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I only started thinking about brown sugar in coffee last year.
Since then, I have noticed it on a lot of Starbucks drinks, and I get why the caramelized flavor caught on so quickly.
Once I started trying it, I stopped thinking of brown sugar as a small add-on.
Starbucks has a lot of ways to use it, and these are the 11 versions I keep coming back to most often.
11 Best Starbucks brown sugar drinks
1. Brown Sugar Oat Americano
I have always liked a good Americano because it is simple, strong, and does not need much fuss to make sense.
But the Blonde espresso, nutty oat milk, and toasty brown sugar syrup with cinnamon changed that for me in a pretty noticeable way. I almost never go back to a plain Americano now.
The Brown Sugar Oat Americano lands in a really nice middle ground for me: earthy, a little molasses-heavy, and smoother than a plain Americano without turning into a milk drink.
Iced or hot, it’s all delicious, and I love how easy it is to tailor the drink to suit my mood that day.
Tips From a Barista:
- For an even creamier drink, ask for the drink ‘without water’ - just the shots and oat milk will be used.
- For a lower-calorie version, ask for just a ‘splash’ of oat milk.
2. Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
For the longest time, I just ordered iced coffee with half-and-half.
The Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso finally gave me another iced order I actually looked forward to on warm afternoons.
This one is made with shaken Starbucks Blonde espresso, a few pumps of brown sugar syrup, cinnamon, oat milk, and ice , and the shaking gives it a lighter, airier feel than a straight iced latte.
Not much milk is added – just enough to make it smooth and nutty, bringing out the full spectrum of comforting spices and the slight sweetness of brown sugar.
Tips From a Barista:
- For a sweeter drink, add an extra pump or two of brown sugar syrup and vanilla sweet cream cold foam.
3. Iced Mocha With Brown Sugar
Chocolate and espresso are one of my favorite combinations, so I knew I had to try the Iced Mocha with Brown Sugar as soon as I saw it.
The cold makes the mocha taste a little softer, and the brown sugar reads almost like a caramel swirl under the chocolate. It reminded me more of an ice cream treat than a standard mocha.
This drink is made with a mix of espresso, mocha sauce, milk, ice, brown sugar syrup, and sweetened whipped cream , so yes, it leans very sweet.
While I usually prefer hot drinks, I find the hot version is way too sweet while the iced is just right.
Tips From a Barista:
- I can’t recommend switching out regular mocha for white chocolate enough! The white chocolate is mild and sweet enough that it combines perfectly with brown sugar!
4. Iced London Fog Latte With Brown Sugar
I love coffee, but every now and then I want a tea drink instead of my usual espresso.
It takes a lot for a tea drink to win me over, but the Iced London Fog Latte with Brown Sugar got me from the first sip.
It’s sophisticated, creative, earthy, aromatic, and is one of the very few teas that I could see myself drinking every day.
Black tea infused with bergamot and lavender, plus milk, is poured over ice with vanilla and brown sugar syrup for a drink that feels softer and more aromatic than most iced tea orders.
5. Hot Chocolate With Brown Sugar
Hot chocolate is one of those classic comfort drinks that tastes good but does not always surprise me.
The Hot Chocolate with Brown Sugar changes that a bit, adding deeper molasses notes that fit neatly into the cocoa and make the sweetness feel fuller.
When temperatures start dropping, this is one of my drinks of choice on a chilly morning or while going to watch Christmas lights.
It is still a familiar drink, just with enough of a twist to keep me interested.
6. Caramel Macchiato With Brown Sugar
I already liked caramel macchiatos before I tried adding brown sugar to one.
The brown sugar syrup only seems to push the caramel notes further, giving the drink a deeper, more buttery sweetness.
Made with steamed milk, vanilla syrup, espresso, brown sugar syrup, and caramel drizzle , it is the kind of drink I will happily order again when I want something extra sweet.
The whipped cream on top smooths everything out, adding a cloud-like layer of luxury.
7. Matcha Latte With Brown Sugar
I have always liked Starbucks matcha, but sometimes I want it a little sweeter and less flat on the finish.
Even with that built-in sweetness, the flavor can still feel a little one-note on its own.
Adding the usual mix of matcha powder and steamed milk with brown sugar syrup gives it a richer sweetness and takes the edge off the grassier notes.
The Matcha Latte with Brown Sugar is a drink bursting with earthy notes and tastes great with a bit of vanilla, too.
Tips From a Barista:
- Add a pump of vanilla or some sweet vanilla cold foam! The creaminess jives perfectly with the other flavors without overpowering them.
8. Blonde Vanilla Brown Sugar Latte
Coffee drinks do not have to be bold and punchy to be worth ordering.
The Blonde Vanilla Brown Sugar Latte is a good example , with mellow, milky sweetness that feels easy to sip.
I find that Starbucks’ Blonde espresso drinks work exceptionally well with vanilla and brown sugar syrups, as the espresso is nice and mild and doesn’t take over the other ingredients.
It is the drink I reach for when I want something I can keep drinking through the workday without getting tired of it.
Tips From a Barista:
- Ask for half pumps of brown sugar and vanilla, add caramel drizzle, and substitute for oat milk. These mods make it one of the best drinks of all time!
9. Iced Chai Tea With Brown Sugar
This spiced drink combines black tea infused with cinnamon, cloves, and other cozy spices, plus milk, brown sugar syrup, and ice , and it works well when I want something with a little more kick than plain tea.
The extra milk in the iced version softens the spice, which helps if a chai starts to feel too sharp to me.
The great thing is, I can adjust the amount of chai pumps and brown sugar pumps to make it more or less sweet to my liking.
