already to sweeten the drinks. There is no need to add more sugar. I took the liberty of replacing the açaí used in the original drink with dragon fruit because that’s what I currently have at home. I also changed a few other things…. so basically it’s an entirely different drink. It just looks like the Pink Drink ;P
My version here is definitely very refreshing and less sugar-heavy. I do not have the complete numbers (I am not a nutritionist) but if I look at the sugar content of the juices and coconut milk listed on the packages it accumulates to an amount of about 15g of sugar per drink (if you make two). No idea what the cooked strawberries add to the mix, but they only have about 5g of sugar per 100g and there is not a lot that actually ends up in the drinks… so I can only assume it is not a lot. Who knows.
So it’s definitely possible to make drinks like that with less sugar. If you use more water, you can lower the percentage of sugar per drink even more. With a bit more water you can easily get three drinks out of this without losing much of the flavors ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(2 large drinks)
5.3 oz. (150g) fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 cup (120ml) passion fruit juice or maracuja juice
1/3 cup (80ml) red grape juice
3/4 cup (180ml) water
2 bags of Earl Grey tea
1/2 tsp. Dragon fruit powder*
1 cup (240ml) coconut milk (fat reduced)
some freeze-dried strawberries (optional)
ice cubes for serving
additional cold water (optional)
(2 große Getränke)
150g frische Erdbeeren, gewürfelt
120ml Passionsfruchtsaft oder Maracujasaft
80ml roter Traubensaft
180ml Wasser
2 Beutel Earl Grey Tee
1/2 TL Drachenfruchtpulver*
240ml Kokosmilch (fettreduziert)
einige gefriergetrocknete Erdbeeren (optional)
Eiswürfel zum Servieren
zusätzliches kaltes Wasser (optional)
A few more tips:
1. If you do not want to boil fresh strawberries you can use strawberry juice instead for your drinks. The only thing you have to cook then is the tea. Let the tea cool and mix it with the juices and coconut milk, and you are good to go.
2. If you do not have Earl Grey tea at home you can use Assam, Darjeeling, or any other black tea instead. Some copycat recipes on the internet use hibiscus flower tea here. Simple green tea should also work here I guess ;)
3. The coconut milk I used is a reduced-fat version. If you pay attention to the sugar content, you can also keep an eye on the fat content ;P You can also find coconut drinks in supermarkets these days – those normally contain even less fat. But to be honest, most of them are just watered-down coconut milk. Something you can do yourself at home ;P
4. The dragon fruit powder is not in the original drink. If you don’t have it at hand, you can just leave it out. The drink gets pink without that powder anyway and taste-wise the powder does not contribute too much tbh. Same for the freeze-dried strawberries – hardly a standard ingredient for baking ;) Use regular fresh strawberries instead if you like. They add less flavor, but the texture is much better.
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Wash and dry the strawberries, remove the green parts, and cut them into small pieces. Add together with the juices, and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let cook for a minute, then add the tea bags and reduce the heat – let barely simmer for about 3-4 minutes until the strawberries are soft. Remove from the heat, take out the tea bags, and let cool down for 5 minutes.
2. Pour the strawberries and the liquid into a sieve and collect the liquid in a container – if you press/squeeze the strawberries a bit you will get a bit more liquid for the drinks ;) Add the dragon fruit powder and mix it in. Let cool down completely, then place in the fridge to cool down even further.
3. When ready to serve, add some freeze-dried strawberries to a glass (optional), top with ice cubes, and pour half of the cooled strawberry mixture into the glass (if you want to make only two drinks). Fill up with coconut milk, add a straw, and serve. Mix the drink and enjoy.
Tip 1: If you want to make several smaller drinks instead of two large ones, you can add some additional cold water to »get more« out of the whole shablam… and you can also add some more coconut milk, of course ;P
Tip 2: The strawberry mixture can also be mixed with the coconut milk ahead of time and then stored in the fridge – it should stay fresh for 1-2 days.
