Chopped Pineapple Is A Necessity When Making Starbucks' Paradise Drink

Even in the midst of a snowy winter, you can feel as though you're transported to a sandy beach with sunny skies overhead by sipping a Paradise Drink, one of Starbucks' most popular Refreshers. It's not just the cheery yellow color of the beverage that will lift your mood, but the zippy pineapple and creamy coconut flavors in it (and, of course, the caffeine). Luckily, Starbucks offers the drink even during months of freezing temperatures, but if you want to stay inside, you can also easily whip one up at home. The key ingredient that you'll need to have on hand? Chopped pineapple. 

Fresh is best (and pineapple season generally runs from March to July), although you can drain out canned chunks, too. Here's what the Starbucks drink includes specifically: coconut milk, ice, scoops of freeze-dried pineapple, and the chain's pineapple passionfruit Refreshers base. The latter features water, sugar, citric acid, and green coffee extract. While we may never have those exact ingredients on hand, we can mimic the drink's flavors by making a version of the pineapple passionfruit base. You'll essentially want to create a syrup based around those two fruits, and it starts with simmering pineapple chunks on the stove.

Chopped pineapple is key to creating the tart, tropical flavor in Starbucks' Paradise Drink, and you'll want to first combine your chunks with sugar and water on the stove. After everything has reached a boil, let your fruit simmer for about 15 minutes, then strain it when it's turned into a thicker syrup. Now that you've firmly established a pineapple flavor in your drink, making the rest of the base depends on your preferences and which ingredients you can get your hands on. If you can find an actual passionfruit, you can simmer it and strain it with your pineapple. But if you can only find passionfruit juice or passionfruit powder, stir a little of either into your finished syrup. 

Citric acid can also be spooned in here if you have some, but you can also use lemon juice if not. And if you can't find any green coffee extract, you can also include green tea extract, iced green tea, or even a dash of matcha powder, although these will alter the flavor of the drink. Of course, you can always leave the caffeine out altogether, too. Then, once your base has chilled, mix it with coconut milk and a little water if needed, pour it over ice, and top your drink with bits of freeze-dried pineapple. If you have any leftover fresh chunks, you can use them as a garnish instead. Finally, kick back, relax, and imagine sunny skies.