What’s the Deal with Cold Foam? (Starbucks Cold Foam Drinks)

by Scott | Last Updated: November 27, 2021

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Cold foam is a topping that Starbucks piloted a few years back and it quickly made a splash in coffee-drinking circles. This topping was added to the Starbucks menu as suggested pairing for the selection of cold brew drinks which were added to the menu in the same time frame.

Unlike whipped cream which is made using heavy cream, cold foam uses non-fat milk and is lightly sweetened with vanilla syrup. It is whipped to make a thick, frothy topping that slowly melts into your iced drink as you sip up that goodness.

The cold cream foams are made by combining non-fat milk, heavy cream, and a flavored syrup.

Starbucks even came out with a special drinking lid for cold foam drinks that allow you to appreciate the coffee and cold foam combo to its fullest. So, not only is cold foam a delicious treat, but it is also a way to get around those paper straws which melt in your drink faster than the ice melts in your coffee on a hot summer’s day.

Cold Foam Flavor Options

There are a few different types of cold foams to try. Currently, you can choose from regular cold foam, salted caramel cream cold foam, vanilla sweet cream cold foam, or you can try the newest addition to the list: pumpkin cream cold foam.

Is there a non-dairy cold foam option?

If you are looking for a non-dairy cold foam option, some Starbucks stores will make you a non-dairy cold foam using almond milk, coconut milk, or oat milk. They would just need to blend the non-dairy milk using their cold foam blender. You won’t get the same type of thick, fluffy foam (or the variety of cold foam flavors), but it still may be a nice addition to a vegan drink.

Some vegan cold foam specialty drinks even make it to the main menu from time to time. For example, the Cold Brew with Dark Cocoa Almondmilk Foam is a completely vegan drink.

Starbucks Cold Foam Drinks

While cold foams started off to specifically top cold brews, they can be added on to any iced Starbucks drink for a light, foamy, non-fat topping option. Theoretically, you could also add cold foams to hot coffee drinks, they will just disappear very quickly.

Here are some of our favorite cold foam pairings with Starbucks Iced Drinks. We chose this “best” list to have a little bit of something for everyone, from espresso-based drinks, teas, to fruity-flavored low-caffeine drinks. This list is ordered by our tastebuds with our personal favorites first and on down to drinks that may not be our first pick, but could be yours!

We also included a helpful chart with our favorite combos. The chart lets you know what exactly to name off to try these drinks for yourself in a Starbucks store, and how much of a caffeine kick you can expect to get with these brews based on a mid-size grande drink.

Look through these cold foam drinks and find your next Starbucks coffee addiction!

1. Cold Foam Cascara Cold Brew with Smoked Crystal Sugar on Top

The cold foam cascara cold brew was one of the first cold foam coffee drinks to hit the Starbucks menu. This drink is concocted with syrup made from coffee berry fruit. How yummy is this! After a few years of making a presence in Starbucks stores, I hear a sad rumor that this drink has made its way to the discontinued list.

You can still find this drink listed on the Starbucks online menu, though, so if you find this sweet treat at a Starbucks near you, try it while you still can!

2. Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew

Carmel and salt make a great combination to tantalize the taste buds. And, what better way to enjoy these divergent flavors than mixing them both in a cold coffee drink.

The Starbucks cold brew is already a super-smooth drink. The hint of salted cream neutralizes any leftover bitterness of the bean and highlights the sweetness of the caramel. This is one of my all-time favorite cold foam/cold brew combos!

3. Cold Brew with Dark Cocoa Almondmilk Foam

This iced coffee drink is yummy, nutty, and chocolatey and is also a completely non-dairy, vegan option. It is sweetened with mocha sauce then topped with almond milk foam and sweet cocoa powder. For those sticking to a vegan diet, or just looking for a light and tasty drink, this cold drink is worth a try.

4. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew

The nitro cold brews are infused with nitrogen which adds a bit of sweetness to the brew (without adding sugar) and gives it a bit of crema on top. A byproduct of this processing is that nitro brews will have a much higher percentage of caffeine than a regular cold brew. For example, this grande drink has 80 mg more caffeine than the regular cold brew of the same name.

The vanilla sweet cream topping adds a touch of vanilla syrup to smooth out the edges of this high-caff drink. If you are looking for a drink to wake up and keep you going, a nitro brew should do the trick.

5. Iced Chai Tea Latte with Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam

This chai latte is a great solution if you are wanting a bit of a fall flavor, but don’t want pumpkin spice to strong-arm your drink. Iced chai latte has all the spices to give a perfect fall feeling, and it contains a decent dose of caffeine for a drink that is not coffee-based.

This drink puts pumpkin in its place and allows fair play for the Indian tea spices. The pumpkin cold foam mixes gently with the chai to add a touch of pumpkin flavor that is well-behaved and doesn’t overpower other flavors. This can be a nice cold foam option for tea drinkers.

Or, you can ask for a dirty chai, and get that shot of espresso in there to make this iced tea drink even better.

6. Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream

Maybe I should have put this drink higher on the list because this drink is one of my very favorites. The iced cinnamon dolce latte is everything you love about a caramel macchiato, but better.

Ask the barista on duty to substitute the whipped cream for a cold foam, and this iced drink will be a treat on a warm day. I suggest adding the vanilla sweet cream cold foam to this drink. This cold foam choice pairs well with the cinnamon and gives this iced beverage a Mexican ice cream flair.

