How to make Starbucks cold foam at home

Starbucks cold foam is a staple item on their menu, but there’s an exact science to making that delicious cloud of goodness – and you can recreate it at home.

Starbucks first introduced cold foam back in 2014 when they opened at Reserve Roastery in their founding city of Seattle. Since then, it has become a large part of their iced coffee menu with many flavored variations.

Cold foam can be layered on top of any drink and instantly makes your coffee ten times more aesthetically pleasing for your Instagram feed.

More than that though, the clever invention from Starbucks mimics the light foam that comes with a cappuccino or latte and gives your iced coffee drink a better texture.

After working in Starbucks for several years, I have edited this recipe so that it’s easy to make at home without any special blenders or equipment, and now you can make it too.

Contents

Starbucks sweet cream cold foam recipe

If you want to recreate Starbucks’ sweet cold foam at home, here’s everything you’ll need:

• Nonfat milk
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or whatever flavoring you’d like)
• Ice
• Your coffee of choice
• Small jar with a lid

Method:

1. Ensure that your nonfat milk is fully refrigerated. For the cold foam to work, the milk needs to be as cold as possible.
2. First, you’ll want to prepare whatever iced coffee you would like the cold foam to go on top of. For example, pour your French press coffee into a tall glass, and add milk and ice until the drink is to your taste and fully cooled. It also looks really good on top of a black coffee. Be sure to leave a 2-inch gap at the top of the glass for the cold foam.
3. Take your milk out of the fridge and pour a small amount of it into your jam jar. Around 1oz should do it.
4. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla (or other flavoring) to the milk.
5. Screw the lid tightly on your jam jar and shake the mixture until it becomes a thick foam. This could take a few minutes.
6. Once your milk has thickened into a cold foam, spoon the mixture on top of your drink and enjoy!

How Starbucks make its cold foam

When cold foam is made in-store at Starbucks, a special blender is used to create that micro-foam in a chilled form. The milk is kept really cold and the blending jug itself has tiny blades that whip the milk into a nice texture. But, the jam jar at home does the same trick.

What’s key in this recipe is that your milk is really cold, this is because colder liquids are more viscous and help trap air bubbles in the milk. You also need to make the cold foam in small batches because too much liquid will make the drink too heavy to turn into cold foam. And lastly, you’ll need to make sure the powdered sugar is included. The sugar helps the whipped milk thicken and gives it a nice sweetness.

Aside from those specifics though, you can be creative with your cold foam. Add whatever flavorings and colors you’d like, and if you feel that your additives have made the foam too thin, add more powdered sugar to substitute.

Can I make Starbucks cold foam at home with non-dairy milk?

If you’ve ever tried to order cold foam in Starbucks with dairy-free milk, you’ll definitely have been told that this is not possible. This is because plant-based milks are made up of too much water for the whipped cold foam to work. However, there is a workaround for this at home.

What you’ll need:

• Oat milk or homemade cashew milk (other non-dairy milks won’t work)
• Vegan whipped cream
• Vanilla extract
• Milk jug
• Handheld milk frother

Method:

1. Add your vegan whip with 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract to your milk jug.
2. Add a dash of oat/cashew milk.
3. Use your frother to froth the cold foam until you’re happy with the consistency.
4. Add to the top of your cold drink of choice.

If you want to try to make more of Starbucks’ menu items at home, check out our other guides, such as how to make Starbucks Refreshers, or Starbucks coffee at home. We also have a recipe for making a Starbucks Pink Drink at home.