They were sampling the Blended Lemonade at my Starbucks this morning, and...

...it seemed to get so-so to negative reviews. "Too tart," I heard one customer say. Another -- an elderly curmudgeon -- just rolled his eyes and muttered, blended lemonade? (Maybe it was just a crabby bunch; commenters say they got a better reaction.) What's your review of the just-launched drink?

Comments

[Neevan]

I find it really good. The regular blended lemonade is slightly tart. Last weekend, I blended every tea with the lemonade. With black tea, it's a bit too astringent, but it's really good with both green and Passion teas.

[Alex]

Definitely too tart. But it tastes pretty good with raspberry syrup. And the blended lemonade would make the PERFECT margarita mix, I think...

[a dash of daring]

This product is so easy to make at home, why bother?

[Richard]

I guess it's just as hard as making coffee at home.

[SBX MGR]

I find it very refreshing during the heat. I enjoy it way more than some of the overly sweet offerings that we have available.

[Tall Drip]

Too tart? Wow, is there a chance that it might actually taste more like real lemon than sugar water with a drop of lemon essence? Makes me want to try it.

The mainstream palate expects everything to be so sugared-up....I can't stand it. Lemons are supposed to be tart.

[bdb]

When we got it two weeks ago it was very sweet, but with blended tea (it's being pushed more with blended tea) it's tasty!

[Ettal]

So far, so good. Other than the extra tartness from the "real lemon zest" (which people seem to like a lot) I think they purposely formulated the new lemon mixture to give the finished beverage a smoother texture after blending than the original lemonade. I wouldn't worry about it being too tart... kids today were raised on Warheads, and I agree with adding a pump or three of raspberry... very nice.

[SeattleMelody]

I haven't tried it yet, but I will at some point today.

I'm just surprised that when you go to starbucks.com the main page hasn't been updated with any information about the new beverage. It seems like every time there's a new drink there's some link to it or some information about it on the Starbucks home page, but not this time.

I wonder if Starbucks just forgot, or if it was intentional because the lemonade drink isn't a coffee drink. But they could've at least had some clickable icon. And I bet the homepage will update for the Vivannos!

[Trent]

Melody I think its also because this is just a product launch and not a promotion launch. We have very limited signage in the stores and quite honestly, I think my SM and ASM forgot about it. I don't even know how to make it and I'm going to work in 3 hours. I'm going to be really embarassed if not one person remembered that we launch today.

[tallguy]

I LOVE IT! My last 10 partner beverages have been BL!

[Peachy]

We've had a few people get it, and they've all loved it! Maybe people complaining about the tartness of it were in a more northern or western state? I've never been out there, so I don't know how they perfer their lemonade (maybe like the sweet vs. unsweet tea battle). I've noticed that in the midsouth (NC) where I am, tartness is something valued highly in lemonade. My grandfather always called it "pucker power".

I dunno. I like how smooth they are, and they really taste good to me. Our customers seem to like them alot, so I guess thats what matters.

One of my coworkers loves it with Melon.

[Ms. Pants]

I've yet to try it but that it's reviewing in at "too tart" makes me more keen to do so. I'm the kid that sucks on freshly cut lemons.

Now, if they could find a way to infuse caffeine into it without using coffee (as coffee and lemon would taste assy, I imagine), I'd be completely hooked!

[jenn nahrstadt]

the customers we sampled it for were all enthusiastic. most commented that they'd be even better with some kind of liquor--vodka, gin, rum, etc.--but the response was nothing but positive!

[Jackie]

Last week I ordered one, and the barista had no idea how to make it.

[Justin]

all the "lemonade" (which taste like lemonheads) and tea seem to sink to the bottom of the cup after a few minutes... most people had this problem. it separates *really* fast.

[Alex]

Ms. Pants- Try adding the energy powder. That'll send ya flying

[jenna]

I like it. It's tart like italian ice but not as hard. One thing I did notice was that if I let it sit, it gets hot in the straw and that is NOT a good taste when you go to take a drink!

