‘It pops in your mouth’

For the summer, Starbucks is serving up its own take on bubble tea drinks.

The coffee chain is now offering three new Starbucks Refreshers beverages with raspberry-flavored “pearls” at the bottom of the cup, adding fruity flavor to the drink. The new beverages are available nationwide for a limited time, while supplies last, the company says.

The trio of beverages – Summer-Berry, Summer-Berry with Lemonade, and Summer Skies drinks – are each served with colorful raspberry-flavored pearls at the bottom of the cup. The chain’s drink gurus were inspired by East Asian beverages made with boba, or bubble tea tapioca balls.

“We started with fruit pieces, but we wanted something even bolder,” said Starbucks beverage developer Simon Vuong said in a story on the Starbucks website. “So, we thought, ‘Let’s put fruit-flavored pearls in the beverage and try it out.’ It’s very fun the way it delivers the flavor when it pops in your mouth.”