How To Make The Cold Foam From Starbucks – Starbucks Cold Foam [Detailed]

Starbucks cold foam is super delicious and is an awesome change, and is very different from regular steamed milk. If you are looking to make that change, this article will teach you how to make the cold foam from Starbucks.

The beautiful part of putting in the hard word and truly mastering the process of making the very best cold foam is that you use it either on its own or as a base for making amazing flavored cold foam and bring new dynamic to your cup of coffee.

Keep reading to find out how to make the cold foam from Starbucks. 

What Is Starbucks Cold Foam At Starbucks

Starbucks makes their cold foam with nonfat milk and uses a cold foam special blender that is bladeless to produce a textured foam that is perfectly smooth. The foam is made up of tiny micro bubbles due to the special blender aerating the nonfat milk.

To make it at home you will need to use their blender or a similar blender. To make it without a blender and aerate your milk with bubbles you will need to use 2% fat milk and a French press.

Apart from Starbucks regular cold foam, there are a variety of cold foams that are made with heavy cream. The most popular and readily available options are:

• Vanilla sweet cream.
• Pumpkin cream cold foam (seasonal).
• Salted caramel cold foam. 
• Caramel cold foam. 
• Chocolate cream cold foam. 

You can order your cold foam drinks with any iced coffee drinks or cold brew, including nitro cold brew coffee, iced lattes, cold foam cappuccino and iced espresso.

You can also order it with their iced matcha tea latte.

Read: How to make flavored cold foam

How To Make The Cold Foam From Starbucks Like A Pro

Making Starbucks cold foam at home is very easy. Very few ingredients and equipment are needed.

Using special milk frothers will produce the best results but is not an absolute must-have item as you can reproduce the frothy foam with your French press.

Get your hands on a milk frother. They produce the best results and are not expensive. You can get a quality one for under US$30 which will last you for years. The absolute best results for making cold fluffy foam are with the very hard-to-find Starbucks Verismo milk frother. It currently sells for around US$60 at Walmart.

If you are serious about your coffee – the investment is worth it.

You can use other tools to get quality cold foam. Your much loved and trusted French press can be used to make your cold foam – it is surprisingly very effective and produces very high quality foam.

A traditional whisk is not recommended as it produces bubbles that are too big with a texture that is too loose.

Read: How to make vanilla cold foam at home

Ingredients Required To Make Cold Foam

There are very few ingredients needed to make a copycat Starbucks cold foam.

• 2 ounces of nonfat milk.
• 1 teaspoon of classic syrup (or simple syrup).
• Optional: 1 dash of vanilla extract.

Instructions

Add your nonfat milk and simple syrup to a pitcher and mix well. Put your milk solution into your Starbucks verismo, press the button and wait. The Starbucks verismo will finish automatically when it is ready.

If you don’t have a Starbucks verismo you can use a regular milk frother and fully submerge your milk frother and froth until you see your milk starting to thicken. Move your wand up and down, towards the top of your milk.

Froth for 20 seconds to 30 seconds in total. When your cold foam is thick and fully stabilized, it is ready.

Use straight away or within 48 hours. Once stored in the fridge, you may need to re-froth it to re-establish the foam.

With your French press, ensure that it is no more than 1/3 full and pump vigorously until your get a strong consistent foam. The foam should more than double in volume.

What Is The Best Milk For Cold Foam?

While Starbucks uses nonfat cold foam, the best milk to use is 2% milk as it produces a richer and creamier texture. Due to the fat content, it also makes a thicker and more sturdy cold foam.

My own personal preference is to use whipping cream (heavy cream), 2% milk and sweetened condensed milk in equal amounts. With this particular recipe, due to the sweetness of the condensed milk I don’t need to add sugar or use simple syrup.

The use of condensed milk adds that extra thickness and, in my opinion, makes a better texture.

With cold foam there is little room or possibility for using cold foam or its texture for latte art. You could perhaps use a stencil and create the art using cocoa powder.

Read: How to make sweet cream cold foam

What Drinks Can You Use Cold Foam With?

Cold foam works very well with a number of coffee drinks, especially iced drinks. A lovely, thick layer of cold foam, be it sweet cream cold foam or a flavored cold foam of your choice.

Here are some drinks you can try your cold foam with:

• Iced cappuccino. 
• Cold brew coffee.
• Iced matcha latte.
• Vanilla latte – with or without ice. 
• Iced lattes. 
• Iced espresso.
• Iced chai latte.
• Mocha or iced mocha. 
• Nitro coffee.

As you can see, cold foam goes much better with cold drinks and iced drinks than it does with hot coffee drinks. This is not to say that you cannot use it in hot drinks, you can, but it simply goes much better with cold ones. Cream and heat does not go well as it does with cold coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make The Cold Foam From Starbucks

What Is Cold Foam Made Of At Starbucks?

Cold foam at Starbucks is made with nonfat milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar (or a tablespoon of classic syrup). It is whipped in a special cold foam blender. Your cold foam sits beautifully on top of your coffee and goes great, almost perfectly in iced drinks, nitro coffee and cold brew coffee. The textured foam goes very well with an iced cappuccino.

Is Starbucks Cold Foam Dairy Free?

No, unless you specifically order your cold foam to be dairy free it will be made with dairy foam. A great dairy-free option is oat milk cold foam, which can be made with vanilla syrup and cinnamon.

Does Cold Foam Have Caffeine?

No, cold foam is a topping that adds an amazing texture to your coffee and, when flavored, it adds flavor to your coffee drink. It is a fluffy foam that is made with dairy milk (or non-dairy milk if requested).

The coffee that it goes with contains caffeine – unless you request decaf coffee. It is fluffy milk foam that is 100% caffeine-free.

Does Starbucks Cold Foam Have Eggs?

No, Starbucks cold foam contains no eggs. You may be confusing cold foam with cloud foam, which uses fresh egg whites and more commonly egg white powder. It is an egg-free rich velvety foam that sits on top of your coffee and slowly cascades down and into your coffee.

Can You Get Cold Foam With Almond Milk?

Yes, when you are making cold foam at home you can experiment with a range of different milks. You can get a cold foam made with almond milk from Starbucks.

As a recommendation – almond milk cold foam it goes excellently well when made with cinnamon or a dash of vanilla.

What Is The Point Of Cold Foam?

The point of cold foam is to create a visually appealing two-tier drink with the creamy texture that compliments the flavor of your coffee as you sip away. It’s a beautiful garnish that brings with it a very nice texture and goes well with your iced beverage.

It can also be flavored upon request. Popular options include vanilla, chocolate, salted caramel, caramel, mint chocolate and pumpkin spice. Extra sugar or simple syrup can be added to make it a sweet cream.

What Is The Starbucks Cold Foam Made Of?

Starbucks cold foam is made with nonfat milk. Their sweet cream cold foam is made with heavy cream and low-fat milk which is blended together and sits on top of their cold brew coffee and other cold drinks like their iced coffee beverages.

How Does Starbucks Froth Their Cold Foam?

Starbucks froth their cold foam in a special bladeless high speed blender. It’s custom-made for their coffee conglomerate.

Final Thoughts – How To Make The Cold Foam From Starbucks

Now that you know how to make the cold foam from Starbucks, you can go right away and make it and start adding it to your favorite coffee drinks. Master and perfect the making of the cold foam, and you can move to making flavored cold foam and take your coffee skills to yet another level. 

Let us know how you got on with making Starbucks style cold foam by sharing your images on our Facebook/Meta page. 

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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