Copycat Starbucks Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew
Love the new Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew? Make it home really easily with this copycat recipe! Not only will save money, but you can have unlimited refills! Don’t miss these 23 Copycat Starbucks recipes, too!
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If there was ever an unlimited Gold card status, I’m pretty sure the Wise family would have it. It all started back when Jordan was barista-ing through college and continued as our lives have gotten busier. We love coffee.
Then the kids came and if was even possible, we added more coffee to the mix. I even created Starbucks Halloween costumes for the kids. #mommasfavoritethings
Over the years we fell in love with cold brew coffee and try to make it at home as much as possible.
But then, Starbucks recently released it’s the newest drink, Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew, and we were both hooked.
Want to save money by skipping Starbucks? Don’t miss these 23 Starbucks drinks to make at home!
Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew
If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s downright amazing. It’s a salty & sweet take on the cold brew we already love. Think creamy, sweet, and no bitter taste.
But quite frankly at $4.50 a pop for each of us, we can’t literally drink it all day every day. So Jordan was determined to find a way to make it home ourselves, easily!
And gosh, did his former barista-self make this drink SO WELL…
Seriously, I wish you all could stop by and have a glass with me! This drink does not disappoint. It’s so easy to make and is the perfect copycat recipe for Starbucks Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew drink.
Love coffee at home? Grab a copy of my favorite DIY coffee bar checklist located at the bottom of this post! It only takes a few items to create your own little coffee shop 🙂
How to Make Copycat Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew
To start, you’ll make up a batch of really strong cold brew. The rest comes after it’s steeped at least 18 hours. The wait isn’t fun, but the result is so good that it’s worth it!
To copy Starbucks really strong cold brew recipe, I measured out 2 cups of very coarsely ground coffee and mixed it with 5 cups (40 ounces) of cold, filtered water. This is a stronger batch than our traditional cold brew recipe, but we are making it Starbucks style after all! We’ll dilute it with some water in the final recipe.
This large of a batch fit well in our French Press. In the recipe, I halved it for normal coffee drinkers. 🙂
After the cold brew has steeped 18+ hours, it’s time to filter out the grounds. I use a French Press for this entire process so that I can simply pop on the top and plunge the grounds. Plus, it’s fun. (Wondering about the steeping? After mixing the grounds in the water, I cover the top with plastic wrap and pop it in the refrigerator.)
Since the cold brew is so strong, you’ll dilute it with ice & water. After numerous attempts at getting it just right, we figured it out to be close to a 3:1 ratio. 3/4 cup of cold brew to 1/4 cup of water poured over ice. Obviously, you can eyeball it to your liking, but that was as close to ‘strong’ but without ‘too overpowering’ as we could get. The caramel flavoring makes the entire drink taste wonderful and buttery.
And let’s talk about that salted cream cold foam…
If you aren’t familiar with cold foam, it’s made out of low-fat milk frothed up to make a thick heavy cream without ever actually pouring in ‘real cream.’ To get that salted cream flavor, you’ll blend in a little bit of sea salt in the milk. It’s what makes that nice salty & sweet blend.
Update: I’ve asked at several Starbucks counters and received a few responses on how they make this frothy cream. It’s always low fat milk or a combination of Half & Half and low-fat milk!
Update x 2: Here in Arizona the salted cream cold foam is super thick and sticks with the drink for the entire time. It’s definitely different and admittedly more decadent than the salted cream we’ve had in Michigan & Ohio.
[My only complaint about this recipe? That I could make the cold foam last longer. But Starbucks has a proprietary blender & blade that makes their foam last a bit longer. If I find a way to reverse engineer it, I’ll let you know and update the post!]
Simply pour your foam over your coffee and enjoy!
Gosh, I hope that you like this drink as much as we do!
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Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew
Love the new Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew? Make it home really easily with this copycat recipe!
Ingredients
Cold Brew
- 1 Cup Coffee Grounds, Very Coarse, Dark Roast
- 2.5 Cups Cold Filtered Water, (20 Ounces)
Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew
- 2.5 Cups Cold Brew Recipe (Above)
- .5 Cups Cold Water
- 1 Cups Ice
- 4 Pumps Caramel Flavor
- 1/4 Cup Low / Non-Fat Milk
- 1/8 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt, more or less to taste
Instructions
Prep Cold Brew
- In a French Press, mix together the coarse coffee ground & cold filtered water
- Let Steep in the refrigerator for 18-24 hours. Press/filter out the grounds.
Making Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew
- Mix together 3/4 cup of cold brew to 1/4 cup of cold water. Add Ice
- Mix in 4 pumps of Torani Caramel Flavoring into each drink
Cold Foam
- In a glass container, mix in a scant 1/8 teaspoon of fine sea salt with 1/4 cup of low-fat, or non-fat milk. Option: Exchange out half of the milk with half & half for extra creaminess!
- Froth together until thickened
- Pour the cold foam over the coffee
Love coffee at home? Grab a copy of my favorite DIY coffee bar checklist! It only takes a few items to create your own little coffee shop 🙂
PIN FOR LATER:
I have been to several Starbucks for my Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew, but I have found that there are different recipes depending on the store. I have had the cold foam made with milk + salt…… but my favorite salted cold foam, for flavor and thickness, is made with sweet cream! My favorite Starbucks adds salt to their sweet cream and blends it to a very thick foam that doesn’t dissolve as quickly as milk-based cold foam does. Here is my salted cold foam recipe:
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla syrup
1/8 tsp salt
Whip together until thick, then pour on top of the cold brew… and enjoy this little taste of heaven
That sounds DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing Kim!
While that definitely sounds delicious, it’s just whipped cream!
