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

It was only about a week ago that I was sipping on the Pink Spritz Refresher from Dunkin’, but because this is the Summer of Refreshers, we can’t stop there! We now have another pink one to try, Sabrina’s Strawberry Daydream Refresher.

This is Sabrina Carpenter’s second collaboration with Dunkin’, and I’m going to take a wild (strawberry) guess and say it won’t be her last. This iced drink takes the Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher flavor, adds oat milk, and is topped with sweet cold foam. The commercial features Sabrina working at the Dunkin’ Daydream Hotline (no, you can’t actually call this, although it might have been funny if they’d set one up where she gives you several automated responses). She tells her caller, who is suffering from being “hot,” that they need a Strawberry Daydream Refresher while she grabs said beverage from her desk and proceeds to lose herself in strawberry bliss. So, is this daydream worthy?

My drink arrived looking creamy, pale pink, and topped with an inch or so of foam. Despite the fact that the foam itself is not strawberry flavored, I got a strong whiff of strawberry as soon as I lifted the cup to my face, and that feeling never left. Dunkin’s canned cold foam isn’t built to last, but it does provide a nice topper for a few sips before it melts its way into the rest of the beverage. Are there any fans out there of the Starbucks’ Strawberry Crème Frappuccino? This reminds me of a lighter version of that, if we can call something with 41 grams of sugar “lighter” (the Starbucks drink has 51 grams). Oat milk can vary, but I found whatever brand used here to be creamy and complementary with no weird or unpleasant aftertaste.

There are pops of berry tartness throughout, and I know the nutrition facts say otherwise, but somehow, it really isn’t too sweet. It falls under the “Refresher” umbrella, but if I was parched, I wouldn’t reach for this to quench my thirst. I would, however, be happy to have it as a lazy, slow-sipped afternoon treat. The foam might dissipate early, but this drink retained its ice impressively and, from start to finish, really delivers on the strawberries and cream vibe. If you’re in an extreme sweat, I don’t think this beverage should be your first choice, but if you’re looking to just take a break and drift into a sweet summertime vibe, this won’t disappoint.

Purchased Price: $3.32 ($3 deal in-app, regular price $4.39)
Size: Medium
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of total carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 41 grams of total sugar, and 2 grams of protein

Leading up to summer – and definitely when it officially arrives – I think we all have similar goals. We’d like to be doing something that isn’t our daily grind, ideally not sweating our faces off, and sipping on a beverage that transports us to somewhere else. If we have to be where we are and a bit jealous of anyone on a vacation (even if they’re probably wearing a sunburn and more mosquitos than their pictures indicate), we deserve a refreshing drink that promises fizz, fun, and a splash of something extra.

Dunkin’ sees this need and offers us the Pink Spritz Refresher, a fruity mix of guava, passion fruit, and orange served over ice and shaken with sparkling water. Continuing its trend of celebrity endorsements, the ad for this drink features Paige DeSorbo of Summer House fame. Is this worth mentioning? I can’t say because I’m pretty uncool and have never seen that show. I can tell you about the drink though!

I read our recent review of the Tropical Guava Refresher, and when I received my Pink Spritz Refresher, questions immediately formed in my head. My drink was pink-forward in color but also carried an orangey sunset tinge. It looked kind of…familiar. Thirsty and ready to find out what it tasted like, I took a sip and found it pleasantly tart, sweet, and bubbly. I initially thought the flavor of passion fruit came through most with guava coming in second and orange being mostly in the background. As a passion fruit fan, I’m pleased to see that flavor gaining popularity and making more appearances. The overall blend was reminiscent of a tropical punch and sort of made me feel like I was drinking tropical Jolly Ranchers. The sparkling water had the right amount of carbonation, with plenty of crisp bubbles, yet still remained laid-back and not overly bubbly.

As I continued to sip and thought more about what I was tasting, things were leaning in the guava direction. I looked at my Dunkin’ app and checked the ingredients. It turns out that the Pink Spritz Refresher uses the same concentrate as Tropical Guava, but where the Guava version is made with green tea, the Spritz version uses sparkling water. Dunkin’ is calling this the Summer of Refreshers, but in light of this development, perhaps it’s also the Summer of Redundancy? I suppose it was silly of me to think that they’d have two different flavors that both featured guava in the rotation at the same time, but I do feel a bit like the folks at Dunkin’ are trying to pull the sun hat over our eyes. At the price of $3 for a medium all summer long, I can’t be mad about it. The Pink Spritz is true to its refreshing moniker and a very enjoyable thirst quencher if you’re craving something cold and caffeinated to take your tastebuds to the tropics.

Purchased Price: $3.32 ($3 deal in-app, regular price $4.39)
Size: Medium
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 130 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 28 grams of total sugar, and 1 gram of protein