Pictured Above: A fairly new drink, the cinnamon almond milk cold brew (left) is a unique spin on the brewed classic. Take a trip to Hogwarts by ordering the butterbeer Frappuccino (middle). While not officially on the Starbucks menu, this drink’s simple recipe makes for an easy order and a sweet treat. Starbucks’ nitro cold brew is infused with nitrogen, allowing the caffeine to enter the bloodstream faster as well as giving it a velvety smooth texture.
Molly Ryan | The Crow’s Nest
By Molly Ryan
While some put their faith in astrology to figure out everything you need to know about a person, I will just ask you what your Starbucks order is.
Being a barista and Starbucks “partner” (as the company calls its employees) for around a year and a half now, it’s simple to say that I have had my fair share of experience in the mystical world of five-dollar coffee.
So this week, I decided to do the honors of presenting The Crow’s Nest’s Starbucks staff picks.
Sophie’s Order: Caramel Macchiato
This uniquely Starbucks drink is a classic.
Ordered hot to Sophie’s preference, the caramel macchiato consists of vanilla syrup (with one less pump than a typical latte), steamed milk, espresso poured on top and caramel drizzle.
The catch about this drink is that it is nowhere related, or even close, to a traditional espresso macchiato. The traditional macchiato is simply just espresso with a dollop of foam on top. Order a caramel macchiato anywhere but a large chain, you will get something far different from the expected sweet drink.
From ordering the staff Starbucks on multiple occasions, I know that Sophie gets this drink in a venti with two extra pumps of classic syrup for added sweetness.
Aya’s Order: Cold Brew
Cold brew will never not be one of the most served drinks on the menu.
We steep our cold brew for 20 hours, giving it much more intensity and caffeine concentration than the regular iced coffee that gets brewed every morning.
An extremely versatile pick, you can customize and flavor your cold brew however to your liking. If Aya is feeling a little crazy, she’ll add some almond milk in there – but most of the time she just drinks it black.
While the intense taste just isn’t for me, I think all of the hype it gets is completely justified.
Anna’s Order: Cinnamon Almond Milk Cold Brew
This is the newest drink that Starbucks has to offer on this list. Launching last June, it was an immediate hit for those who prefer non-dairy beverages.
A twist on a normal Starbucks cold brew, this beverage is topped with almond milk foam containing cinnamon powder and a pump of vanilla syrup for added sweetness.
I tend to shy away from cold brew, but this drink was a very pleasant surprise.
Trevor’s Order: Nitro Cold Brew
Not just any cold brew: it’s nitro cold brew.
This is probably the most intense drink Starbucks offers, so it’s no surprise that this is Trevor’s drink of choice.
For those unfamiliar, nitro cold brew is infused with nitrogen gas; this not only gives it a thicker consistency than normal cold brew, but the nitrogen allows the caffeine to enter the bloodstream at a quicker rate than normal.
In fact, the largest size Starbucks offers this beverage is a grande, as any other size would be too much caffeine for typical consumption.
This drink is also by far the easiest drink to make. Because adding ice would kill the smooth texture of the drink, literally all you have to do is pull down the tap and make sure it doesn’t overflow; so big thanks to all of the nitro lovers.
Darnell’s Order: Dirty Chai
This drink is an all-around coffee shop classic.
While the name sounds a bit elusive, all a dirty chai is, is a chai tea latte with a shot of espresso.
Adding an additional kick of caffeine, the espresso also helps to balance out the spicy-sweet flavor of chai with a subtle hint of bitterness.
Chai is definitely not for everyone, but its bold and unique character cannot be matched by any other.
Catherine’s Order: Butterbeer Frap
First things first, this drink, and I cannot emphasize this enough, is not on the menu. The Starbucks secret menu is not a real thing. It’s totally fine to order these drinks, but please make sure you order the exact recipe as opposed to just saying the name of the secret menu item, because I can almost promise the barista at the register has no idea what goes in the “strawberry cheesecake” Frappuccino.
The butterbeer Frappuccino is pretty simple to order. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of Harry Potter, butterbeer is a sweet and creamy drink served both in the fictional series and at Universal’s “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in Orlando. The drink is a crème based (that’s Starbucks language for “contains no coffee”) Frappuccino with caramel and toffee nut syrup, caramel drizzle inside the cup and on top of the whipped cream.
I’ll admit, this was extremely tasty. The toffee nut and caramel combo gives it just the right amount of sweet with a hint of salt and the caramel drizzle inside the cup is extremely satisfying to look at. While it may be kind of an obscure drink, it’s fairly easy to make. Keep an eye out for when smoked butterscotch comes back to the Starbucks repertoire, because in my opinion I think it’s a little closer to the actual taste of the drink they serve at Universal.
But overall, good choice Catherine.
Edyn’s Order: Iced Mocha Latte
Whether it be a latte, a Frappuccino or the dark cocoa almond milk foam cold brew: I don’t think I will ever go a shift without using good old mocha sauce.
A consistent fan favorite, the iced mocha latte comes with mocha sauce, espresso, ice, milk and is topped with whipped cream and mocha drizzle.
Iced or hot, this drink is perfect for settling both a sweetness and caffeine craving.
Molly’s Order: Iced Matcha Latte
While the pumpkin spice and the chestnut praline lattes were some strong contenders, I have to go with my ride or die on this one.
Matcha is another one of those things that most people either love or hate. It honestly took some getting used to the first time I had it, but I soon learned to love the earthy yet sweet taste of the drink.
Not too heavily caffeinated, the green tea derivative is a perfect little pick-me-up when trying to avoid the intense rush of coffee or espresso beverages.
In my humble barista opinion, almond milk is the best choice to go with matcha as it accentuates the earthy flavor in the tastiest way.
The Cinnamon Almond Milk Cold Brew sounds heavenly! So many amazing drinks here!