7 Starbucks Drinks to Always Order with Cold Foam

Cold foam may very well be the biggest game changer on the Starbucks menu. What began as a way to add something that looked like traditional latte foam to cold drinks has transformed into a topper that goes well on a majority of the iced drinks you’ll find at Starbucks. However, there are some that are so good with the addition, I’ll find it difficult to ever order them without it again.

Where cold foam was once a little restricted in its flavors, the offerings have bloomed into a wide range of choices. These flavors can match or intersect with drinks in a way that celebrates the flavors already there or even helps mellow out a bite to make the drink even better. Whatever the case, you’re missing out if you’re ordering these drinks without that most delicious of cold drink toppers. Although I worked at Starbucks, my time in a green apron came to a close before the introduction of cold foam. I’ve certainly tried to perfect it in my own coffee-making at home. Honestly, whipping coffee creamer gets you really close.

Perhaps the most obvious drink to enjoy with cold foam is none other than cold brew. When cold foam hit the menu nationally in 2018, it did so as part of cold brew drink orders. Therefore, it’s no wonder cold foam goes so well with this type of coffee. They are simply made for each other.

Though there are several flavors of cold brew available, they all come from the same basic Starbucks cold brew variety, steeped for 20 hours in-store. Then, depending on the type of cold brew you order, syrup or sauce may be added. On top of that, in most drinks, unless you just order a basic cold brew, you’ll get a topping of cold foam. The best part about cold brew as a carrier for cold foam is that, in most cases, you do not need to add it to the drink order, so there’s no additional charge for the topper, unlike other drinks.

As smooth as cold brew is, it goes well with cold foam. However, this isn’t the most strongly coffee-flavored of drinks. If you’re looking for a bit of caffeine to bite back, consider an iced shaken espresso.

My favorite Starbucks drink is an iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso with two pumps of white mocha and salted caramel cold foam on top. At $8.80, it’s pricey for a regular coffee run, so I reserve it for special occasions — an opportunity to treat myself, shall we say. Cold foam goes well with shaken espresso because it helps tone down the espresso just enough that you have coffee flavors at work, and you can tell it’s espresso, but it’s easy to enjoy and not at all bitter.

Although I’ve always gone for the salted caramel cold foam for my iced shaken espresso addition, it’s not the only type that works well here. I imagine vanilla sweet cream cold foam would be enjoyable too, and even some of the more seasonal favorites. No matter what you choose, aim to match the vibe of the syrup flavors you have going into your espresso drink. For the brown sugar shaken espresso, for instance, the syrup you’re buddying up to is brown sugar, and that’s pretty agreeable for most flavors.

Some beverages at Starbucks come with whipped cream as a default. Mochas and white chocolate mochas are two of these drinks. Both hot and cold varieties come with whipped cream on top, and while it might melt into a hot drink, whipped cream on cold drinks can be cumbersome. Since it has nothing to just melt into, I’ve found it difficult to enjoy and simply a way to make drinking cold liquids more difficult. That’s why I recommend replacing your whipped cream with cold foam on iced mochas.

Starbucks has even used this swap in a special seasonal drink when it released a sweet little drink called a Merry Mint white mocha. Yes, it was as delightful as it sounds. One of the benefits of using cold foam in place of whipped cream is that you can easily sip your drink without fear that whipped cream is holding back a torrent of liquid, just waiting to attack. With cold foam in mochas, you get the creaminess of the cold foam while also getting that chocolate flavor. Since the mocha syrup can be bitter, and the espresso adds to the effect, the sweetness of the cold foam helps to mellow out that less-than-desirable flavor.

On days when I’m wanting an extra special Starbucks treat, beyond even my beloved shaken espresso, I’ll order an iced caramel macchiato made with blonde espresso, two pumps of white mocha, salted caramel cold foam, made upside down. By doing so, the espresso and caramel go in first, followed by the other ingredients and additions. This, and many other hacks can make some outstanding Starbucks macchiato flavors you’ll wish you knew sooner.

I find that iced caramel macchiatos aren’t very enjoyable to drink right away. It takes some time for the drink to actually become enjoyable as all of the parts sink together. With these modifications, however, you can drink it right away. The cold foam here just makes for a milkier, sweeter experience, bringing an okay drink into crave-worthy territory. If you’re paying all that money for a coffee drink, it might as well be the absolute best you can make it.

Traditional matcha lovers, close your ears: Iced matcha lattes get a whole lot better with flavored cold foam. I’ve always found the base of matcha to be far too plant-heavy. To me, it just tastes like you’re drinking leaves, and you kind of are. Matcha is a type of tea leaf that is ground into a fine powder and then whisked with liquid to create a drink. I’ve never been one to enjoy it all on its own, but when paired with cold foam, like with the Dubai chocolate matcha latte, it’s much better.

Since matcha is such a lovely bright green color, it also makes for the perfect base for many varieties of seasonal drinks. With Starbucks’ more recent introduction of a cherry cold foam, customers could add a touch of that pink foam for a fruitier flavor. Alternatively, I find the lavender cold foam to bring a floral element that matches the whole vibe of the matcha world. Then, of course, you could just go for vanilla sweet cream cold foam if you’re hoping to make the drink more palatable.

Starbucks offers several different chai-based drinks. Of these options, the best one for cold foam is the iced chai latte. This mixture of chai concentrate, water, ice, and milk is a milky tea spiced with sweet flavors. The cold foam is perfect here because it makes the drink even milkier, working well to balance out the spicy elements of the drink.

The same types of cold foam that go well with matcha are tasty here, too. In fact, the chain offered a cherry cold foam-topped iced chai latte as part of its spring 2025 menu items. Although I didn’t enjoy this offering as much as I hoped I would, many customers felt otherwise, and it made frequent appearances on Starbucks’ social media posts celebrating the drinks of the season.

If you were to ask baristas which drink orders take the longest to make, there’s a good chance the iced London fog will come up in the conversation. This drink has vanilla syrup, steeped Earl Grey tea, milk, and ice. Sounds simple enough, but the reason the drink takes so long is that the barista must wait for the Earl Grey to fully steep before putting the final elements in, like milk and ice. Though this drink can take a while, it’s tasty and only gets better with cold foam.

Obviously, this is one drink you’ll want to order through the Starbucks app because both the cold foam and the base of the drink take a while to prepare. This isn’t really the place for fruity cold foam — like strawberry — but lavender, vanilla, or even matcha would be most enjoyable.