I made some iced wild sweet orange and did the blended tea lemonade with that and it was nice. the orange wasn't very powerful-not nearly as powerful as the passion was with it. honestly I haven't even tried it with the zen like the recipe calls for.

[Sheik]

"Too Tart?" --heaven forbid something taste like an actual flavor other than sugary sweetness...

[OkieBarista]

I like it a lot. I like to add a couple pumps of melon and some matcha powder. It comes out Hulk green, but delicious nonetheless!

[Mee]

Either we don't launch it today in Canada or my whole store forgot about it. we haven't even had the lemonade base in the store yesterday... Some of my fellow partners blend naked juice with lemonade (the ones for the tea lemonade) though. Kind of yummy! :-)

[Jake]

I'm a barista for starbucks and I think t hat it tastes more like the Kool-Aid version of lemonade than real lemonade. But it all just matters what you like.

[thatgirl]

I've been wanting to try this one ever since I saw it in the promo workbook before I left... Going to have to find a Sbux to try it at. Does anyone know if they have these at Target sbuxes? I always liked the passion tea lemonade and thought the lemon zest was a great idea.

[harmaa]

I love it, I had oral surgery a week ago and it feels soooo soothing on my stitches. Also, there isn't a good Italian ice place here in Chicago, and this makes up for it.

I could never drink more than a tall, though!

[Jake]

I'm a barista for starbucks and I think t hat it tastes more like the Kool-Aid version of lemonade than real lemonade. But it all just matters what you like.

[barristerbarista]

I like it with black tea and two pumps classic. I think the classic might help sweeten it a tad, or I suppose you could add splenda, etc.

Passion and Lemon is good, but just by itself it has a taste like melted lemon chill.

Also, Jackie, if you ordered it last week, they wouldn't have known how to make it because it just launched today. We didn't even get our lemonade base till thursday or friday last week.

[ohmi.gosh]

Like some of you others here, i've been looking forward to trying this since i first heard about it months ago. I've since left the company... but was the first to try it at a local store this morning *pride*. It seemed like many of the baristas there were bemused by the beverage. It tasted okay; very nice on a hot, muggy Houston day, but it could have been even tarter, in my opinion.

[anonymous]

I found it really bland. Not tart enough.

[seventysix [76]]

I got off at 10am this morning, so I didn't really get to observe any feedback. I've been coaching my team on how to make it this week/make sure they read the recipe card, and when they try it they seem to like it.

I think I've seen a general consensus that the Blended Lemonade by itself is a bit too much. However, I've tried the Passion Tea Blended Lemonade and the Green Tea Blended Lemonade and I love both! Cool and refreshing for what's looking out to be one hot summer!

seventysix [76]

[spork]

No I believe all Canada stores rolled out today...

Partner appreciation for us today!
I stopped by at my store and picked up a coffee press and a double tall extra foamy vanilla latte.... too bad my DM was on bar as a little joke, and he made THE WORST latte I've ever had.... burned milk, no foam, tasted like non fat, no vanilla, shots added on top and expired... it made me not so happy. I wish I had gotten a blended lemonade instead, I'm so excited to try them!!!

[sbuxnewbie]

We tried it today. It was ok - tastes like a sweet, less tart Italian lemon ice. Tried it again with Passion tea, and it was very nice - the tea cuts through all of the sweetness.

I can't wait to get the naked orange/mango concentrate (for the Vivannos), and try blending the lemonade, passion tea, and orange/mango juice blend together. it should taste like a refreshing tropical party on my tongue.

[Trent]

Went into work today, noone knew how to make the blended lemonades. None of the promo signage was out. Had to remind my SM about it, she was like "OH SHIT!"

Then I was hoping she'd think on her to utilize part of her detail cleaning non-coverage that she scheduled on of the partnrs for, to do some sampling during our morning rush..but she didnt. So finally I did and as soon as I sampled it out in the lobby, we had people ordered it right away.

