Standard Theodora Upfront Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Starbucks. I am addicted to Starbucks and have been since high school, so it’s awesome to recoup just a little bit of what I’ve spent there in the past 14 years.

My name is Theodora, and I am addicted to caffeine.

There is a Starbucks in my office building, and I am on a first-name basis with each of their baristas.

But in the seven years since I’ve graduated college, I’ve learned a few things about myself and what I need to function and be happy. Just a few.

One of the key things is that I cannot drink coffee after about noon if I want to sleep that night. I just can’t. And if I don’t sleep that night, I’m cranky the next morning.

But sometimes I still want some caffeine in the afternoon. I was drinking Starbucks Passion Teas for awhile (and I still love them), but a barista told me there was no caffeine in them, and that ended my mid-day love affair with the Iced Passion Tea.

Luckily, this was right around the time that the Starbucks Refreshers came out. I’ve tried the kind they make for you, and liked them a lot, so I was excited to try these, too.

Verdict?

They are tasty, but they still seem to pack a gentle caffeine punch, rather than the in-your-face kind.

As I’m trying to stay calm where I can lately, I appreciate this gentle caffeine buzz. The drinks use a green coffee extract, which is made from the coffee beans before they are roasted, so it also has a gentle taste.

According to the Starbucks website, a 24-ounce (venti) Refresher has 60-85mg of caffeine; these 12-ounce cans would, therefore, have half of that. A regular Starbucks grande coffee can have more than 300mg of caffeine, so this really is a nice, gentle source of caffeine if you’re looking for that and aren’t super into teas.

They have 60 calories, but I usually have them as part of a snack.

My favorite flavor was the Raspberry Pomegranate; I’m pretty sure I sucked that baby down in 2.5 seconds flat. I was also sent the Strawberry Lemonade and Orange Melon flavors to try, and they were all tasty, too–but not as delicious as the Raspberry Pomegranate one. As someone who doesn’t drink soda any more but likes bubbles, I also liked that this was a fizzy drink.

Anne’s been including at the end of reviews whether or not she’d buy something with her own money, and I love that idea. Would I buy these again? Absolutely.

Have you tried them? What are your favorite afternoon pick-me-ups?

Each beverage is a sparkling, delicious boost of natural energy from Green Coffee Extract you can enjoy any time. With real fruit juice, B vitamins, ginseng, antioxidants from Vitamin C and only 60 calories per can, it’s a pick-me-up you can feel good about.

This is a sponsored post, produced in collaboration with Bliss and Starbucks. I received a Starbucks Refreshers sample to review. The opinions shared in this post are my own.