Beware: Now you can get a green smoothie at Starbucks

First Jamba Juice brought green juice to malls everywhere, and now, your morning Starbucks run might include coffee, with a side of fruit. Last week, Starbucks, Evolution Fresh, and Dannon rolled out a line of three yogurt-and juice-based smoothies.

The launch comes on the heels of a pilot smoothie program which Starbucks debuted in a couple of cities last summer. It was so successful that the smoothies are now coming to Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and at select Starbucks shops inside grocery and Target stores.

So can a mass-produced, made-to-order green smoothie be truly healthy? Here’s what you need to know before you swap them for your morning Venti.

The ingredients. There are three flavors: Sweet Greens, Strawberry, and Mango Carrot. They’re made from a mixture of a cold-pressed, non-organic, high-pressure processing juices that are nearly identical to the Evolution blends on the shelves at Starbucks, and a non-fat (and non organic), strained Greek yogurt from Dannon. And while the juices might not be pressed with fruits and veggies right in front of you, you can opt to have them throw a handful of fresh kale into the blender as they whip them up.

Nutrition facts. The smoothies range from 170–230 calories. Each one has 7 grams of protein, a few grams of fiber, and A LOT of sugar (30 grams or more). Smarter would be to offer green drinks with a scoop of protein powder instead. There are comparable amounts of sugar in the green smoothies and a tall Frappuccino coffee drink (one cup/8 oz of coke has 44 grams).

How they taste. Sweet Greens is a gateway flavor into the world of sippable veggies. Because all of these blends are quite sweet, they’re probably for the Frappuccino buyer. You can’t beat the price—at $5.49 for a grande, they’re half the cost of some green juices. But if you’re already sipping spirulina, chard, and turmeric, you’re probably aware that these options are not so healthy due to the sugar content.

In addition to smoothies, the collaboration is yielding more fruit—some of it fresh, as Evolution Fresh and Dannon debut new yogurt parfaits.

The parfaits will debut this May in 6,000 Starbucks locations nationwide. Come July, you’ll also see Evolution Fresh and Dannon-branded yogurts in your local grocery store. 

~Thanks to Molly Gallagher