Often times we top our favorite Starbucks cold drinks with whipped cream but do you know that you can swap the whipped cream with cold foam?
The cold foam has been on the Starbucks main menu under the toppings option since 2018 and is available in different flavors. It’s important to emphasize that cold foam in itself is not a drink as it is an enhancement or topping to your Starbucks drink in a similar manner to whipped cream.
Read through our thorough discussion about the Starbucks cold foam drinks and the different types of cold foam available at Starbucks.
We also look at the common mistakes that people make when ordering cold foam drinks and the steps when ordering cold foam on the Starbucks app.
What is Cold Foam
The regular Starbucks cold foam is a stiff foam made by frothing cold nonfat (skim) milk in a special blender. It is sweetened with two pumps of vanilla per serving but you can also request plain (unsweetened) cold foam or your choice of cold foam flavor.
Starbucks also makes creamy cold foam by aerating a mixture of heavy cream, milk, and sweeteners such as pumpkin spice sauce and vanilla.
Here is a quick jump to the section about the flavors of cold foam.
The cold foam makes a fantastic creamy topping for cold coffee drinks and non-coffee drinks such as iced tea lattes.
Nonfat milk makes the best cold foam as it has a higher proportion of proteins as compared to full fat and two-percent milk.
Generally, you can add cold foam to any cold drink at Starbucks whether it’s your iced coffee, cold brew, or frappuccino. Although you can use any type of cold foam in your choice of cold drink, some cold foam flavors pair much better with different cold drinks.
Let’s look at the 21 best cold foam drinks at Starbucks.
1. Iced Americano with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam
Try the iced Americano tall cup with two pumps of hazelnut syrup and one pump of toffee nut syrup and topped with vanilla sweet cream cold foam and your iced Americano will never be the same again.
Iced Americano is much bolder than regular iced coffee. Iced Americano with cold foam contains espresso, cold water, ice cubes, and cold foam topping.
You can use your choice of cold foam but we recommend starting with the vanilla sweet cream cold foam before trying out the other cold foam flavors. Add hazelnut and toffee nut syrups to the coffee for a delicious spin.
2. Iced Salted Caramel Mocha with Cold Foam
This is the regular iced salted caramel mocha without the whipped cream and instead, it is topped with salted caramel cream cold foam.
This drink uses two seasonal ingredients: toffee nut syrup in the coffee and sea salt topping so be sure to check whether they are available at the Starbucks store before ordering.
Alternatively, swap the toffee nut with a nut syrup such as hazelnut.
The sea salt in the cream pairs perfectly with nut syrup in the drink.
3. Iced Mocha with Raspberry Cold Foam
Raspberry has traditionally paired perfectly with chocolate so swapping the default whipped cream with raspberry cold foam on an iced mocha is a sure way to elevate the treat.
You can also add some raspberry syrup to the iced mocha for more raspberry flavors.
4. Pink Drink with Unsweetened Cold Foam
Personally, I am not for cold foam in refreshers as fruit drinks and milk products don’t belong together. However, some pink drink lovers swear by topping a pink drink with regular cold foam (without vanilla). Adding unsweetened cold foam adds a deliciously creamy twist without overly adding calories.
For a bigger strawberry flavor, add strawberry puree to the cold foam. See other delightful Strawberry drinks from Starbucks.
Some people prefer topping the pink drink with vanilla sweet cream cold foam which adds a lot of sugar to the drink.
You may want to stick to the Grande size and below when ordering a pink drink with vanilla sweet cream cold foam to avoid an unhealthy amount of calories.
5. Toffee Nut Iced Coffee with Regular Cold Foam
Since toffee nut is a holiday flavor that is replenished during the festive season, toffee nut iced coffee with vanilla cold foam is a delectable holiday drink option that is unknown to most patrons.
Iced coffee is sweetened with a combination of vanilla and toffee nut syrup and topped with vanilla cold foam.
6. Iced Vanilla Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam
To avoid an oversweetened drink, you may want to reduce the number of pumps of vanilla syrup in the base drink. You can swap vanilla sweet cream cold foam with the seasonal cold foams when they are available.
7. Iced London Fog Tea Latte with Irish Cream Cold Foam
London fog tea latte is popular in some regions and nearly unheard of in others. So depending on your region, you can get an amazing drink or be met with awkward stares, especially from the newer baristas, when you order the iced London fog tea latte with Irish cream cold foam.
New hires are seldom trained on how to make it but the ingredients should be available at the store.
When making an iced London fog tea latte, the barista steeps early grey tea bags in hot water for five minutes to brew the tea. The brewed tea is shaken with ice, milk, and vanilla and topped with Irish cream cold foam.
One of the challenges when ordering Long fog tea latte is that since most baristas don’t know how to make it you are likely to get inconsistent service from different baristas. Some may not steep the tea correctly especially when ordering at a drive-through and you are likely to be served a weak and watery drink.
