Don't Assume All Starbucks Lemonade Is Caffeine-Free — Here's Why

Usually, when you stop by Starbucks, you're looking for a caffeine boost. But if you don't want that jolt, or just need some refreshment, lemonade seems like a nice caffeine-free treat. Well, you might want to double check that before you order. Starbucks has a few different versions of lemonade as part of its list of drinks that aren't coffee, and a few of them will actually suit your caffeine-free needs. Its standard lemonade is well-liked, and the Lavender Lemonade is the pink treat we didn't know we needed. But the company has also been experimenting with all kinds of new ways to deliver caffeine in unique ways, including the lemonade-flavored Starbucks Refreshers.

We've tasted all 23 flavors of Starbucks Refreshers (and ranked them from best to worst), and you should know that they all contain caffeine. Some of these are the more well-known, trendy drinks that surfaced a few years ago, like Pink Drink and Dragon Drink. There are also four lemonade-flavored variations on the lighter fruit refresher flavors: Strawberry Açaí, Cran-Merry, Blackberry Sage, and Mango Dragonfruit. And while a Blackberry Sage Lemonade might sound like a "refreshing" way to perk up the afternoon without caffeine, you'll also get a little bit more of a kick than you were looking for. Also, while this might less of a surprise, the Iced Matcha Lemonade and Green Tea Lemonade also have caffeine due to their tea ingredients.

The Starbucks' Refresher drinks get their caffeine from added green coffee extract, which is made by steeping raw, unroasted coffee beans in water. Green coffee extract is known for a number of spurious claims about its potential health benefits, but Starbucks doesn't actually make any of those claims; the green coffee extract seemly solely intended as a caffeine boost without adding coffee flavor. And while this addition does give these Refreshers some caffeine, they also don't contain as much as Starbucks coffee does. Each Refresher has between 45 and 55 milligrams of caffeine — far less than the more 300 mg that Starbucks Pike Place hot coffee has, and more in line with a cup of breakfast tea.

In fact if you are looking for caffeine-free options, including cooler iced drinks, the tea may be the way to go. As we noted before, the Matcha Lemonade is out of the question, but the Iced Passion Tango Tea is one of the better Starbucks caffeine-free drinks we've tried. As for hot beverages, the Mint Majesty Tea is the one option without caffeine that's currently listed on the menu. Overall, it's pretty hard to avoid caffeine at Starbucks unless you are going with some heavy Frappuccinos; even the hot chocolate has caffeine from mocha syrup. But at least you have the regular and Strawberry-Blended Lemonade to fall back on.