Starbucks Offers Free Energy Drinks Today

Starbucks made big waves this week with the new Refreshers energy drink line, available in VIA form, cans, and handmade by baristas. Now, the coffee chain wants you to give them a try — for free.

The Starbucks Refreshers drinks will be free from noon to 3 p.m., Friday, July 13, at participating stores. The drinks made by baristas come in two flavors, Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime. The drinks are made with green coffee bean extract, a natural source of caffeine (but not as much as you'd get from a regular brewed coffee).

The real question is, are these drinks worth a try? Zagat's Kelly Dobkin took the drinks for a spin, but wasn't too impressed. The Cool Lime, she said, had barely any lime at all, between the large amounts of sugar and a strange coffee essence. (Odd, considering green coffee bean extract isn't supposed to taste like coffee at all). She had harsher words for the Very Berry Hibiscus: "The drink essentially tastes like licking a maple syrup candle and/or sipping on some hot brewed potpourri." We'll let you be the ultimate judge.