8. Iced White Mocha with Cold Foam and Caramel Drizzle
Most baristas hate making this drink as its preparation is arduous so you may want to order it when the store is not busy. Also, it is a high-calorie drink that is fairly expensive at over $7 for a Venti.
It was popularized through TikTok but most people are oblivious of the high amount of sweeteners in the drink.
If you are a sweet tooth with a craving for the iced white mocha with cold foam and caramel drizzle, you may want to consider asking for fewer pumps of the white chocolate sauce. You can also ask for regular cold foam without vanilla.
Bear in mind that the drink takes more time to make than the menu drinks so avoid ordering it when you are pressed for time.
Also, get your order right to save the baristas from making you a new drink which can disrupt the service to other customers.
9. Irish Cream Cold Brew
This is Starbucks cold brew coffee that is sweetened with Irish cream syrup and topped with Irish cream cold foam and cocoa sprinkles. It is a limited-time holiday special.
Insist that you want the Irish cream syrup in the cold foam to enjoy the vanilla and cocoa notes of Irish cream as some stores top the drink with vanilla sweet cream cold foam.
10. Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew
This is a regular cold brew sweetened with caramel sauce and topped with salted sweet cream cold foam. It has the delicious sweetness of caramel with some sharp hints of salt.
11. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
Regular cold brew is sweetened with vanilla and a delicious topping of pumpkin cream cold foam is added. Sprinkles of ground pumpkin spices give the drink an unforgettable savory finish.
Read a detailed guide to the cold brew with pumpkin cream and other pumpkin drinks.
12. Nitro Cold Brew with Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam
This is a vanilla-sweetened nitro cold brew topped with pumpkin cream cold foam and pumpkin spice dust. It is a rich holiday drink that you should try.
13. Salted Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew
Nitro cold brew is revered for its velvety smoothness and cascading appearance. Sweetening nitro cold brew with caramel and topping it with salted sweet cream cold foam creates a sweeter and much smoother finish.
14. Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cold Brew
Chocolate-covered strawberry cold brew is a secret menu treat that adds a chocolaty and fruity twist to your cold brew. The strawberry cold foam topping makes this drink a great choice when you want to express love using coffee and is a secret Valentine’s day treat for cold brew lovers.
See these amazing ordering tips for a chocolate-covered strawberry cold brew
15. Cold Brew with Dark Cocoa Almond Milk Cold Foam
This is a regular unsweetened cold brew topped with dark cocoa cold foam that is made with almond milk. The drink also gets a strike of cocoa powder on top of the foam.
If you fancy nitro cold brew with similar cold foam, order a nitro cold brew with dark cocoa almond milk cold foam.
Since the foam is no longer on the menu, tell the barista that you want a regular cold brew or nitro with almond milk cold foam which is flavored with cocoa powder and dark mocha sauce.
16. Cold Brew with Cinnamon Almond Milk Cold Foam
Plain cold brew meets a dollop of Starbucks vegan cinnamon almond milk cold foam. You can also get a nitro cold brew with cinnamon almond milk cold foam.
Since this drink is not on the standard menu, ask for cold brew coffee which is topped with almond milk cold foam with vanilla and cinnamon powder blended in the foam.
17. Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
Chocolate cold foam is the latest addition to the Starbucks cold foam flavors and it is so good in cold brew. Chocolate cold foam tastes like chocolate ice cream or milk duds.
Starbucks chocolate cream cold brew consists of cold brew coffee which is sweetened with vanilla and topped with chocolate cold foam.
Chocolate cold foam in the United States is made with chocolate malt powder and vanilla sweet cream whereas in Canada, they use mocha sauce instead of malt powder.
18. Iced Chai Tea Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam
Iced chai tea latte is one of the best cold drinks from Starbucks. You can elevate it further by adding 2-4 pumps of brown sugar to the latte and topping it with vanilla sweet cream cold foam.
If you want to upgrade the drink even further, order an iced oat milk chai tea latte with vanilla sweet cream cold foam. Don’t forget to add brown sugar syrup to the latte.
19. Iced Dirty Chai Tea Latte with Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam
This is a secret menu holiday treat that should be available from the end of August every year. Ask for a grande or venti iced chai tea latte with brown sugar and two shots of blonde espresso and top it with pumpkin cream cold foam.
20. Nitro Cold Brew with Chocolate Cream Cold Foam
Ask for your favorite cup of nitro cold brew with vanilla syrup in it and topped with chocolate cream cold brew.
21. Iced Green Tea Latte with Chai Cold Foam
Did you know that you can get chai cold foam at Starbucks? Yes, simply ask the barista to add chai concentrate to vanilla sweet cream and foam it.
To order this drink, ask for a grande or venti iced green tea latte topped with vanilla sweet cream with chai syrup blended in it.