Cold foam really works best when made with fat-free milk. If you have a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix), try using that to make the foam! It whips up into a more stable form, though it won’t be as stable as what they make at Starbucks unless you’re willing to shell out $150 for the patent-pending aero disc they use.
That aero disc is amazing, but unfortunately not something many of us have access to in our kitchens. In the meantime, we’ll be using our little hand frother and drinking quickly. 🙂
I bought an Aer Disc for my Vitamix (Costco had it for $99) and it’s amazing. It works best with skim milk, then when it’s a nice, thick foam I add a little bit of half and half to it to give it more richness. The way I justified it was this: At $5 a cup for Starbucks, and 4 of us in the house that love coffee, the Aer Disc paid for itself very quickly. Plus we use it to whip cream, muddle citrus for other drinks, and I make meringue in it for other desserts since I usually have so many egg whites laying around after making flan for my Mom once a month!
I have the Vitamix and the Aerator blade container that Starbucks uses. Heavy cream and 2% milk is what starbucks uses, my BF works there. We add 3 pumps of Starbucks Vanilla syrup and a small salt packet to the mixture when making this. We also use the Starbucks Cold Brew Concentrate that they now sell at grocery stores. You can even buy the plastic cups with the sipper lids like starbucks on Amazon.
This sounds so yummy! Can you tell me what the ratio is for the heavy cream and the 2%?
Thank you for this! We’ve noticed that some Starbucks stores get it right and others, um, get it very very wrong (ie not enough salt or not a creamy enough topping). Think you’re right that the difference is whether they’re using cream or milk, etc etc..
Ohmigosh, Jen! Us too. Since we moved to Arizona we’ve noticed it’s a completely different consistency and the foam lasts for forever. Not the case in Michigan!
That is SO funny – we just moved to New Mexico and found the same thing here vs Maryland. Just another good reason we moved West 🙂
Agreed 🙂 🙂
Unfortunately my local Starbucks delivers a perfectly constructed Salted Caramel Cold Foam Ice Coffee one day, and the next day will hand me an un-drinkable abomination that looks and tastes nothing like the heavenly beverage I had the day before. Sadly its become about a 50% chance that I will enjoy the $5 beverage that I also patiently waited 10+ minutes for. That equates to far too much time from my schedule to pay $10 for the perfect beverage.
I simply must learn to replicate this delightful beverage in my own kitchen….consistently!
Thanks Kim,
You’re absolutely right! Your sweet cream recipe is the closest to what my local Starbucks tastes like. Low fat milk really doesn’t taste the same!
Kenya, I’ve been so surprised at the differences in the cold foam across the country. Thanks for stopping by!
You are missing the egg white powder….that is what keeps it stiff and on TOP of the coffee
My distinct impression is that Starbucks must be using some other emulsifier, like white egg protein powder. This would make the foam have additional structure. Think of the fillers Breyers’ ice cream uses – that stuff doesn’t even melt at room temperature
Hey, what caramel syrup do you use? I’m crossing my fingers that someone has a suggestion for something that’s lower in sugar and still tasty. My wife spends a TON if money in these and it would make me feel better to save the money and she might even appreciate that I do it for her!
Hi Kevin! We use the Torani brand. My husband used to work at a Caribou Coffee and that was something he was familiar with during his college years. You can usually find it at World Market or sometimes, Starbucks will sell you their syrup. Hope this helps!
I purchase the Starbucks Sugar Free Vanilla syrup ($13 for the large size they use in the stores…and you can ask for a pump with it)
The thing that makes the milk foam last longer is the xantham gum they use in it. It stabilizes what little milkfat is in the milk and forms a structure for the bubbles. ? Good recipe though!
Interesting to know!! Thanks, Megan!
Thank you so much for posting this! I have recently fallen in love with this drink and it kills me to pay $5+ for it and it’s just not in my budget. I can’t wait to try it! What brand of coffee do you use? Do you use Starbucks’?
Hi Audrey! I completely understand! Depending on your budget /preferences, choose your favorite coffee. To keep it as close as possible to the original, I used the Sbux brand.
Thanks – which kind did you buy, or will any dark roast do? I was just there (and bought a drink because I couldn’t wait lol) but I wasn’t sure which bagged coffee to buy, they had so many different kinds! I’ve made cold brew in the past from some I got at Whole Foods and it just didn’t turn out right, I’m not sure if I did something wrong or if it was just the kind, just hoping to get as close to the real thing as I can—it’s SO good lol, I’m obsessed! haha!
Yes, we used dark roast!
The foam for that drink is made with a house made sweet cream and a packet of salt blended with a special blender that aerates the milk to make the foam.
The sweet cream is heavy whipping cream, 2% milk, and vanilla syrup.
That sounds amazing. Thank you for sharing!
If you want the foam to hold up, try a little egg white in there. Flavorless but frothy… they use this method in adult beverages like Pisco Sours in Peru. Makes a good foam.
I definitely prefer the heavy whipping cream method but I find that it doesn’t blend fast enough with the cold brew. I also do not always have caramel syrup on hand. Every time I go to Starbucks, this drink always seems to be a little bit different each time which is surprising because they have a pretty consistent method of making it. One time, however, they forgot the caramel and it turned out that I really enjoyed that cup more than the others. So after seeing this recipe I decided to give it another try only this time I used 1/8c of heavy whipping cream, 1/8c 2% milk, 2 tbsp of sugar, and a pinch of salt. I poured a tiny bit directly on the ice before adding the cold brew and water mix then the rest on top. Bingo! I finally found an exact match, at least to my own taste buds. 🙂
You’re so right, Brian! I’ve discovered that each store/barista makes it slightly different. I am happy that you found a combination that works best for you!