The 10 Best Starbucks Cold Brew Drinks, Ranked
Updated - Team Colipse
Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is the best of 10 Starbucks cold brew drinks for its classic creamy taste. A grande Nitro Cold Brew holds 280 mg of caffeine, the most in the lineup. Plain Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew contain 0 g of sugar. Chocolate fans get Chocolate Cream Cold Brew, while Pumpkin, Pistachio and Toasted Coconut Cream rotate in by season. Sweet cream is runny, and cold foam is fluffy. At home, coarse ground coffee steeps in cold water for 12 hours.
The 10 Starbucks cold brew drinks in this ranking are listed below.
- Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
- Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
- Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew
- Nitro Cold Brew
- Cold Brew
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
- Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew
- Pistachio Cream Cold Brew
- Nondairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
- Toasted Coconut Cream Cold Brew
1. Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is the best Starbucks cold brew drink overall, best for a classic creamy cold brew. Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is first in the most cold brew rankings.
Starbucks accents its custom cold brew blend with vanilla and tops it with a float of house-made vanilla sweet cream. The vanilla sweet cream cascades through the cup.
Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew launched in 2016 as the drink that introduced Starbucks sweet cream. One ranking named it the top cold brew drink at Starbucks, and another put it first of 10. Critics wrote that vanilla sweet cream cuts through the bitterness of the cold brew without overpowering the coffee.
2. Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
Chocolate Cream Cold Brew is the best Starbucks cold brew drink for chocolate fans. Chocolate Cream Cold Brew tops vanilla-sweetened cold brew with a silky, chocolaty cream foam.
Chocolate Cream Cold Brew gets mixed reviews. One reviewer ranked it first after ordering it daily for a summer. Another ranked it only 41st of 48 Starbucks drinks.
Chocolate Cream Cold Brew tastes sweeter at first, because the chocolate cream foam sits on top. The cold brew below stays unsweetened apart from vanilla, so the last sips taste less sweet.
3. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew
Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew is the best Starbucks cold brew drink for a creamy cup with little sugar. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew uses tap-poured nitro instead of the iced base.
Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew spreads the cream through a foamy, velvety coffee. One reviewer ranked it first of the Starbucks nitro drinks.
One critic called Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew the creamier relative of the iced version.
4. Nitro Cold Brew
Nitro Cold Brew is the best black Starbucks cold brew drink for texture. Nitro Cold Brew is cold brew infused with nitrogen and poured from a tap.
Nitro Cold Brew gets a sweet flavor without sugar from the nitrogen. The nitrogen creates a cascading, velvety crema, much like a stout beer such as Guinness poured from a tap.
Nitro Cold Brew is served without ice or a straw, and Starbucks offers it in only 2 sizes. Starbucks sells canned Nitro Cold Brew at grocery and convenience stores.
5. Cold Brew
Starbucks Cold Brew is the best Starbucks cold brew drink to drink black, with almost no calories. Starbucks Cold Brew is made from a custom blend of beans chosen to steep long and cold.
Starbucks steeps its Cold Brew in cool water for 20 hours, in small batches daily, without heat.
Starbucks Cold Brew tastes of subtle chocolaty and citrus undertones, with a crisp, clean finish.
6. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is the best fall seasonal Starbucks cold brew drink. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is topped with pumpkin cream foam and a dusting of pumpkin-spice topping.
Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew ranked second of 48 Starbucks drinks in one ranking, above the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is on the current Starbucks United States (US) cold brew menu as a fall seasonal.
7. Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew
Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew is the best sweet and salty Starbucks cold brew drink. Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew is cold brew sweetened with a touch of caramel under a salted, rich cold foam.
Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew balances the natural bitterness of the coffee with sweet and salty notes.
Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew contains 330 mg of sodium. One ranking placed it last of 48 for that reason.
8. Pistachio Cream Cold Brew
Pistachio Cream Cold Brew is the best Starbucks cold brew drink for nut lovers, sold as a winter drink. Pistachio Cream Cold Brew tops vanilla-sweetened cold brew with pistachio cream cold foam.
Pistachio Cream Cold Brew adds salted brown-buttery sprinkles on top. The savory sprinkle complements the nutty pistachio.
9. Nondairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
Nondairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is the best dairy-free Starbucks cold brew drink. Nondairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew uses a nondairy vanilla sweet cream instead of the dairy float.
Nondairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew has 100 calories in a grande. The dairy version has 110. The nondairy cream cascades through the cold brew the same way.
10. Toasted Coconut Cream Cold Brew
Toasted Coconut Cream Cold Brew is the best tropical Starbucks cold brew drink. Toasted Coconut Cream Cold Brew tops the signature cold brew with toasted coconut cold foam.