7. Honey Almondmilk Nitro Cold Brew with Cold Foam

This nitro cold brew has a splash of almond milk and honey added to it in order to soften up this strong coffee drink. The honey and almond flavors pair well with the smooth brew and you can almost forget that you are packing in a pretty hefty load of caffeine until you feel the effects a bit later. I love strong coffee, but a little cold foam added to the top of this drink is just the spoonful of sugar you need to get this caffeine down with as much enjoyment as possible.

8. Iced Blonde Vanilla Bean Coconutmilk Latte with Caramel Cold Cream

The blonde roasts have a more subtle coffee flavor than the regular espresso drinks. For the blonde vanilla bean coconut milk latte, real vanilla bean powder is shaken with coconut milk and ice. It is then topped with a blonde espresso shot to make an “upside-down latte”… which isn’t that called a macchiato?

Anyway. This drink so far is vegan, but the words “macchiato” and “caramel” are so often paired together in my mind, that I have to top this drink with caramel cold cream or it just doesn’t feel right. This makes this already creamy drink just a little creamier. Also, your taste buds get to follow the coconut, vanilla, and caramel flavors around as you get a slow but steady caffeine pick-me-up.

9. Iced London Fog Tea Latte with Cold Foam

If you are not drinking coffee, the London Fog Tea Latte is the next best thing. This drink is creamy and dreamy, combining vanilla and lavender flavors with the sharp tang of bergamot. I like to top it with regular cold foam for a light and delicious drink.

If you are on a break from coffee or trying to step down on your caffeine intake, this iced tea is a lovely drink that will transport you to England with your first taste. Go claim one of Starbuck’s leather armchairs by the window to get the proper enjoyment out of this drink.

10. Iced Matcha Tea Latte with Cold Foam

The iced matcha tea latte is a green tea-based drink on ice. Utterly creamy and smooth this drink also definitely wears the color of summer. The cold foam is a nice touch adding a bit of froth to the top. If you are a green tea fan, this matcha latte with cold foam will be your cup of tea.

11. The Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso with Cold Foam

This drink has gotten a lot of attention on TikTok after it made its debut in Starbucks stores. The Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso is a result of Starbuck’s new partnership with the Oatly milk company. It is made with a blonde espresso which is shaken with ice, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then oat milk is poured over the top of this vegan coffee cocktail. Top it with some (non-vegan) cold foam and you will not regret this order. Personally, any drink that is shaken automatically gets higher points from me in the flavor department.

Another new vegan shaken espresso to try is the Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso.

12. Iced Dragon Drink with Cold Foam

This Starbucks drink has an extra fruity taste with a little kick of caffeine. The coconut milk, mango, and real pieces of dragonfruit get together to hold a little tropical party in your mouth. The caffeine in this drink is derived from green coffee beans, so you will get a bit of a punch up but without the espresso flavor.

This drink is vegan, but if you are not on a vegan diet, the dragon drink is made extra creamy and delicious when you top it off with a creamy cold foam.

If you are looking for a fresh-tasting pick me up, this is definitely a drink to try!

13. Iced White Chocolate Mocha with Cold Foam

A white chocolate mocha on ice is a nice choice when you are looking to satisfy your sweet tooth and your coffee craving all in one drink. I actually enjoy this top-selling Starbucks drink more iced than when it is served hot. It’s a little less rich when poured over ice, but still very smooth and creamy.

For a lighter drink, ask the barista to substitute the whipped cream for cold foam. The cold foam slowly blends into this drink to get that nice fluffy texture without coating your mouth in weird ways like whipped cream does when it is combined with iced drinks.

Since this drink is already one of the richer coffee drinks on the menu, I prefer to tone it down with a basic cold foam.

14. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew with Pumpkin Cold Cream

The pumpkin cream cold brew is a newer option on the Starbucks menu for pumpkin spice fans. The cold brew is a little less creamy than the pumpkin spice latte and a little stronger on the coffee taste. So far so good. Then the pumpkin cold cream comes in to remind you that this drink is all about being pumpkin. It becomes a little extreme in my book. I would be more likely to order the pumpkin brew with a non-pumpkin topping or a pumpkin cold cream with just a plain cold brew.

But for pumpkin spice fans this drink says you…could…go…all…way. And finishes off with a full pumpkin touchdown.

15. Secret Menu Iced Cinderella Latte with Vanilla Cream Cold Foam

They say a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I’m not convinced a Cinderella latte would taste as good under any other name.

This secret menu drink is made with a pumpkin spice latte base, except that half of the pumpkin spice shots are replaced with white chocolate mocha. One taste and you can picture the Disney story unfold, complete with the white ballroom dress and the pumpkin carriage. Adding some vanilla sweet cream cold foam to the top of this iced drink gives you the happily ever after finish you were waiting for.

It is definitely an extra-sweet fairy-tale type of drink, which is honestly, a bit too sweet for my taste. But, if you are a devoted fan of both pumpkin spice and white chocolate mocha, this combo could be a dream come true.

Conclusion

Cold foam is not just for cold brews anymore. These flavorful toppings can make a delicious creamy topping to your favorite Starbucks iced drinks. Some of the drinks we included on the list are our personal favorites, and others are some of Starbucks’ best-sellers. Try one of these cold drink-cold foam combos out for yourself and let us know how it ranks in your book.

Can you guess what keeps me up at night? You guessed it! Copious amounts of coffee beans. What? I brew them first.