Starbucks salted caramel cream cold brew: How I recreate it at home

Starbucks Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew ingredients

Starbucks makes cold brew by steeping coffee grounds in cold water, then filtering out the grounds before serving.

The process sounds slow, but that is really the point. Once the steep is long enough, the coffee is ready without much extra work.

It gets sweet vanilla syrup and a thick topping of salted caramel cold foam, plus a little salt on top.

The salted caramel cold foam is the part I notice first.

In a copycat version, the foam is usually made with vanilla sweet cream, milk, vanilla syrup, caramel sauce or syrup, and salt.

Cold-brew drinks often have more caffeine than regular iced coffee, and they can also feel stronger than an iced Americano depending on the size and build.

Starbucks serves this drink in four sizes, Tall, Grande, Venti, and Trenta, so the amount of cold brew, foam, and syrup changes with each one.

Starbucks Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew - Nutritional facts 

Below are the calories per size for this cold foam cold brew drink from the Starbucks website.

So, is this caramel cream cold brew drink healthy?

I would not treat it like a light coffee, especially once the cold foam goes on.

On its own, cold brew coffee has no sugar and has a very low-calorie count , but with a high concentration of caffeine in every order.

The sweet cream cold foam version on the Starbucks menu adds more fat, calories, and carbs than plain cold brew.

Grande is the size I tend to think of first for this drink. It feels like enough coffee without getting too heavy.

The Salted Caramel Cold Brew has about 110 calories, which is much less than most Starbucks Frappuccinos.

If I’m watching calories, that is the main bright spot here:

You can control the amount of sugar, fats, and carbs if you customize the caramel cream cold foam cold brew recipe yourself.

How to order this drink (App vs instore) 

There are a few ways to order a salted caramel cold foam coffee from Starbucks, either in store or through the app.

The simplest option is to order at a local Starbucks counter.

At the counter, I can usually customize the drink and catch any questions before they make it.

I also use the Starbucks app when I want to save time and place the order before I leave.

It still lets you earn Starbucks Rewards points, and you can find the Salted Caramel Cold Brew there for pickup.

I sometimes add extra caramel syrup, caramel sauce, vanilla syrup, or other extras when I want a sweeter drink.

In some areas, Starbucks cold brew may also be available through delivery apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats.

Making your own (Copycat recipe for at-home) 

This recipe makes one 16-ounce salted caramel cream cold brew, so use a cup that size.

Once the ingredients are ready, here’s how I put the drink together:

Cold brew or cooled coffee (1 ¼ cup) 

I start by adding coffee grounds to a French press and covering them with cold water.

Then I let it steep for about 20 hours before pressing the plunger to filter out the grounds.

After that, I pour the cold brew into a glass or store it in a mason jar for later.

Cooled espresso can work as a substitute, but it gives the drink a sharper, less mellow coffee base.

Caramel or vanilla syrup (2 pumps) 

The Starbucks recipe uses vanilla syrup in the cold brew, but the salted caramel flavor comes mostly from the foam rather than from extra caramel in the coffee itself.

At home, I usually keep it simple with caramel sauce or syrup and half-and-half, which is faster and cheaper than a coffee shop run.

A little sea salt on top makes the sweet foam taste more balanced and keeps the caramel from coming across as flat.

Heavy cream & milk or dairy-free alternatives (¼ cup) 

I usually use heavy cream and milk together in a 7:3 ratio, which gives me about ¼ cup of sweet cream foam base.

Then I whisk until the mixture looks lightly thickened and creamy rather than fully whipped.

That texture gets close to the sweet cream layer Starbucks uses on this drink.

Dairy-free milk alternatives can also work here. Soy and oat milk are the ones I reach for most, and oat milk adds a nutty note that fits the caramel well.

Clean, filtered water, and/or ice 

Once everything is mixed, I always taste it before adding the salt.

The first sip tells me whether it needs more salt or a little more dilution.

If it tastes too strong or bitter, I add a little clean filtered water or more ice.

The first time I did that, I was surprised by how much smoother the coffee became.

Add sea salt as a topping 

Once the drink is built, I finish it with the sea salt topping.

Once it is finished, I let the salt sit on the foam for a moment before taking the first sip.

FAQs

Can I make this drink with hot brewed coffee instead of cold brew?

You can also make a warm version by letting the coffee cool first, then adding caramel syrup, sea salt, and cream on top as a simple adaptation.

Does salted caramel cream cold brew taste more like coffee or caramel?

Because this uses cold brew instead of a straight espresso shot, the coffee flavor stays present without becoming harsh. The cream and caramel soften it, but I can still taste the coffee underneath.

Is salted caramel cold brew vegan?

As ordered from the menu, it is not dairy-free. I usually ask for dairy-free alternatives through the app or at the counter before the drink is made.

Can you get sugar-free Cold Brew drinks at Starbucks?

Cold brew itself is sugar-free before any syrups or sweeteners are added, and Starbucks sells both sweetened and unsweetened versions for store or delivery orders.

Conclusion

That makes it easy for me to keep the drink around as an occasional treat.

After making it myself, I realized how quickly the flavor comes together once the coffee, foam, and salt are balanced.

It also turns into an easy drink to serve guests when I want something coffee-forward without a lot of extra effort.

I still tweak it sometimes, but this version has worked well for me.