Toasted Coconut Cream Cold Brew lists 240 calories in a grande, making it one of the richer picks.
How Is Starbucks Cold Brew Different From Starbucks Iced Coffee?
Starbucks Cold Brew differs from Starbucks Iced Coffee because cold brew never touches heat, while iced coffee is brewed hot. Starbucks Iced Coffee is chilled and served over ice.
| Attribute | Starbucks Cold Brew | Starbucks Iced Coffee |
|---|---|---|
| Brewing heat and time | Steeped in cool water for 20 hours | Brewed hot, then chilled |
| Acidity | Smoother, less acidic | Far more acidic |
| Caffeine per grande | 205 mg | 185 mg |
A grande Cold Brew lists 205 mg of caffeine, against 185 mg for a grande Iced Coffee. Both grandes hold 16 fl oz (473 ml). One taste test found iced coffee far more acidic than cold brew, and nitro smoother still. Starbucks Cold Brew tastes smoother because cold water extracts fewer of the acidic and bitter compounds than hot water. The same beans taste sweeter as cold brew.
Which Starbucks Cold Brew Drink Has the Most Caffeine?
The Starbucks cold brew drink that has the most caffeine is Nitro Cold Brew. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew and Cold Brew have the next highest amounts.
A grande Nitro Cold Brew lists 280 mg of caffeine. A grande Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro lists 265 mg. Plain Cold Brew sizes range from 155 mg in a tall to 360 mg in a Trenta.
Mayo Clinic lists about 96 mg of caffeine in 8 fl oz (237 ml) of brewed coffee. Espresso has 63 mg per 1 fl oz (30 ml).
A 2023 study by Nur Hadiyani Zakaria in Foods found more caffeine in cold brew than French press coffee. The two brews had similar total dissolved solids.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cites 400 mg a day for most adults. That amount is not generally associated with negative effects.
Is Nitro Cold Brew Stronger Than Regular Cold Brew?
Yes, Nitro Cold Brew is stronger than regular Cold Brew per cup, because Nitro is served without ice. A Nitro cup holds more coffee.
Nitro Cold Brew lists 215 mg in a tall, against 155 mg for a tall Cold Brew. Both talls hold 12 fl oz (355 ml). Nitrogen adds no caffeine, so stronger means more caffeine per cup, not a more concentrated brew.
Nitro Cold Brew is not sold in a venti. One report said a venti would approach the daily caffeine guideline.
Which Starbucks Cold Brew Drinks Have the Least Sugar?
The Starbucks cold brew drinks that have the least sugar are Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew has the least sugar of the cream drinks.
Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew list 5 calories and 0 g of sugar per grande. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew lists 70 calories and 4 g of sugar per grande.
Pistachio Cream Cold Brew lists 32 g of sugar and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew 31 g per grande. Toasted Coconut Cream Cold Brew lists 27 g, and drink customizations change all of these numbers.
What Is the Difference Between Sweet Cream and Cold Foam?
The difference between sweet cream and cold foam is texture: sweet cream is runny, cold foam is fluffy. Starbucks sweet cream blends reduced-fat milk, heavy cream and vanilla syrup.
| Attribute | Vanilla sweet cream | Cold foam |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | Reduced-fat milk, heavy cream and vanilla syrup | Nonfat milk blended until smooth, with flavors added |
| Texture | Smooth and runny like a creamer | Light and fluffy |
| Sits on top or mixes in | Cascades through the cup | Sits on top |
Sweet cream cold foam is the same sweet cream mix run through a blender. The basic Starbucks cold foam is nonfat milk blended until smooth, with flavors added on top. Cold foam and sweet cream cold foam are different toppings. The drink name on the order determines which topping the drink gets. Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew uses sweet cream, while Pistachio Cream Cold Brew uses cold foam.
How Can Starbucks-Style Cold Brew Be Made at Home?
To make Starbucks-style cold brew at home, steep coarse ground coffee in cold water for 12 hours, then strain. Home cold brew concentrate is mixed 1 to 1 with water over ice.
Home cold brew uses 20 g (0.7 oz) of coarse ground coffee per 6 fl oz (180 ml) water. The coffee steeps for 12 hours before straining.
Home cold brew can imitate these Starbucks drinks with a splash of sweet cream or a cold foam topping. Nitrogen or sweet cream turns the base into a Starbucks-style version.
Colipse Cold Brew Coarse Ground suits cold steeping of 12 to 24 hours without sediment or bitterness. Colipse Cold Brew Coarse Ground is ground coarse for that purpose.