Types of Cold Foam at Starbucks
Generally, you can order cold foam with almost any flavor that is available at Starbucks as the baristas usually add that flavor to Starbucks sweet cream and foam it. Here are some of the flavors of Starbucks’ cold foam
- Regular cold foam. Simply known as cold foam, it is a blended combination of nonfat milk and two pumps of vanilla syrup. For a skinny cold foam, swap regular vanilla with sugar-free vanilla.
- Vanilla sweet cream cold foam. It is made from a blended mix of heavy cream, two-percent milk, and vanilla syrup.
- Salted cream cold foam. It is a blended mixture of vanilla sweet cream and packets of salt. Vanilla syrup and heavy cream are added to a special blender and sprinkled with sea salt before blending.
- Irish cream cold foam. It combines Irish cream syrup and vanilla sweet cream before blending.
- Raspberry cold foam is a mixture of raspberry syrup and vanilla sweet cream which is aerated to make cold froth.
- Pumpkin cream cold foam. Vanilla sweet cream is blended with pumpkin spice sauce to make pumpkin cream cold foam. A topping of pumpkin spices is sprinkled on the foam.
- Strawberry puree cold foam. It’s a secret menu special that you can order any time of the year. Strawberry cold foam is vanilla sweet cream cold foam blended with strawberry puree.
- Cascara cold foam. Starbucks discontinued cascara syrup so cascara cold foam is no longer available in its original formulation that involved blending nonfat milk with cascara syrup in a special blender.
- Dark cocoa almond milk cold foam. It is a vegan cold foam whose ingredients are still available in Starbucks stores although the foam has been removed from the official Starbucks menu. The foam gets dark mocha sauce, cocoa powder, and almond milk. Unfortunately, almond milk does not make great foam and you can substitute it with soy milk which foams much better.
- Cinnamon almond milk cold foam. This vegan cold foam gets vanilla syrup, cinnamon powder, and almond milk.
- Chocolate cream cold foam. This is the newest addition to Starbucks cold foam flavors. Two scoops of chocolate malt powder are added to vanilla sweet cream and blended to make a serving of chocolate cream cold foam. Malt powder is a core menu item that is used in the iced chocolate almond milk shaken espresso.
- Matcha cold foam. It is made by blending vanilla sweet cream with a scoop of matcha powder
- Chai cold foam. Chai concentrate is added to sweet cream and the blend is then frothed
- Cold brew cold foam. It was a limited-time special but you can still order it when the store is not busy. It has white mocha sauce, dark caramel, cold brew concentrate, and heavy cream.
Starbucks discontinued all the non-dairy milk cold foams such as the dark cocoa almond milk foam due to poor sales. However, you can still order the discontinued non-dairy cold foams in person as the ingredients are available in most stores.
You may want to read about the mouthwatering flavors from Starbucks that you can add to cold foam.
6 Common Mistakes When Ordering Cold Foam Drinks
1. Not Specifying the Type of Cold Foam
The best way to order a drink with cold foam is by specifying the type of foam that you want as there are at least seven types of cold foam at Starbucks.
You can always seek the barista’s help if you are not certain about the cold foam that will pair properly with the cold drink.
Starbucks has numerous syrups and sauces that can be infused into cold foam.
2. Ordering Cold Foam on Hot Coffee
Although it’s doable, topping a hot drink with cold foam is not the best way to enjoy your beverage, especially when you are a sucker for piping hot drinks. Cold foam is likely to melt into the drink and lower the drink’s temperature.
You will not have enough time to enjoy the cold foam before it melts.
In fact, Starbucks discourages its staff from adding cold foam to hot drinks to avoid these problems.
Here is an article about iced coffee drinks with low calories that would be perfect with cold foam.
3. Ordering Frappuccinos with Cold Foam
Cold foam does not pair well with thick drinks such as milkshakes and frappuccinos. You also appreciate the rich flavors when you drink a cold foam drink without a straw which is nearly impossible with frappuccinos.
4. Cold Foam in Refreshers
Although you can pull off adding cold foam in a few refreshers such as the pink drink, some refreshers are highly acidic from fruit acids. These acids can cause the cold foam to cuddle.
5. Ordering Cold Foam and Whipped Cream on the Same Drink
Cold foam and whipped cream should not go together in the same drink unless the whipped cream is added to the base of the cup and even then you would be pushing the calorie levels too high.
Adding cold foam as a topping precludes adding whipped cream and vice versa.
How to Order Cold Foam on the Starbucks App
Here are the steps to follow when ordering cold foam on the Starbucks app
- Open the app and select the menu tab
- Select cold coffees or cold drinks if you want a refresher
- Select your choice of cold coffee or refresher
- Under the customizations, tap the toppings tab to open the different options available
- Scroll down to the cold foam options and select a cold foam of your choice
- Tap the “Done” button to close the toppings drop-down menu
- Add your choice of sweeteners and then tap the “add to order” button
- Choose a store that is near your area and place your order.
Discontinued cold foams will not appear on the app and you have to order them in person at the store.
