Starbucks Finally Adds Bubbles; Baristas Now Charging For Air In Cups
KEY POINTS
- •Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol announced new carbonated 'Spritzers' as a test this week in Austin, San Antonio, and St. Louis.
- •The refreshments build on a $9.3 billion Q3 revenue haul, aiming to boost afternoon sales and attract younger customers.
- •The sparkling lineup mixes coffee and citrus, peach passion fruit tea, and a strawberry matcha option with a quirky Sparkling Cold Brew Sour Spritz.
In a coffee plot twist of 2026, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol announced 'Spritzers,' carbonated versions of the infamous Refreshers juice-and-tea hybrid launched back in 2012 but somehow only now blossoming into bubbles. Testing fizz in 100 stores across Austin, San Antonio, and St. Louis, the company aims to inject sparkle into $9.3 billion Q3 sales and 7.9% growth with Peach Passion, Strawberry Matcha Mashups, and a mind-boggling Sparkling Cold Brew Sour Spritz that screams, 'I’m not Coke, but close enough.' After years of 'fundamentals' and layoffs, Niccol seeks to woo thirsty millennials beyond the morning rush, betting hard on caffeine-free and turbocharged refreshers because Starbucks apparently thinks soda was some magical long-lost elixir. The CEO cheerfully admits past complacency, inspiring all of us to rethink how thrilling carbonated juice could really be in 2026.
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(1 of 3)Starbucks spent 14 years making fruity iced tea and just now said, 'Hey, what if it fizzes?' Meanwhile, soda’s been at every drive-thru forever. Welcome to the 21st century, Seattle.
Starbucks introducing sparkling refreshers is like someone reinventing sliced bread but realizing they forgot the knife until 2026.
Congrats to Starbucks for realizing people want bubbles in drinks—at the exact moment your local taco joint serves fizzy sodas with more confidence.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 7/30/2026 | Author: Dominick Reuter
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