A woman went viral for her theory on Starbucks’ new drinks, the Oleato coffees and the Spicy Lemonade Refreshers. She thinks the employee responsible for such drinks is out to sabotage the company.
Starbucks debuted the Oleato beverages in the U.S. this year to mostly negative feedback from customers. The drinks consist of a mix of olive oil and coffee, and customers who have tried these drinks have reported stomach issues, comparing the drinks to “laxatives.”
Now, a new drink that was released on April 16 has customers similarly scratching their heads—the Spicy Lemonade Refreshers.
In a video with over 286,000 views, TikTok user Val (@valerienoellle) sits in her car as she shares her “conspiracy theory.”
“I have a conspiracy theory that whoever is, like, creating the new drinks at Starbucks—that is an inside job,” she says. “Like, they are trying to take Starbucks down.”
First, Val takes aim at the Oleato beverages.
“I don’t know who asked for this. Like who was in Starbucks’ comments, begging for them to put olive oil on top of coffee, but I sure wasn’t,” she says. “This is what, like, for real pissed me off. You have people begging for you to bring drinks back or to do a certain flavor, and you said, ‘Yeah. Let’s actually put olive oil on top of the coffee.”
She then turns her attention to the newest Starbucks creation.
“They’re gonna put chili powder in the refreshers. I could do that myself!” she exclaims. “If I wanted chili powder in a refresher, I would get the … refresher, and I will keep chili powder in my car if I wanted it so bad.”
“I want names of who’s responsible because what do you mean?” she continues. “This is something that a brand would post for April Fools.”
@valerienoellle Take a shot every time I say I’m pissed off #greenscreen #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #coffee #fyp #fypツ #relatable @Starbucks ♬ original sound – val
Viewers share Val’s frustration and are reminiscing about all their favorite flavors that have since gone to the Starbucks’ flavor graveyard.
“No because when I saw that they came out with SPICY refreshers???? Like what,” one viewer questioned.
“The spicy drinks are so random like what,” another echoed.
“Very berry hibiscus refresher i’ll never forget u,” another said.
The Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher was discontinued in 2021 and is sorely missed by Starbucks fans. Several Reddit threads are dedicated to the drink, and there’s even a petition devoted to resurrecting it that has over 10,000 signatures.
“Also the raspberry syrup being discontinued was the ultimate downfall,” another wrote.
In 2023, much to the dismay of customers, the raspberry syrup was discontinued. At the time, Starbucks implied the product was not that popular or unprofitable. Now, every time Starbucks comes out with a new flavor, customers clamor for the company to bring the raspberry syrup back. It seems as if the syrup had a small but mighty fanbase.
Another viewer even compared Starbucks’ newfound penchant for bringing out seemingly undesirable flavors with JoJo Siwa’s confusing rebrand. “Starbucks is pulling a jojo siwa,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Val via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment as well as Starbucks via press email.