1. Erdbeeren waschen, trocknen, das Grün entfernen und in kleine Stücke schneiden. Zusammen mit den Säften und dem Wasser in einen kleinen Topf geben und bei mittlerer Hitzezufuhr einmal aufkochen lassen. Eine Minute lang kochen lassen, dann die Teebeutel dazugeben und die Hitzezufuhr reduzieren – etwa 3-4 Minuten minimal köcheln lassen, bis die Erdbeeren weich sind. Vom Herd nehmen, die Teebeutel herausnehmen und alles etwa 5 Minuten abkühlen lassen.
2. Die Erdbeeren und die Flüssigkeit in ein Sieb gießen und die Flüssigkeit dabei in einem Behälter auffangen. Wenn man die Erdbeeren ordentlich ausdrückt, erhält man etwas mehr Flüssigkeit für die Drinks ;) Das Drachenfruchtpulver dazugeben und unterrühren. Die Mischung vollständig abkühlen lassen, dann in den Kühlschrank stellen, um sie noch weiter abzukühlen.
3. Vor dem Servieren einige gefriergetrocknete Erdbeeren in ein Glas geben (optional), mit Eiswürfeln auffüllen und die Hälfte der abgekühlten Erdbeermischung jeweils in das Glas gießen (wenn es insgesamt nur zwei Drinks werden sollen). Mit Kokosmilch auffüllen, einen Strohhalm dazugeben und servieren. Einmal durchmixen und gut gekühlt genießen.
Tipp 1: Wer statt zwei großer Drinks mehrere kleinere machen möchte, kann noch etwas kaltes Wasser dazugeben, um mehr aus dem Ganzen herauszuholen… und natürlich auch etwas mehr Kokosmilch ;P
Tipp 2: Die Erdbeermischung kann auch vorab mit Kokosmilch gemixt und dann im Kühlschrank gelagert werden – hält auf jeden Fall 1-2 Tage durch.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Summer Pink Drink (Starbucks Inspired)
- Prep Time: 00:05
- Cook Time: 00:05
- Total Time: 01:00
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: United States
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The perfect refreshing summer drink with strawberries and coconut: Summer Pink Drink! Inspired by a Starbucks drink. Just cheaper and less sugary probably ;P
Ingredients
5.3 oz. (150g) fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 cup (120ml) passion fruit juice or maracuja juice
1/3 cup (80ml) red grape juice
3/4 cup (180ml) water
2 bags of Earl Grey tea
1/2 tsp. Dragon fruit powder*
1 cup (240ml) coconut milk (fat reduced)
some freeze-dried strawberries (optional)
ice cubes for serving
additional cold water (optional)
Instructions
1. Wash and dry the strawberries, remove the green parts, and cut them into small pieces. Add together with the juices, and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let cook for a minute, then add the tea bags and reduce the heat – let barely simmer for about 3-4 minutes until the strawberries are soft. Remove from the heat, take out the tea bags, and let cool down for 5 minutes.
2. Pour the strawberries and the liquid into a sieve and collect the liquid in a container – if you press/squeeze the strawberries a bit you will get a bit more liquid for the drinks ;) Add the dragon fruit powder and mix it in. Let cool down completely, then place in the fridge to cool down even further.
3. When ready to serve, add some freeze-dried strawberries to a glass (optional), top with ice cubes, and pour half of the cooled strawberry mixture into the glass (if you want to make only two drinks). Fill up with coconut milk, add a straw, and serve. Mix the drink and enjoy.
Notes
Tip 1: If you want to make several smaller drinks instead of two large ones, you can add some additional cold water to »get more« out of the whole shablam… and you can also add some more coconut milk, of course ;P
Tip 2: The strawberry mixture can also be mixed with the coconut milk ahead of time and then stored in the fridge – it should stay fresh for 1-2 days.
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
