By: Ilse Franklin, 2028 and Charlotte Quinn, 2028
Recently, Starbucks released three new drinks- the Cannon Ball Refresher, (inspired by Mr. Beast), the Dubai Chocolate Matcha, and the Dubai Chocolate Mocha (as well as new protein drinks, however we didn’t try those). On Wednesday, January 14, we went to try them and give our honest review on whether they’re worth your money or not.
Cannon Ball Refresher- 9/10; Grande: $5.83
Nice sweet fruity flavor. Hints of mango and dragonfruit, nicely balanced. Strawberry and dragonfruit inclusions are annoying to drink. Great for a hot summer day, not so much for mid winter. Similar in taste to the mango green tea refresher from Dunkin. Very flavorful, and long lasting flavor.
Dubai Chocolate Matcha – 6/10; Grande: $6.25
Nice matcha flavor, cocoa cold foam is good. Can’t taste any pistachio though. The cold foam overpowers the matcha and it tastes more like chocolate than anything else, however it is overall weak in flavor and pretty bland, especially compared to the CanonBall drink.
Dubai Chocolate Mocha – 0/10; Grande: $6.45
We tried to order The Dubai Chocolate Mocha two times, but both times they gave us a matcha. We later decided to confront them about it and ask for a mocha, and they refused and claimed that the cold foam was the mocha (which is not true). We even checked online to make sure we were correct, and we were. We ended up giving up and leaving the store embarrassed.
Worth It?
The Starbucks Cannon Ball drink is definitely worth your money with its long lasting delicious flavor and strawberry dragonfruit inclusions. Every sip is like a fruity explosion in your mouth, and it is overall super enjoyable. On the other hand, Starbucks iced Dubai Chocolate Matcha drink is not worth it. If you enjoy Starbucks matcha, you would be much better off with the original since you cannot taste any pistachio at all. While the chocolate cold foam is good, it does not taste like dubai chocolate and overwhelms the matcha flavor.
Bonus: drinks we recommend –
- Cannon Ball Resfresher
- Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai (seasonal to fall)
- Iced Matcha w/ salted caramel cold foam
- Strawberry Açaí Refresher
- Peach Green Tea Lemonade
