Strongest Drink At Starbucks – Top 10 Drinks Listed!

What is the strongest drink at Starbucks is a question that many coffee lovers ask themselves. Often thoughts are directed towards a cappuccino, an espresso and other similar drinks.

None of these are anywhere near close.

It is their humble brewed coffee, yes, filtered coffee has the greatest amount of caffeine at Starbucks.

But which drink size, and what roast?

Keep reading to find out!

Strongest Drink At Starbucks By Caffeine Content

The definition of the strongest drink at Starbucks is obvious: it’s the drink with the most caffeine, the greatest caffeine content.

By all means, none of the high ranking drinks are for the light-hearted or inexperienced coffee drinkers. The caffeine consumption in these drinks are in my opinion excessive and may lead to some adverse effects like the jitters, and upset stomach, the shakes, anxiety, stress and more.

Even if you need a serious boost of caffeine, think twice about these drinks, some are over and above the daily recommended maximum amount of 400 milligrams of caffeine per day as set by the Food and Drug Administration.

Let’s get to the list of the strongest drinks at Starbucks!

Read: What is the most caffeinated drink at Starbucks?

#1 Venti Blonde Roast Brewed Coffee – 475 mg

Brewed coffee, or filter coffee and drip coffee as it is known might surprise you as being the strongest drink since it contains no espresso and being very light in flavor without a strong, deep intense flavor that you would associate with a strong coffee.

If black coffee is not to your taste, you can request steamed milk to be added to your venti blonde roast. All types of milk work well, but a blonde coffee with oat milk has a very nice lingering taste.

Vanilla in coffee drinks is great and works incredible with a blonde roast. The flavors match very well.

What is particularly great, despite the high caffeine content, it is one of Starbucks healthier drinks when enjoyed with nothing added, no syrup, no milk, etc. It has only 5 calories, no fat and no sugar.

#2 Venti Clover Brewed Coffee Reserve Roast – 470 mg

Clover coffee is a unique coffee brewing method that you will only get at the biggest or most popular Starbucks outlets in the bigger cities. It’s a vacuum brewing method, not to be mistaken with the popular siphon coffee brewing technique. It’s not a Starbucks original technique, like the classic frappuccino: the coffee conglomerate bought out the company that invented the technique, created the machine and thus are able to use it commercially.

Clover coffee is highly caffeinated in all roasts and also features high on the list for iced coffee drinks with the most caffeine content. Thus, for a highly caffeinated coffee, iced or hot coffee, find a store that has clover coffee as it gives you multiple options, which is great when a blonde coffee is not quite what you want.

The amount of caffeine is only slightly less than what you get in blonde roast with 470 mg in the Venti size for both iced coffee and hot coffee.

#2 Venti Clover Brewed Coffee Dark Roast – 470 mg

As mentioned above, clover coffee is only available at select stores. It might be an idea to contact them and ask which location has clover coffee in your city, State or country.

It’s more than just vacuum brewing, like Siphon coffee, which I am very fond of; it’s a vacuum-press brewing technique that is able to get some of the best flavors into your coffee in the entire coffee beverage industry.

This may be due to the machine only being able to brew one cup of coffee at a time, regardless of drink size. There is not a lot known about this machine, and the world’s leading coffee shops do not tell us much about it.

The plus point of this highly caffeinated drink and brewing methods is you get that deep depth of flavor that you’d expect from a coffee that is highly caffeinated. Joint runner-up with 470 mg of caffeine.

Read: Most caffeinated Starbucks drink

#4 Venti Clover Brewed Coffee Medium Roast – 445 mg

This is perhaps a better clover coffee for you, not too light, not too dark and with a medium roast you get what I always say, the best of both worlds, a balance of flavors from origin and from the roasting process.

In the caffeine stakes, this is no slouch despite being the 4th strongest drink at Starbucks.

#5 Venti Clover Brewed Coffee Blonde Roast – 425 mg

Yes, you can see how strong the clover coffee is, filling 4 of the top 5 positions in the list of the Strongest drink at Starbucks list.

