Earlier this summer, I not so boldly predicted that Sabrina Carpenter’s Strawberry Daydream Refresher – her first flirtation with Dunkin’s Refreshers line – was only the beginning.
The Fall menu at Dunkin’ features two new Daydream Refreshers that don’t scream “Fall” in terms of what we’ve grown accustomed to in the pumpkin spice age, but the flavors aren’t totally out of place for September, and they definitely look the part. Mixed Berry and Mango Daydream Refreshers are here in all of their purple and orange glory, attempting to bridge the gap from fruity summer fantasies to convincing yourself it isn’t too early to buy Halloween candy.
Banking on my enjoyment of the Strawberry Daydream, I opted to try the Mixed Berry version. This Refresher blends the strawberry dragonfruit concentrate and blueberry breeze concentrate with oat milk and is served iced, topped with sweet cold foam. Was I just talking about Halloween?
As soon as I was handed my drink, a very different holiday scene came to mind. I couldn’t help but think of the movie Elf, where Buddy goes to work with his father and greets a coworker with “That’s a nice purple dress. Very purply.” This mixed berry drink is decidedly purply, and somehow just holding it and looking at it is enjoyable. Is this why Grimace is always smiling?
Getting beyond looks and into taste, I always enjoy the cold foam at Dunkin’, and this was no different, a thick and sweet layer on top that initially hides anything underneath but quickly dissipates into the drink. I couldn’t detect any strong berry notes until I got past the foam, and I was pleased to find the underlying bulk of the drink to be not too artificially blueberry-ish.
Not surprisingly, the flavor of this Refresher reminded me a lot of a mixed berry yogurt, and the creaminess of the oat milk only made it more reminiscent. You know it’s berry flavored, but no one berry really stands out. We can probably attribute this to the fact that the strawberry flavoring also includes dragonfruit and the blueberry includes juniper, making this a bit of a monster mash of berries. I’ve heard some people found the taste of this and the original Strawberry Daydream to be medicinal, but it never hit my taste buds in that way.
It’s sweet without being overly so, and the berry flavor is inoffensive but also about as exciting as mixed berry yogurt, which is to say, not very.
In addition to not being particularly exciting, I also don’t find this necessarily refreshing. It’s pleasant enough, but when I open the refrigerator searching for refreshment, I’m never going to reach for the mixed berry yogurt first. They say you eat (drink?) with your eyes first, and if you subscribe to that, you might be pleased with this purple concoction, but I don’t think it will warrant a repeat purchase.
Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 290 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of total carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 42 grams of total sugar, and 3 grams of protein