How To Make Starbucks Cold Foam Better Than Starbucks!

When you read this article you will learn how to make Starbucks cold foam every bit as good, if not better than what you get at Starbucks.

The best part is you will learn just how easy it is to make your own customized flavors and amazing cold foam for your cold brew coffee drinks.

Keep reading for the details!

How To Make Starbucks Cold Foam – The History Of The Starbucks Topping

Starbucks cold foam was first sold at their coffee shops in 2014 as a mark of the opening of their reserve roastery in their home city of Seattle. Surprisingly, the very first drink to be christened (or crowned) with a cold foam topping was a hot drink, an Americano con crema.

Now there are many drinks with a cold foam topping, predominantly cold drinks:

• Cold brews.
• Iced lattes.
• Iced London Fog Tea Latte.
• Nitro cold brews.
• Iced cappuccinos.
• Iced Matcha Latte.
• Iced mochas.
• Iced Chai Latte.
• Iced espresso.
• Pink Drink.
• Dragon Drink.

A lot more drinks can have this topping, as I mentioned, even hot drinks.

Read: How to make cold foam at home

What Is Cold Foam?

Starbucks cold foam is made with nonfat milk that is whipped and sits on top of cold brew coffee beverages and iced coffee drinks.

Drinks that have cold foam are served in their strawless cups as the foam is not supposed to be mixed with the coffee. The new design allows you to enjoy the creamy topping and the coffee as a layered drink with perfection in each sip.

There is a clear difference between Starbucks cold foam and their steamed milk and their frothed milk. Their frothed milk is simply aerated milk and steamed milk is a lot more liquid and mixes with the drink while cold foam sits on top.

You can flavor your cold foam as you please and make some real tasty creations. Popular choices are vanilla cold foam and salted caramel cold foam.

Personally, I love making dark chocolate and peppermint variations as it is like liquid after eight dinner mints and mixed with great dark roast coffee it is simply amazing!

Best Milk For Cold Foam

Many coffee lovers make the error of thinking that the rich and creaminess of cold foam is due to the use of cream, heavy cream, half-and-half cream or whole fat milk.

Nothing could be further from what the best milk to use is. It’s nonfat milk, skim milk. It is 100% true that nonfat milk makes the best quality foam in terms of how sturdy and creamy it is.

This is diametrically the opposite of what whole milk is best for, which is steamed milk and frothed milk.

How To Make Cold Foam With Our DIY Starbucks Recipe

Making our DIY Starbucks recipe for cold foam is easy and can be perfected by your second or third attempt. The culinary Kings and Queens at the first attempt will have it mastered.

By far the best way to make Starbucks cold foam is to use a handheld milk frother. You can get one cheap enough, they are less than US$30 for a quality milk frother and as a bonus they are portable and can be taken with you on that weekend away.

You can use a number of other tools too, like a hand blender or regular countertop blender and a French press or hand pump manual milk frother.

One tool that I don’t recommend is a whisk, be it a manual balloon whisk or an electric whisk. The bubbles created are too large, and the texture is just too liquid and too loose.

Read: How to make pumpkin cold foam

Equipment And Ingredients For Making Starbucks Cold Foam DIY Recipe

Not a lot of equipment is needed to make your cold foam; you will need one of the following:

• Handheld milk frother.
• Manual hand pump milk frother or a French press.
• Cocktail shaker or a mason jar.
• A handheld blender or countertop blender.

The ingredients you need are as follows:

• 2 pumps of simple syrup or liquid sugar.
• ¼ cup of nonfat milk.
• 1 dash of vanilla extract or a vanilla pod, sliced (optional).

Instructions For Making Starbucks Cold Foam

Pour your nonfat milk and simple syrup or other liquid sweetener into a tall glass. Fill to no more than half full. Add your vanilla extract and stir well to mix your ingredients.

If you are using a vanilla pod, slice it and heat your solution at a low heat and let it simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.