Being a blonde roast, it goes well with vanilla syrup if you want to add a little flavoring. If you want this coffee with milk, consider an alternative milk like almond milk or oat milk instead of regular steamed milk. You’ll appreciate the difference that they bring to the flavor of your cup of coffee and how the flavor of a blonde roast matches well with them.

#6 Venti Pike Place Brewed Coffee – 410 mg

Pike Place, often referred to as Pike Place roast, is Starbucks original and signature coffee. It’s a medium roast and suited for all types of coffee beverages except their espresso shots and espresso based drinks as the beans may lack the oil required to produce the creama on top and may not be strong enough to cut through the milk.

Created in 2008 and named after their first outlet at Pike Place, Seattle. It’s made with a blend of coffee beans from Latin America and has a subtle rich flavor with notes of toasted nuts and lingering taste of cocoa.

#7 Grande Reserve Nitro Cold Brew Coffee – 400 mg

Nitro cold brew is precisely what it sounds like. It’s cold brew coffee that is infused with nitrogen to create a rich, velvet-like crema. It’s sweet and tasty and doesn’t need any cold foam or cream or any milk added as it is creamy as it is served.

As a bit of a cold brew coffee snob, I insist that if you try this coffee, try it as it is with nothing added. You’ll love how it looks with the cascading effect and the final look when it has settled is a lot like a glass of beer.

Healthy choice with no fat, no sugar and only 5 calories. The 400 milligrams of caffeine is bang on the caffeine intake limit per day.

Their reserve nitro cold brew is a great coffee and worth trying.

Read: Which coffee has the most caffeine?

#8 Venti Doubleshot On Ice – 375 mg

This is an underrated and often overlooked drink on the Starbucks menu. So a high five if you opt for this drink, and that is what this drink is powered by, 5 shots of espresso!

Of course, ordering it with an extra shot will add extra caffeine and push it to the top 5 strongest drinks at Starbucks and 450 mg of caffeine, which is almost the same amount of caffeine that you can expect if you ordered your shots to be made with Blonde roast coffee beans.

Made with milk, classic syrup and ice and shaken by hand it is what is known as a shaken espresso. You can order your Starbucks doubleshot to be made with the steamed milk of your choice. Coconut milk and almond milk are great choices.

A very enjoyable coffee and within the 400 milligrams of caffeine suggested daily limit by the FDA and still packs a strong caffeine kick.

#9 Trenta Cold Brew Coffee – 360 mg

Cold brew coffee is well suited if you don’t enjoy a strong intense flavor of coffee and are not quite feeling at home with the light and right taste of blonde roast. Cold brew is made using cold water to extract the low temperature compounds and the long extraction process which can take from 16 hours to more than a whole day.

It’s mellow, balanced and great tasting, a very smooth cup of coffee that you will enjoy on a hot day and goes well both with and without vanilla sweet cream or any topping.

#10 Blonde Caffé Americano – 340 mg

A caffé Americano is a very popular drink and perhaps some people are surprised that it makes the top 10 most caffeinated drinks at Starbucks. It is this better, lighter blonde roast that weighs in with a very ample 340 mg of caffeine from the 4 shots of blonde espresso.

Special Note And Honorable Mentions

Strictly speaking, there are other coffees that make and fully qualify as the top 10  strongest drink at Starbucks list, however including the same drinks in different sizes like the following drinks:

• Grande Clover Brewed Coffee Reserve Roast: 380 mg.
• Grande Clover Brewed Coffee Dark Roast: 380 mg.
• Grande Clover Brewed Coffee Medium Roast: 375 mg.
• Grande Blonde Roast Brewed Coffee: 360 mg.
• Trenta Cold Foam Cold Brew Coffee: 360 mg.

These drinks were not included in the list due to being the same as other drinks that are on the list, only in a different drink size. In the case of Trenta cold foam cold brew it is exactly the same as cold brew coffee only it has a cold foam.

