The Violet Drink is a classic Starbucks beverage that offers a sweet yet tart combination of hibiscus tea and berries. It’s a creamy delight that we love to order on a summer’s day when a hot coffee just isn’t called for!
But how can you replicate the tarty goodness of a Starbucks Violet Drink at home? It’s surprisingly simple. We put together the following purple drink recipe so that you can prepare your own Starbucks Violet Drink whenever it takes your fancy.
You no longer have to wait in line for your purple Starbucks drink because instead, you’ll be mixing hibiscus tea and berry juice with frozen berries and coconut milk. Keep reading, and find out how to make a Starbucks Violet Drink.
What is the Violet Drink?
The Violet Drink is a favorite of Starbucks customers that combines blackberries and tart hibiscus with a creamy serving of coconut milk. It’s a beautiful mix of flavors, and when served over ice, it’s extremely refreshing, yet also creamy and filling. Now you can see why it’s a popular choice amongst customers?
However, it’s pretty simple to prepare the drink at home rather than queuing up at your local Starbucks. Let’s look at the key ingredients you’ll need for a Violet Drink Starbucks replica.
Hibiscus tea
As you might imagine from a coffee shop, there’s got to be some tea or coffee element to this drink; and that comes in the form of hibiscus tea. Don’t worry if you’re not a big caffeine fan, though, because hibiscus tea is low in caffeine.
Hibiscus tea is commonly seen as a healthy type of tea, and it’s prepared using the leaves and flowers of the hibiscus plant (which is sometimes better known as the Jamaica plant). Hibiscus offers a tart, almost bitter flavor, but as always, you can even this out with a dash of sugar syrup if it’s not to your liking!
Hibiscus tea is becoming more widely available around the world, and you’ll find it in all good health food stores, specialist tea shops, as well as many mainstream supermarkets. If you can’t find hibiscus, try using any berry-flavored tea. Your Starbucks Violet Drink won’t be quite so tart or authentic without the hibiscus, but it will still be purple!
Blackberries
An authentic Violet Drink Starbucks-style is prepared using blackberries. Sweet blackberries add a touch of natural sugar while not overwhelming the primary tart taste that we’re aiming for with this beverage.
The best sweet blackberries to use are actually going to be frozen berries rather than freshly picked. That’s because frozen blackberries ensure that the drink stays cool for longer. You can find frozen blackberries in all good supermarkets and food stores. Still, it’s also possible to use any other frozen berries you have available or a mixture of different frozen berries. It is also worth noting that you will potentially save money when buying frozen berries over fresh berries at the store.
Other options offering natural sugar and keeping that bitter flavor include blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries. If you’re looking for more of a sugar hit, then try sweeter berries, particularly strawberries.
To complement the blackberries, you’ll also be adding berry juice to this Violet Drink Starbucks-replica! It’s aberrydelicious combination!
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the third primary (dairy milk just doesn’t cut it in this respect!). The health benefits of coconut milk make a great choice, added with the natural taste.
Other ingredients
To complete your Violet Drink, you also need plenty of ice - after all, this is a refreshing, cool beverage. We suggest using an Ice ball maker to prepare the best ice, that way, and your Violet Drink will stay cooler for longer.
Suppose you prefer sweet flavors to tart flavors. In that case, you can add heavy cream to this drink with the addition of sugar syrup or natural sugar sweeteners such as maple syrup or agave syrup.
Okay, now let’s get to our Violet Drink Starbucks-inspired recipe!
Violet Drink recipe
The following recipe prepares One Violet Drink (2 cups of liquid, total). Feel free to scale the ingredients down for a smaller cup or scale up if you’d prefer to make a large pitcher of Violet Drink instead!
Ingredients
- 1 c of hibiscus tea
- 2 tbsp of frozen sweet blackberries
- ½ c of berry juice
- ½ c of coconut milk
- Ice
Directions
- Prepare hibiscus tea, then allow to cool (place in the refrigerator, or cool rapidly with ice).
- Once cool, add frozen berries and ice to a large glass, then pour over your hibiscus tea.
- Add berry juice and coconut milk, stir, then allow to settle.
- Serve fresh and cold!
Violet Drink recipe FAQ
What are the health benefits of hibiscus tea?
Hibiscus tea has a relatively large number of known health benefits, which contributes to the popularity of this lovely type of tea as a healthy food.
This herbal tea is a well-known antioxidant, providing the molecules that our bodies need in order to fight off dangerous free radicals, which have the potential to cause cancers. Hibiscus tea can also lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol, and it can help you to lose weight as part of a well-balanced diet and exercise plan.
Considering it’s delicious, increasingly available in most stores, and can be turned into a tasty Violet Drink, we think this is one herbal tea to embrace for the future!
Is Violet Drink healthy?
It’s not just the hibiscus tea that’s healthy, either. Overall, preparing a Violet Drink can be considered a healthy treat - especially in comparison to many sugar-filled smoothies or even Starbucks' very own frappuccinos.
First of all, this is a low-calorie beverage - especially when you stick to the ingredients list above. An average serving of Violet Drink contains less than 100 calories, but it’s still sweet, and it’s still delicious.
You’ve got your healthy hibiscus, as well as all the vitamins and nutrients that are found in blackberries. Most of the calories come from coconut milk, but this is a much healthier alternative to full-fat milk or heavy cream - they are far more calorific!
Keep the sugar count low too (don’t add any extra sugar syrup or any other sugars), and you’ve got yourself a surprisingly healthy Starbucks drink.
Do Violet Drinks contain caffeine?
Violet drinks don’t contain much caffeine, which is surprising, given it’s a firm favorite at Starbucks, a world-renowned coffee chain!
This drink isn’t about the caffeine hit, though. A Violet Drink is all about those refreshing flavors, tart, bitter vibes, and creamy coconut goodness.
If you’re purchasing a Violet Drink at Starbucks, though, there will be some caffeine as they tend to add in a coffee boost to the drink. You can ask for it to be prepared without this, though. If you’re making your own at home, there won’t be any!
Violet Drink: it’s time to get refreshed!
Starbucks Violet Drink is one refreshing beverage. We love mixing up our low sugar replica version of this coffee shop favorite at home on a hot summer’s day. It’s cool, it’s chilled, but it’s also got that rich creaminess that leaves you feeling full!
It’s relatively easy to make a Violet Drink Starbucks-replica, too. All you need are berries, hibiscus tea, and coconut milk to get started. If you’re looking to recreate the authentic flavor of this purple favorite, then why not bookmark our recipe for a Violet Drinks Starbucks replica?