What Does Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup Taste Like? The Sweet Truth!

Last updated on October 26th, 2023 at 17:08

Knowing what does Starbucks brown sugar syrup taste like will help you decide if you want to try it yourself, make it at home and even experiment with it in your coffee drinks.

If you are in a rush, the quick answer is, it tastes like caramel, with hints of toffee nut and molasses.

Keep reading for the full details on how many calories in Starbucks syrups and a great recipe for making a brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso.

What Does Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup Taste Like?

Brown sugar syrup is sweet, rich and has hints of molasses and light caramel and toffee notes.

It’s much more complex in flavor when compared to classic simple syrup, which is made with white sugar and has a fairly bland taste.

The flavor of a brown sugar syrup can vary depending on the type of brown sugar used; the syrup can have a deeper or lighter molasses flavor.

Notably some brands have an added vanilla or cinnamon flavor.

I had a bit of a goal and objective to make a brown sugar syrup that matches Starbucks exactly.

After many trials and errors and getting in exactly spot on to a point where the difference is undetectable there are a couple of missing ingredients, a pinch of sea salt, two teaspoons of maple syrup and a cinnamon stick.

During my experimentation I found that light brown sugar matches Starbucks brown sugar syrup the best.

Read: How long does brown sugar syrup last?

What Does Starbucks Brown Sugar Latte Taste Like?

As a twice or thrice daily latte lover and having consumed many different lattes of all types including beans, different milks and of course different sweeteners and flavored syrups.

I just had to try, out of curiosity and salivating taste buds, a brown sugar latte. I tried it with oat milk and as an iced latte. To give the drink I ordered from Starbucks its complete and proper name, it was a Starbuck brown sugar oat milk iced latte.

It has tasted very similar to cinnamon toast crunch. It comes with a sprinkling of cinnamon powder that goes very well with the lingering coffee taste from the blonde espresso shots that bring the flavor to the drinks. The use of oat milk with this latte is great, very light and, curiously, is much better than regular cow’s milk or other milks I tried.

Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup Nutrition

Starbucks brown sugar syrup is a half pump due to the smaller bottle size. Each pump has 2.5 grams of sugar, no fat and 10 calories.

A full pump of other syrups like vanilla syrup, cinnamon dolce and caramel syrup are full pumps and have twice as much sugar and twice as many calories.

Brown Sugar Syrup Starbucks Calories

Each pump of Starbucks brown sugar syrup has 2.5 grams of sugar and 10 calories.

Where To Buy Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup

Making your own homemade Starbucks brown sugar syrup is easy and has a difficulty level of zero. If you are the busy type and simply don’t have time to make your own or would rather use the real deal, you can buy the syrups from Starbucks.

Though trial and error I have asked a few Starbucks outlets in my city and found that it is relatively easy to buy a bottle of any flavored syrup at their outlets. The smaller ones may refuse due to stock issues or being unfamiliar with the request.

The larger ones are much easier.

However, if you have difficulties you can always buy them online from Amazon.

Starbucks Syrup Calories

There are many different flavors of Starbucks syrup and sauces ranging from simple syrup and classic syrup to a wide range of flavors.

The amount of calories in each varies from 50, for a white mocha sauce to being calorie free for a sugar-free vanilla syrup.

Here is a table listing the number of calories on a per-pump basis for the most popular sauces and syrups available from Starbucks:

Flavored Starbucks Syrup & Sauces (Per Pump)	Calorie Count	Total Fat (g)
White Mocha Sauce	50	1
Toasted White Chocolate Mocha Sauce	45	0
Caramel Brulée Sauce	40	0
Pumpkin Sauce	25	0
Vanilla Syrup	20	0
Peppermint Syrup	20	0
Sugar Cookie Syrup	20	0
Brown Sugar Syrup	10	0
Caramel Syrup	10	0
Cinnamon Dolce Syrup	10	0
Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup	0	0

Opting for sugar-free syrups has the obvious advantage of helping you to stay and keep in shape. Unfortunately the sugar-free options at Starbucks are limited, very limited.

Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso

One of the most popular drinks with brown sugar on the Starbucks menu is their brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso. It’s an iced drink and a very tasty one at that.

What the drink is should be obvious, it’s in the name! It’s a shaken espresso with brown sugar syrup, oat milk and ice!

It’s warm and very bold tasting and has an excellent enjoyable coffee in both the summer and winter.