The purpose of the list was not only to list the most caffeinated drinks from highest to lowest but to give options, a range of choices of highly caffeinated drinks that you can try.

Intentionally, excluded and for the same reason is the same drinks with ice as the clover brewed coffees can also have ice added and have the same caffeine content. These drinks clearly dominate the list of strongest cold drink at Starbucks list.

Strongest Cold Drink At Starbucks

And on that subject, the strongest cold drink at Starbucks is a tie between the Venti clover brewed coffee reserve roast and the Venti clover brewed coffee dark roast, which both have 470 mg of caffeine.

What Is The Strongest Beverage At Starbucks?

Singularly speaking and beyond all doubts with data extracted from Starbucks website and going through all their coffee drinks for all drink sizes the one coffee beverage that has the highest amount of caffeine is a Venti blonde roast brewed coffee with 475 mg of caffeine.

How much caffeine is that?

It is the equivalent of more than 6 shots of espresso coffee, to give you and indication.

Frequently Asked Questions About Strongest Drink At Starbucks

What Is The Strongest Coffee From Starbucks?

Singularly speaking, the strongest coffee from Starbucks is their Blonde roast brewed coffee. You might see it listed as their veranda blend, or veranda blend brewed coffee. The Venti drink size 20 Oz (600 ml) has 475 milligrams of caffeine.

What Is The Strongest Coffee At Starbucks With Espresso?

The strongest espresso based drink at Starbucks is their blonde roast coffee drinks. The iced blonde Americano in the Venti 24 Oz (720 ml) size has 340 milligrams of caffeine and is clearly the espresso based drink with the greatest caffeine amount. It contains 4 shots of espresso.

Is Espresso Stronger Than Coffee?

It is a myth that a shot of espresso has more total caffeine. Many coffee drinks have a greater caffeine content. Typically, a shot of espresso will have 75 milligrams of caffeine. Regular coffee has more, a lot more from 100 mg to 150 mg.

Where espresso is stronger is the concentration of caffeine. Regular coffee has 12 to 16 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce (per 30 ml) while a shot of espresso has 75 milligrams of caffeine per ounce (per 30 ml).

What Starbucks Drink Has A Lot Of Espresso?

Starbucks Americano Venti 20 Oz (600 ml) has 4 shots of espresso. Their iced Americano in the Venti drink size also has 4 shots. If it is a greater caffeine intake the blonde roast has extra caffeine and Blonde roast Americano and Blonde roast iced Americano has in the Venti drink size has 4 shots of espresso. 

What Is The Strongest Coffee To Order?

The strongest coffee in terms of the boldest and strongest flavor is undoubtedly an Italian roast. It’s strong, bold and very, very intense.

Ordering an Italian roasted ristretto, which is a smaller and more concentrated espresso, will give you the strongest tasting coffee.

The strongest coffee in terms of a caffeine boost and getting a serious hit of caffeine from the Starbucks menu is their Venti 20 Oz (600 ml)  Blonde roast brewed coffee which has an alarming 475 mg of caffeine. Which is the equivalent of more than 6 shots of espresso.

How Do You Order Strongest Coffee At Starbucks?

Simply ask the barista politely for a Venti blonde roast brewed coffee. If light roasts are not to your liking, ask politely for a Venti clover brewed reserve roast brewed coffee or a Venti clover brewed dark roast brewed coffee. Both of these drinks have a caffeine content that is only slightly lower than the venti blonde roast brewed coffee with 470 milligrams of caffeine each.

Final Thoughts – Strongest Drink At Starbucks

The strongest drink at Starbucks is obviously a coffee drink and as always going to be! But what a surprise to find that it is Venti blonde roast brewed coffee with 475 mg.

As I said earlier, be careful of the caffeine content of these drinks. Most are strong enough to make you ill and feel uneasy for a few hours until the excess caffeine leaves your body.

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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