Review: Starbucks Soft-Launches Its Best Secret Menu Drink of Summer—And Teases a New Bearista Cup

As if that weren't enough, Starbucks is also unveiling a seasonal take on The Cup That Launched a Thousand Memes, Copycats and an eBay Frenzy. That's right—the Bearista cup is back, this time with a summertime glow-up. The new glass cold cup features a Starbucks cap and strawberry straw topper. It hits stores nationwide on July 13, though Reserve-level Rewards members can snag one early—starting July 9—via the Starbucks Shop.

As for what to fill that Bearista cup with, well, you've got no shortage of options. Read on for full reviews of the Smith's Blue Coconut Shaken Espresso, as well as all of the other additions to the summer menu (so far).

• What's In It: vanilla confetti cake, white-chocolatey icing
• Price: $3.45

You may not be able to get the unicorn Frappuccino, but anyone jonesing for a dose of 2016-era nostalgia (or who has a toddler to pacify while indulging in an afternoon pick-me-up), you can order a unicorn cake pop. It's made with a vanilla confetti cake base, covered in "white-chocolatey" icing, which is every bit as sweet as you'd expect.

• What's In It: popcorn dusted with white cheddar cheese powder and protein isolate
• Price: $2.95

After bringing Khloud's Sweet and Salty Protein Popcorn to stores at the start of the year, Starbucks is expanding its partnership with the addition of the white cheddar flavor. Which, honestly, is the best Khloud flavor out there (and I've tried them all). Truffle and White Cheddar may be a close second...but it's really the sharp white cheddar that makes this snack stand out.

Psst: To promote the launch, Khloud founder Khloe Kardashian surprised fans at an LA Starbucks—and announced on Instagram Stories that the brand would be giving away 300 Starbucks Rewards points to 10,000 people so they could try a grande Tropical Butterfly Refresher and single-serving White Cheddar Protein Popcorn for free. If you want in, you'll have to check out her Stories and act fast (though Stories are only up for 24 hours, something tells me this giveaway will be scooped up even faster).

• What’s In It: A combination of strawberry, coconut and açaí flavors, hand-shaken with blue spirulina and your choice of lemonade or coconut milk
• Price (grande): $6.45

Don't let this ocean-blue drink fool you—while coconut is in the name, the coconut flavor is milder than expected. It's actually more berry-forward, thanks to the addition of strawberry and açaí flavors. Together, it creates a fruity-yet-crisp drink that's ideal for cooling off on balmy days.

When you order, you'll get to choose whether your drink is made with coconut milk (which makes it smoother and milder) or lemonade (my preference, as it adds a nice little bit of tartness).

You can also choose your level of caffeine and B vitamins. (The standard is "light caffeine," which adds 50mg per grande, or you can opt for an Energy Refresher, which adds 125mg for a grande. I opted for caffeine-free.)

BTW, if you order this drink or the Iced Blue Coconut Matcha now through July 7, Starbucks will donate 25 cents to Water.org, an initiative to expand access to safe, sanitized water worldwide. It's part of the brand's larger Get Blue partnership, which uses a combination of donations and a portion of sales of Get Blue products to provide small loans to families to gain access to clean, drinkable water worldwide (which impacts roughly 2 billion people, according to Water.org).

• What’s In It: A guava-passionfruit Refresher base, served over ice (and with coconutmilk or lemonade, if desired), and mango-pineapple pearls
• Price (grande): $6.45

I'll be honest: It's hard not to be delighted when the barista hands you this drink. It's so vibrant that it catches you off-guard, but what surprised me even more was the balance of flavors, which vary in intensity depending on how you drink it.

This Refresher is best sipped with a straw—and swirled, at the risk of muddling those layers of color. Otherwise, your first sip will be Butterfly Pea Flower-heavy and a bit bland overall. Grab a straw, however, and your senses will wake up, fast, even if you opt for the caffeine-free version of the drink. The guava and passionfruit offers a fruit punch-like sweetness, which is only amplified the second you pop a mango-pineapple flavored pearl.

And, like the Blue Coconut Refresher, you can customize your level of caffeine and B vitamins, and enjoy it with lemonade or coconutmilk.

• What’s In It: Iced matcha with mango flavoring and blue spirulina, topped with toasted coconut cold foam
• Price (grande): $6.45

I am not a matcha person—normally, the grassy notes are just too much for me. But this? This drink converted me. The mango notes soften the vegetal nature of the drink without making it taste overly sweet. Combine that with the frothy, roasty-yet-tropical notes of the toasted coconut cold foam, and you've got a drink that feels like a treat in and of itself. It's the type of bev you sip as you go on a walk through the park, taking in the dappled light through the trees; relaxing and filling, all at once. Or, you know, use to fuel a rapid-fire catch-up with a friend, curled up in one of the chain's leather chairs. Either works.

• What’s In It: Iced shaken espresso topped with blue coconut cold foam
• Price (grande): $5.70

Classic iced coffee drinkers, this one's for you. Most of Starbucks's recent launches have turned up the flavor (and color) to 11—to the point that you don't really taste the espresso flavor in the espresso-based drinks. Not so with this one. While bold in presentation, the blue coconut cold foam is pretty subtle, flavor-wise, adding a hint of tropical sweetness to the full-bodied espresso. As it swirls into the drink, it creates a very creamy texture, resulting in a sip that feels luxurious but not like liquid candy.

Now through July 19, you can order it directly in the app. After that, you'll have to customize the creation yourself—provided blue coconut cold foam is still available—by adding it to an iced shaken espresso.

• What’s In It: blonde espresso, horchata-flavored syrup, oat milk, ice
• Price (grande): $5.95

"This drink is super fall-coded to me, but tasty enough to sip in the summertime, too," PureWow contributor and former food editor Taryn Pire says. "I love the color and gentler, roasty notes of the blonde espresso; it makes for a smoother overall flavor, rather than a bold, bitter taste at the forefront. The espresso’s warm earthiness plays beautifully with the spices in the horchata flavoring."

When she first tried it last year, she was most impressed with the syrup, which had the cinnamon-meets-vanilla notes you'd expect, but there was also a distinct, "rice milk-inspired sweetness." It had a subtle nuttiness and a starchy, silky mouthfeel.

This year, Starbucks is expanding on its popularity, offering the drink as a Frappuccino as well. If you plan on ordering it, Pire has one suggestion: "To amp up the cinnamon notes, add a pump of Cinnamon Dolce syrup." You heard it here first.