Starbucks Touts Energy Drink 'Breakthrough'

Need a gentle pick-me-up for that 3pm slump? Starbucks says its new line of energy drinks, due out in company stores tomorrow, offers a safe energy boost with just a fraction of the caffeine found in coffee, Huffington Post reports. The so-called Starbucks Refreshers will come in three formats: ready to drink, handcrafted (by baristas), and VIA. The latter isn't exactly a drink—it's an instant-drink powder that you can dissolve in water.

The "handcrafted" and VIA products come in Cool Lime, Very Berry, and Hibiscus, while the ready-to-drink variety (which is carbonated) comes in Orange Melon, Raspberry Pomegranate, and Strawberry Lemonade. Each drink contains a green coffee extract made from un-roasted beans (Starbucks calls its use in a drink a "breakthrough innovation"), and 45 to 55mg of caffeine—about 200mg less than a Grande Brewed Coffee. And they're apparently all-natural: "There's been a lot of FDA regulations around energy and caffeine," says a Starbucks executive, but "this is natural energy." (More Starbucks stories.)