Making The Brown Sugar Simple Syrup

Seek out the following ingredients:

• Weight 150 grams (5 Ounces) of light brown sugar.
• Measure 150 ml (5 fluid ounces) of mineral water.
• Measure 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.
• Use a whole cinnamon stick.
• A dash of sea salt.

Add them to a saucepan and heat at a low to medium temperature and stir your water while it is heating up.

Use a thermometer to measure the temperature and stop when it reaches 130F (55C). Sugar starts to burn at 60C (140F) and thus if you let your water reach this temperature you will start to get some burnt tastes and notes into your brown sugar syrup.

Once all your sugar has dissolved, it is time to let your solution cool. Let it cool for 24 hours with your cinnamon stick and leave it there to extract the flavor.

Once 24 hours have passed, remove your cinnamon stick and decant into an airtight container. A mason jar is perfect.

Read: Brown sugar syrup

Making The Espresso Shots

The number of espresso shots in this beverage ranges from 1 to 4. I advise that you make at least a double shot to get a good-sized drink.

Making a shot of espresso is easy. You need to use the same coffee beans that Starbucks uses to match the flavor produced by Starbucks. Starbucks uses their blonde espresso beans for this drink.

Weigh 40 grams of whole coffee beans and then grind them in 10 second bursts to a fine powder-like grind size of approximately 200 microns.

Tamp your grounds evenly and with a 30 kg of pressure and pull your double shot.

Your brew time should take 25 seconds with a variance of 5 seconds. If your brew time is too long, more than 30 seconds, adjust your grind size and make it slightly smaller.

If your brew time is too quick, less than 20 seconds, make your grind size slightly larger.

If you have not yet invested in a home espresso machine you can use your moka pot to brew very strong coffee. Use 15 grams of coffee and 120 ml of water. A coffee to water ratio of 1:8 is much better than the standard 1:10 ratio.

Oat Milk

The best oat milk to use, and the same one that Starbuck uses, which is the oatly oat milk.

Putting It All Together

Putting it all together. Add an equal amount of espresso, 2 ounces and an equal amount of oat milk with ice to a cocktail shaker or mason jar and shake well and pour into a tall glass with ice.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Does Brown Starbucks Sugar Syrup Taste Like

Is The Brown Sugar Starbucks Drink Sweet?

Yes, brown sugar syrup from Starbucks is a simple syrup made from brown sugar that is used to sweeten all kinds of drinks. It is used by coffee lovers to enhance and elevate the sweetness of any espresso based drink at Starbucks.

Is Brown Sugar A Flavor At Starbucks?

Yes, brown sugar syrup at Starbucks is a simple syrup that is used in many of their drinks, namely the Oatmilk shaken espresso, brown sugar syrup mocha and any drink that you request.

It is a great addition to cold brew coffee, too.

What Is The Closest Thing To Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup?

The closest thing to Starbucks brown sugar syrup is the same syrup, a brown sugar syrup with the molasses made by Torani. What is great about the Torani range of syrups is they offer sugar-free versions that have the same sweetness and flavor.

It’s a great addition to a latte or any coffee drink.

Does Brown Sugar Taste Like Caramel?

Brown sugar has a tasty caramel flavor similar to toffee due to the molasses.

Does Brown Sugar Taste Different Coffee?

Brown sugar adds a rich, tasty caramel-like flavor to coffee and adds a great dynamic to your beverage, making it more earthy.

Does Brown Sugar Taste Sweet?

Yes, both brown sugar and white sugar have the same level of sweetness but taste very different.

What Is The Famous Brown Sugar Starbucks Drink?

Two famous and popular drinks with brown sugar at Starbucks are oat milk shaken espresso and caramel macchiato with brown sugar.

The caramel macchiato, in my opinion, is the best tasting one with hints of vanilla and a tasty as well as eye-catching caramel drizzle.

Is Brown Sugar Sweeter Than Maple Syrup?

Maple sugar has natural sweetness that is sweeter than both brown sugar and white sugar. Maple sugar, worth knowing, has a lower glycemic index meaning it is better for your blood sugar levels.

Final Thoughts – What Does Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup Taste Like?

Now that you know what does Starbucks sugar syrup tastes like, you know if it will be suitable for your own personal taste or not and if it is worth trying or making at home.

You can try it anyway – it is so easy to make!

Join our cool coffee community and let us know what your own thoughts about Starbucks brown sugar syrup taste. Find us on Facebook/Meta.