This is the easiest and most delicious drink! Here I show you how to make a Strawberry Acai Refresher that everyone will love.
Here in Brazil, freshly squeezed juices and combination juices with Acai or coconut are extremely common. Acai is also grown locally in Brazil, so you can find Acai stores on nearly every block! So, today I am sharing a drink that you may have seen at a certain coffee store in the US that uses Acai. Keep reading to find out how to make a Strawberry Acai Refresher in the easiest possible way!!
This simple and delicious dark pink drink uses frozen acai that you can find in most grocery stores these days. It uses fresh or frozen strawberries and an everyday tea that you have on hand. Finally a simple syrup of sugar and water sweetens the whole thing up. You get tea notes, tangy acai notes, and sweet strawberry notes.
Pour it over ice and it's seriously the most refreshing and delicious fruity drink! This is about to become one of your new favorite drinks.
Jump to:
- Acai in Brazil
- Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
- Simple Equipment You'll Need with Options
- Tips for this Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe
- How to Make Strawberry Acai Refresher
- Variations on this Strawberry Acai Drink
- FAQ
- What to Pair with this Strawberry Acai Refresher
- How to Make Strawberry Acai Refresher
Acai in Brazil
Almost 95% of all açaí consumed in the world comes from the Pará state, in the Brazilian North Region. In Brazil, açaí, which at first glance looks similar to a blueberry or purple grape, is part of the daily diet. It's often referred to as a superfood because of the vitamins and nutrients it contains. "The fruit has...vitamins (A, E, D, K, B1, B2, C), minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and phosphorus), amino acids, antioxidants, and essential oils." So, it's no wonder that it has gained such popularity among the health conscience. It has also gained much commercial appeal. Here in Brazil, there are many chains, such as Oakberry and Purpleberry. Chains in the US, such as Starbucks also launched seasonal drinks with açaí. We always have açaí in our freezer:)
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
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This homemade strawberry acai refresher takes only a few ingredients.
- Frozen Acai - I used a frozen pureed version, but as this is blended up, you can use frozen acai berries as well. You can also use freeze dried acai powder.
- Strawberries - I used fresh, but you can certainly use frozen strawberries. If you use frozen, you may want to blend with hot green tea as opposed to cold tea so the berries thaw. Unless you want more of a frosty drink, which would also be amazing. You can also use freeze-dried fruit if you don't have fresh or frozen strawberries.
- Water - Some of the water is used to make the simple sugar syrup. The rest is to mix with the fruit purees.
- Sugar - Regular white granulated sugar is best for this recipe as it gets cooked in the water to dissolve. You could also use artificial sweeteners, just add a little at a time and taste as a little goes a long way!
- Tea - For this recipe, I recommend steeping your own unsweetened tea. I used 1 green tea bag in one cup of hot water. Store-bought sweet teas will make this drink way too sweet. Mild teas, such as green tea, english breakfast, or whatever tea you have should be fine. I just would not recommend cinnamon or other flavored teas that could also the flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Simple Equipment You'll Need with Options
For strawberries and acai, you need a blender to get a smooth and silky. I love my NutriBullet Blender but any blender will work! You can also use a food processor if you don't have a blender.
You may also need a fine mesh strainer or fine mesh sieve if you want to remove the strawberry seeds.
You also need a large pitcher to serve this drink.
Tips for this Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe
Make extra and freeze!
You can turn it into a granita by pouring it into a casserole dish and ever 1-2 hours, scraping it up.
Turn it into ice cubes for another drink!
Make popsicles!
How to Make Strawberry Acai Refresher
Here are the easy steps to pull this drink together.
If you are using frozen acai puree, take it out to soften a bit on the counter. Then prep the strawberries by cleaning under cold water and removing the stems and leaves.
Make the tea with 1 tea bag and 1 cup of hot water.
Make the sugar simple syrup by pouring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar into a small pot.
Over low heat, bring to a simmer while stirring until the sugar completely dissolves.
TIP: if you want a less-sweet drink, you can add ¾ cup sugar
Remove from the heat and let cool.
In a blender, blend the strawberries and the tea.
I prefer no seeds. so, I pour the strawberry puree through a fine mesh strainer over the serving pitcher.
If you don't mind seeds, then you can skip that step.
Next blend the acai and the simple syrup until smooth.
Then add that to the strawberry mixture.
Last, add the final cold cup of water. Mix everything together and pour over ice in a tall glass.
If you want to garnish with fresh strawberries, you can slice them and add to the pitcher or the individual glasses. Enjoy!
Variations on this Strawberry Acai Drink
This Acai Strawberry refresher drink is just delicious, but there are so many ways to change it up!
- Adult-Only Version - If you want to serve this as a cocktail at a party, you could add a ½ cup to ¾ cup of rum or vodka to it.
- Banana - I always keep frozen bananas sliced in my freezer. You can add a cup of them to this drink plus a bit of milk and it will be delicious!
- Frozen Smoothie - For a frozen smoothie, you can add crushed ice, frozen bananas, frozen acai, and frozen strawberries all to the blender with a cup of milk, cup coconut milk, or almond milk instead of the sugar syrup. The bananas will bring all the sugar you need!
- Lemon or Lime Spritzer - Add some club soda or other clear sparkling drink to the mixture and a squeeze of Fresh lime juice or lemon juice. You could also add champaign instead!
- Strawberry acai lemonade refresher - Instead of water and sugar, you can use 3 cups of sweetened lemonade.
- Strawberry Passion Fruit - You can swap either the strawberries or the Acai with Passion Fruit puree or passionfruit juice for a tangy twist.
See this spicy version of this recipe on my website! (placeholder for in-content link)
FAQ
No, this is not the Starbucks recipe. Instead of green coffee powder or green coffee extract, this version uses tea. The amounts and the rest of the ingredients may be similar, but I did not use the Starbucks recipe.
This recipe uses tea, which does have caffeine. You can eliminate the tea or use caffeine free tea if you want a caffeine-free drink.
You can absolutely freeze this drink! Pour it into popsicle molds to make a fun frozen dessert! Pour it into an ice cube tray for color and tasty ice cubes. Or simply freeze the drink in an freezer safe airtight container and it will last up to 6 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
What to Pair with this Strawberry Acai Refresher
I love this drink all on it's own while sitting in the sun. But you can take it up a notch and pair it with any of these delicious desserts.
How to Make Strawberry Acai Refresher
Ingredients
- ½ cup Frozen Acai puree
- 1 cup Fresh Strawberries
- 3 cups Water (2 cups for the sugar syrup, 1 to mix into the refresher)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Steeped and Cooled Green Tea (1 tea bag + 1 cup hot water)
Instructions
- If you are using frozen acai puree, take it out to soften a bit on the counter. Then prep the strawberries by cleaning under cold water and removing the stems and leaves. Make the tea with 1 tea bag and 1 cup of hot water.
- Make the sugar simple syrup by pouring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar into a small pot over low heat and bring to a simmer while stirring until the sugar completely dissolves. (NOTE: if you want a less-sweet drink, you can add ¾ cup sugar) Remove from the heat and let cool.
- In a blender, blend the strawberries and the tea. Then I like to strain out the seeds over the serving pitcher. If you don't mind seeds, then you can skip that step.
- Next blend the acai and the simple syrup until smooth. Then add that to the strawberry mixture. Last, add the final cold cup of water. Mix everything together.
- If you want to garnish with fresh strawberries, you can slice them and add to the pitcher or the individual glasses. Enjoy!
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