“Your summer playground is here.”

Surprisingly, it’s not a pick-up line.  It’s the theme of the new Starbucks handcrafted soda line.  These are designed to be refresher beverages, fruit drinks made with real sugar (not corn syrup) and infused with carbonation.  I had the opportunity to sample many of the flavors today, and although I wasn’t transported into a past childhood playground – or drawn into an adult fantasy playground for that matter –  it was fascinating to taste what passed the development and marketing tests to make it into the stores.

The Bad

My first taste was not encouraging.  It was Lime and I immediately thought it would be better used as a palate cleanser than a refreshing beverage.  The Berry Hibiscus was only slightly better, but had the unique ability of being slightly addictive in spite of it’s questionable flavor.  The Root Beer could have been a Sassafras Tea gone bad: it may be more medicinal than tasty.

The Good

The Lemonade took me back to France, where Limonade is supreme (Now this is a playground I can appreciate).  But the best by far was the Orange.  I expected it to be a take-off on Orangina, but it was much more.  There was a burst of Mandarin Orange to make your taste buds spin.

Like so many of the Starbucks drinks, these refreshers are overpriced for what you get, so I’m not certain I’d set out to intentionally purchase one, but to cool down on a hot day these drinks are a viable option.  They definitely were not the bully on the playground, leaving you disappointed and betrayed, miserable in a time of fun, and yet I’d stick with the comfortable friends.  I’d rather pay a price for a satisfying flavor than a stomach elixir.