When I want the sweetness without losing the spice, half pumps of brown sugar usually feel like enough.
Tips From a Barista:
- Do me a favor: ask for molasses drizzle on top of this drink. It’s like taking the brown sugar flavor and turning the dial up!
10. Black Tea With Brown Sugar And Oat Milk
I used to find a lot of tea drinks bland and one-dimensional.
The Black Tea with Brown Sugar and Oat Milk changed that for me, because it tastes fuller and more layered than the teas I had been ordering before!
Choose between either English breakfast or an Earl grey blend and combine it with water, oat milk, and brown sugar syrup for a classy and creamy beverage.
As someone who likes milk tea, this one gets surprisingly close, even if it is still a Starbucks drink and not actual boba!
11. Caramel Apple Spice With Brown Sugar
Caramel apples are one of those flavors I never get bored of, even if the sticky sweetness is not exactly gentle.
The Caramel Apple Spice with Brown Sugar is a cozy alternative, with steamed apple juice, cinnamon, dolce syrup, brown sugar syrup, whipped cream, and caramel sauce drizzle giving it that warm apple-pie feeling in a cup.
It is a simple cup of familiar flavors, but the brown sugar keeps it from tasting flat.
I enjoy this drink both hot and iced, and love adding an extra pour of half and half.
If you want to tailor any Starbucks brown sugar drink, these customization options are the ones I pay attention to first.
Size is key
Each Starbucks drink comes in a few cup sizes. From smallest to largest, the list includes:
Knowing what size each cup is can be important, especially for when I’m combining syrups.
Dairy alternatives
Starbucks also offers a range of milk options for allergies and personal preferences. The non-dairy options typically include:
I’ve asked the barista to add extra milk foam, milk foam, light milk foam, and no foam to my espresso drinks, depending on my preferences.
Turn up the heat
I did not fully appreciate how useful that was until I started paying closer attention to custom orders.
It’s possible to order a drink to be cooler or hotter than the average 150 – 170 degrees.
Kids' drinks are usually made a little cooler, and hot drinks can also be ordered cooler if you want to drink them right away.
Plenty of people still order coffee and tea extra hot, especially if they know they will not be able to drink it for a while and do not want it turning lukewarm.
Widen your horizons
Once I started customizing more often, I realized how many small changes can make a drink feel new.
Starbucks has a lot of syrups, but vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, and Irish cream are the ones I think about first with brown sugar drinks.
If a drink already leans sweet, I usually keep the brown sugar to half pumps and pair it with something like vanilla or hazelnut so the flavor has more shape.
That is usually enough to add dimension without making the drink feel heavy.
With just about any brown sugar drink, I also recommend trying oat milk in place of cream or whole milk.
It tastes thick like cream, but nuttier, with a more autumn-like flavor that I keep coming back to.
To top it all off
I am a huge whipped cream fan, so I notice pretty quickly when a drink uses it well.
Once cold foam showed up, it became my go-to topping. It is lightly sweet, dense, creamy, and easy to pair with almost any syrup.
Drizzle is also a must for me, and while caramel is still the default, I have branched out to cinnamon dolce, toffee nut, and vanilla.
I highly recommend molasses drizzle on any brown sugar drink on here, though!
Make your own brown sugar Starbucks drinks at home
A little DIY know-how has saved me a few drive-thru trips!
Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso Recipe
Ingredients:
Brown sugar simple syrup recipe:
- 1Put the sugar, water, cinnamon, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, whisking
- 2Turn down the heat and simmer for five to ten minutes
- 3Take off the heat and remove the cinnamon stick
- 4Let the brown sugar simple syrup cool
- 5Store in a glass airtight container in the fridge when not in use
Shaken espresso recipe:
- 1Place the ice, syrup, and espresso in a lidded mason jar or cocktail shaker
- 2Shake vigorously
- 3Pour shaken espresso into a glass
- 4Top with the oatmilk
Bourbon Brown Sugar Cold Brew
Ingredients:
Bourbon sugar cold brew recipe:
- 1Combine the previously made brown sugar simple syrup, dolce syrup, mocha sauce, ice, vanilla extract, and espresso in a cocktail shaker or mason jar with a lid
- 2Shake vigorously until cold and smooth
- 3Pour shaken espresso into a glass
- 4Add oat milk and stir
- 5Serve topped with whipped cream
FAQs
How do you add brown sugar to your Starbucks order on mobile?
To add brown sugar to a Starbucks drink on mobile, I usually start by:
- 1Choose your drink
- 2Select ‘Customise’
- 3Scroll down to ‘Flavors’
- 4Select ‘Add syrups’
- 5Choose ‘Brown Sugar Syrup’
- 6Choose the number of pumps you want
- 7Make any other necessary customizations
- 8Pay and pick up
Does Starbucks have brown sugar cold foam?
I have found that brown sugar in the milk before steaming can give cold foam a softer flavor.
Does brown sugar cost extra at Starbucks?
If the drink already comes with brown sugar syrup, like a brown sugar cold brew, adding more may be treated differently depending on the store and the order.
Conclusion
Brown sugar has become my easy way to push a Starbucks drink a little farther, and I can see why these 11 keep showing up for anyone with a sweet tooth.
From coffees to teas, brown sugar works in a lot of Starbucks drinks without taking over the cup.
My 2 personal favorites are the Caramel Apple Spice with Brown Sugar and the Brown Sugar Oat Americano. The first tastes like warm apple pie, and the second is bold, smooth, sweet, and comfortable any time of year!
However, the Brown Sugar Oat Americano has my heart because it stays bold without feeling harsh, and the oat milk keeps it smooth.
