What extract gives Starbucks Refreshers caffeine without a coffee flavor?

Green coffee extract gives Starbucks Refreshers their caffeine without adding a roasted-coffee flavor.

Green coffee extract is made from unroasted coffee beans. Because the beans have not undergone roasting, the extract can provide caffeine while fitting the fruit-forward flavor profile of Refreshers. Starbucks introduced the iced Refreshers line in 2012 and described the drinks as caffeinated but without a coffee taste.

The extraction process involves soaking green coffee beans in water to draw out soluble compounds, including caffeine. This is different from brewing a cup of roasted coffee, whose familiar aroma and flavor come largely from chemical changes produced during roasting. Refreshers therefore use coffee-derived caffeine without tasting like traditional coffee.

Tea leaf extract, yerba mate, and guarana can also supply caffeine in other beverages, which makes them plausible distractors. They are not the ingredient identified by Starbucks for its Refreshers platform. Green coffee extract is also distinct from coffee fruit, the caffeine source highlighted for the Baya energy drink.