[100% Kona made in a Clover]

The Blended lemonade stuff was not exactly my personal cup of tea so to speak. It almost immediately gave me heartburn from the acidity. I love Blended strawberry lemonades, but this just didn't do it for me. I sure hope Vivanno's are better. BTW, we are getting fresh bananas in Boston!! One more thing to attract the fruit flies I guess.

[coldincanada]

its awesome if u do a venti with a few pumps of melon and a pump or two of raspberry

[yum]

i adore them - i don't know why people say they're too tart, i find them much too sweet. try it with cbb to the first line and lemon to the second line - lemon creamsicle! and no, it doesn't curdle.

i agree with the sampling - they're incredible. very like gelato. leaves you wanting more.

and to the person who tried to order it a week ago - that'll be because they only just launched today, lol

[Millstone]

We've had the blended the base for about two weeks now. So our store started making it early (oops!) Everyone except our minors who love the frappies thought it was gross and tasted like cough syrup. I don't know where the tart comments are coming from. Our real lemonade taste much better blended then the sugary gooness. Has anyone tried a blended strawberry green tea? Delish!!

[Peaches]

Next time you're behind the bar, try this:

Passion tea concentrate to the first line
Strawberry puree to the second line
Melon syrup (2-3-4)

I like that drink a lot better than the blended lemonade.

[Adam]

Weird that everybody finds it too tart, here in Victoria, British Columbia, our customers say it's quite sweet on it's own and are getting us to add a bit of water to unsweeten it a bit. All depends on personal taste though :-)

[coffee_master]

i LOVE it! its really good with passion tea and melon or just by itself. its really really refreshing! good for summer!

every customer loves it.

[LA BARISTA]

blended lemonade is ok...Can't wait for the Sorbetto its much better.

[BAR-ista]

The Black Tea Lemonade Blended is really good if you put more of the tea than the lemonade! These are great substitutions for those who normally get the tea over rocks!

[lattegal]

It has more of a lime taste to me rather than a lemonade taste. But by adding a pump or two of raspberry syrup it really tasted much better.

Who tastes these drinks before they come out? Honey Lattes, Sugar free mocha, now blended lemonade?

[coffeekitty]

My staff thought it was way too sweet. Yeah, this is coming from my younger partners.

I've been doing a half black/half lemon blended drink which works out pretty well for me. This will hot the spot of a hot, muggy day!

[TheNicestGuyYou'llNeverMeet]

At our store we sampled out the blended lemonades and got a pretty decent response. I, on the other hand found the tea blended lemonade to have a lime flavour. Ugh! But if you mix the new lemonade base with strawberry sauce it tastes better than the other lemonade mixed with strawberry sauce. I think im gonna stick with my sprringtime/summertime drink of choice: Iced Venti Custom Iced Tea: Half Black/Half Zen iced tea with 2 pumps of Classic and 2 pumps of melon.

[beautiful barista!]

To make it less sweet, try the new lemonade base to the first line and the OLD lemonade base to the 2nd line. It makes it more like lemonade, instead of weirdly creamy and like sorbet.

[wenchorama]

It's only been a year and a half since I worked in a store, but I feel like I would be completely lost if I went back. It seems like there have been so many changes and new drinks. How does everyone keep up?

[beautiful barista!]

WENCHORAMA: I've been with the company for around a year, and i can say i miss the old promos where they'ld just introduce a new syrup and maybe a pastry. Im sick of promos that involve 12 drinks and 14 pastries.gahhh its starting to feel like FAST FOOD.

[Sarah]

the only TRUE blended lemonade is Del's in Rhode Island. Nothing will ever compare to that.

[stacy]

Our customers are loving it! It's cool and refreshing in this horrid 95 degree sauna we live in (south Louisiana). Our sweet tea sales are already banging and I think this is be right up there with it.

[LA.SM]

Stacy, I am from the west coast...tell me more about this sweet tea. Is it different or just BT with classic?