Starbucks cold foam: What is it + how you can make it at home in 7 steps

It really is a simple thing to do. I used to order cold foam drinks at Starbucks for $5 a pop without hesitation. And sadly, that was for a mediocre coffee that was a little too sweet for my liking. So, I took it upon myself to start the journey to finding the perfect at-home Starbucks cold foam recipe. 

Needless to say, I’ve created one that cut my Starbucks habit entirely out of my budget. (If you’ve watched my Youtube recently, you may know my favorite take-out coffee as of late.) Keep reading to see how I make my *amazing* cold foam coffee concoction at home. 

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Step 1: Buy everything you need

First things first, you need to order your supplies. The best thing I ordered was my frother. The one I ordered frothers milk for cold, or hot drinks ~ it really is a blessing. To make this, I pick up heavy cream, cream, cinnamon powder, and almond milk at my local grocery store. If you like your cream extra sweet, I would recommend purchasing your own coffee syrup or stevia to add! 

• Heavy cream 
• Cream (optional)
• Cinnamon (optional)
• Instant coffee OR regular coffee
• Stevia (optional)
• Electric frother OR hand frother 
• Almond milk (also optional) 

Step 2: Make your coffee base

Now that you have all your supplies, it’s time to make the coffee. Most of the time, I’m drinking iced coffee (Austin heat man). So, I will make this by grabbing a glass, adding 2 inches of hot water, 2 spoonfuls of instant coffee, collagen, and ice cubes once everything’s stirred up. You may want to double check you have enough room for your really frothy mixture.

Step 3: Add a touch of heavy cream 

Once my coffee base is cooling off, I walk over to my frother. I will add in heavy cream (about a large spoon full), and the rest of the ingredients will go in later. Heavy cream is a must for this recipe. This is what makes your cream fluffy. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a perfect recipe for those that don’t drink dairy. 

Step 4: Then regular cream + almond milk (if you choose) 

Now, I like to add a touch of cream (just a small dash) and almond milk (about half an inch worth) to my heavy cream. This really settles things out, in terms of taste, at least for me.

Step 5: Something sweet or cinnamony

For an added touch, I will add cinnamon to my concoction. Especially since it’s the winter, I feel like this gives my drink that added season touch. To be honest, I really don’t go light on the cinnamon ~ I pour a ton in. I find it extremely yummy in my cold foam in the mornings. 

Step 6: Frother it up

Mix that baby up. Since I do have an electronic frother, I just have to click the home button 4 times and wait for my cold foam to be ready. On my frother, it’s the fourth setting that produces cold foam (it’s blue and has a snowflake symbol). Once this is ready, it will beep at me. 

Step 7: Top off an iced, or hot, drink

Once the beep goes off, I head on over to add it to my coffee base. Normally, I will have about 1-2 inches of foam to top my coffee off. I’m warning you now, heavy cream in your frother is no joke. It will really expand, so you want to make sure that you budgeted for it when you made your base. 

Step 8: Enjoy your masterpiece

Now it’s time to kick back and wait for your coffee to kick in. During this time, I like to eat my breakfast and get started on my blog, youtube, or Instagram work. Since I wake up at 5 am, I have a few hours before logging onto work (making this extremely possible). If you want to know more about my morning routine, you can check out this post, or this Youtube video. 

I hope y’all enjoy your nice cup of morning (Starbucks cold foam) coffee made at home, and on a budget. 😉