How To Make a Starbucks Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso

I love coffee. I make at least one a day from home and occasionally treat myself to a drive through coffee. I used to go to Starbucks almost every day, but  the cost, time, and sugar caught up to me, so I started to learn to make my favorite drinks at home.

Now, I can make almost everything on their menu that I like, including drinks from Dutch Bros, too. It’s pretty easy once you get the right supplies. My favorite drink from Starbucks right now is the Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso with oatmilk and vanilla cold foam. While I still love to pick one up when I’m on the go, I can also make one any time I want at home that tastes pretty close to the original. If you make a grande without the cold foam, it has 15g of sugar, which is much better than a lot of drinks that can have 50-80g of sugar!

If you love this drink and want to make it at home, too, here’s my recipe:

What’s so great about shaken espresso?

I love the shaken espresso trend and have recreated them at home with lots of different flavors. Shaking the espresso shots while warm with ice creates this deliciously thick frothiness. If you use something like brown sugar, the sugar and ice agitate the espresso shots, giving you even more froth than if you used liquid syrups.

Then, because this expands the shots, you’ll use less milk than you would with a latte. I’m not a big fan of milk in general, or even milk alternatives, so this suits me just fine.

Starbucks does use more shots in the shaken espressos than latte, which also adds to the caffeine content. When I make a 160z. or grande sized shaken espresso at home, I use two espresso shots instead of 3 like Starbucks, because that’s plenty of caffeine for me. You can add 3 if you want it to be just as strong as a Starbucks. To replicate a venti, use 4 shots of espresso, add one more tablespoon of sugar or syrup, and you’ll be good to go.

Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso with Vanilla Cold Foam: Ingredients

You only need a few things to make this drink and have it taste so much like the Starbucks one it’ll blow your mind. I’m sharing a couple options for the brown sugar and espresso shots. This will make a 16oz or grande sized drink.

• Light brown sugar: Two tablespoons of brown sugar sweeten this coffee, while playing nicely with the coffee flavor. I used light brown sugar here, but you could get away with dark if that’s all you have. You can also use brown sugar syrup, which is what Starbucks uses. Here’s a great recipe for brown sugar syrup and if you’d rather add the cinnamon to the syrup instead of separate, here’s one for brown sugar cinnamon syrup .
• Espresso: A double shot Nespresso pod was my choice here. Use what you have, whether that’s really strong hot coffee, hot instant coffee, a double espresso pod, etc. I’ve made the drink with strong cold brew as well, but you’re going to get less froth. I use my Nespresso Vertuoline machine to make espresso and it makes it so easy. I’ve seen people make strong instant coffee as well to mimic espresso shots, so really, use what you have.
• Cinnamon: Just a pinch is good here. I loooove cinnamon, so I used 1/8 teaspoon and I can taste it, which is what I like. Adjust according to your own preference.
• Vanilla extract: When making a brown sugar syrup, I add a little vanilla extract, so since I’m using separate ingredients, I added a dash of vanilla syrup here to balance out the flavors and it worked really well. If you don’t have this, you can make the drink without it.
• Oatmilk: Oatmilk goes very well with the flavors in this drink. But, use the milk you prefer and have on hand. You’ll need around 1/2 a cup or so.
• Ice: A cup of ice to shake with the espresso shots.
• Shaker: You’ll need something to shake it with. Either a blender cup like I have, a drink shaker, a mason jar with a lid, etc. Use what you have or what’s easy.

Vanilla Cold Foam:

• Heavy Cream: You’ll need 3-4 tbsp. of heavy cream for this. I use 4 because I like a lot of cold foam.
• Milk: Use any milk you want and do half the amount of heavy cream. So, if you do 4 tbsp. heavy cream, you’ll need 2 tbsp. milk of choice.
• Vanilla Syrup: Add one tablespoon vanilla syrup. You can make your own or use storebought.
• Frother: Use a handheld frother to mix this up. I have this one and it’s my favorite.

*Affiliate links used here. If you make a purchase through my links, I may receive a commission at no cost to you. Thank you!

How To Make: Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso with Vanilla Cold Foam

1. Start by adding your brown sugar to a shaker or mason jar. If you’re using brown sugar, add 1-2 tbsp. and a dash of cinnamon. If you’re using syrup, add 1-2 tbsp. brown sugar syrup and a dash of cinnamon. If you’re adding a little vanilla extract or vanilla syrup, add a dash of that as well.
2. Brew 2 espresso shots right over the sugar or syrup.
3. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of ice.
4. Twist on your lid and shake until frothy and mixed.
5. Take off the lid and add 1/2 cup of milk of choice, such as oatmilk. I added a little less than that, due to my glass size and wanting to leave room for the cold foam.
6. In a separate glass, add heavy cream, milk of choice, and vanilla syrup. Froth until soft set, like the texture of melted whipped cream.
7. Pour cold foam over your coffee.
8. Sprinkle with any desired toppings, like more cinnamon, caramel drizzle, or nothing at all.
9. Enjoy!

Literally, so easy. I can make these in just a few minutes. Much faster than sitting through a long drive through line and paying $8.

*****
What’s your favorite coffee to make at home? Share it with us in the comments below! If there’s a specific drink you love to get at a coffeeshop and want me to recreate it, tell me that, too.

Cheers,

E