Let your milk cool completely while in your fridge, then filter out your vanilla pods.

With your milk solution in a tall glass, insert your milk frother and froth your milk for 25 to 30 seconds. While frothing, move your frother from the bottom to the top of your milk evenly and slowly to ensure perfect frothing.

When you get a nice, thick quality of froth, pour it over your beverage. If you need to, diffuse your pour by pouring it over the back of a tablespoon.

Manual Hand Pump Method – The French Press Technique

Add your ingredients to a bowl and mix well to ensure your ingredients are well mixed with an equal distribution of creaminess and sweetness.

Transfer your sweet cream into your French press or manual hand pump milk frother to no more than 50% full.

Close it and pump on the plunger for 45 seconds to a whole minute with vigor and energy. Your milk should double in volume.

When ready, pour over your coffee or tea beverage and enjoy.

The Blender Method

The blender technique is the same as a handheld milk frother, only it is lager. A countertop blender is good for making large volumes of cold foam.

Simply add your ingredients and blend for 25 to 35 seconds and then pour your cold foam into your coffee when you have the desired consistency.

Read: How to make cold foam

The Cocktail Shaker Technique

Start by adding your ingredients to a container and mix well. Then transfer to an ice-cold cocktail shaker or mason jar.

Close your mason jar or your cocktail shaker and shake with energy and vitality for a minute. Then slowly pour it over your coffee.

Variation 1: Add Salted Caramel

To a taste variation and turn your cold foam into a salted caramel cold foam. Add two pumps of salted caramel syrup to your milk or add a couple of pumps of caramel syrup and a dash of sea salt and mix well.

Variation 2: Add Vanilla!

To turn your cold foam into a tasty vanilla cold foam, add a pump or two of vanilla syrup to your milk.

You can add vanilla extract or use a vanilla pod as I indicated earlier.

Variation 3: Chocolate Mint

This is one of the best variations that you will find and is, in my opinion, better with a hot coffee and goes very well too with cold brew coffee.

Add two pumps of peppermint simple syrup and two pumps of quality dark chocolate sauce. Mix well in your cream, and then blend well.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make Starbucks Cold Foam

What Is Cold Foam Made of at Starbucks?

The tasty and delicious cold foam at Starbucks is made with non-fat milk and vanilla syrup. They are mixed well and blended in their bladeless high speed blender until it is rich and creamy.

How Is Starbucks Cold Foam So Fluffy?

Starbucks cold foam is made fresh using nonfat milk. The nonfat milk makes a better quality foam which is fluffier, has more protein than fat which helps to create bigger bubbles.

Can You Make Any Flavor Cold Foam At Starbucks?

Yes, you can order your cold foam at Starbucks in any flavor. While vanilla sweet cream cold foam and Salted caramel cold foam are popular choices, two of my favorites are chocolate cream and peppermint and chocolate cream cold foam.

Can You Make Cold Foam In A Regular Blender?

Yes, with a regular hand blender or a countertop blender you will be able to make cold foam for your cold brew coffee.

Why Is Cold Foam So Good?

Cold foam is great because it’s rich, tasty, can be flavored with any simple syrup and goes perfectly in any iced coffee or cold coffee.

Is Starbucks Cold Foam Sweetened?

Yes, Starbucks cold foam is sweetened with vanilla syrup, or another flavored syrup which is sugar based and also sweetens the cold foam.

Final Thoughts – How To Make Starbucks Cold Foam

Learning how to make Starbucks cold foam with the DIY recipe above will take your coffee mornings to the next level!

I encourage you to experiment with flavors. Here is another of my favorites – coconut and chocolate. Use coconut milk and chocolate and a sprinkle of fresh coconut shavings. Chocolate and orange is a great one too, but you’ll need to make your own orange simple syrup.

Join our cool coffee community on Facebook/Meta and tell us about your own amazing cold foam creations!

Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location