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Across the world, many individuals cannot start their day without their morning caffeine boost. For others, late nights working or studying require caffeine to keep them fueled and going despite their workload.
These are the individuals that Starbucks has targeted by creating highly caffeinated drinks. The question asked by these individuals is what the most caffeinated drink at Starbucks is.
In this article, we are going to look at various offerings on the Starbucks menu to examine our top picks of the most caffeinated drinks at Starbucks how they are made, and how a customer can customize these drinks to make them ideal.
Overview of Top 7 Most Caffeinated Drinks at Starbucks
- Veranda Blend Hot Coffee
- Featured Medium Roast – Pike Place Roast
- Nitro Cold Brew
- Featured Starbucks Dark Roast Coffee
- Caffè Americano
- Iced Shaken Espresso
- Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee with Milk
Top 7 Most Caffeinated Drinks at Starbucks
1. Veranda Blend Hot Coffee
While there are 7 drinks on this list, the one with the highest caffeine content (360 milligrams)and therefore the most caffeinated drink at Starbucks, is the Veranda Blend hot coffee.
Starbucks came across this blend while working with various families across Latin America. This blend was grown on the same land that the farmers live on.
The coffee has a mellow and flavorful taste with a light softness to round the experience. These beans have been lightly roasted to create a coffee brew that is flavorful but not bitter, decreasing the overall acidity of the drink and reducing the need to add flavors or sweeteners to make it taste better.
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: Given that there are no milk, flavoring, or toppings, it is unexpected that this coffee is one of the healthier options available on the menu. A Grande serving contains 5 calories, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of fat, and
- Cup Sizes: As with most hot coffees, this drink is available in 4 serving sizes, those being short (8 ounces), tall (12 ounces), Grande (16 ounces), and Venti (20 ounces).
- Customizable Options: Although it is unnecessary for a rich coffee, there are various sweeteners available for customers to add to their drinks. These consist of sweetener packs (sugar, honey, Splenda, Stevia) and liquid sweeteners (classic syrup, liquid cane sugar, and honey blend).
2. Featured Medium Roast – Pike Place Roast
Named after the first Starbucks store in Pike Place Market, the Pike Place Roast is one of Starbucks’ original brews with a medium roast and rounded body. It was created in 2008 by the brand’s master blenders who created the original coffee blend that was then expertly roasted to create the result.
Medium roast blends tend to have a medium body and moderate acidity, which is balanced by a rounded flavor and texture. This coffee has a rounded blend of coffees from Latin America, resulting in a rich and subtle flavor with notes of toasted nuts and chocolate to create a tasty and enjoyable hot beverage.
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: A Grande serving contains 5 calories (making it a low-calorie drink option), 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of fat. Adding flavored syrups or sauces will cause this information to change with the calories increasing accordingly.
- Cup Sizes: Pike Place is available in short (8 ounces), tall (12 ounces), Grande (16 ounces), and Venti (20 ounces). A Grande serving contains 310 milligrams of caffeine.
- Customizable Options: While the blend is enough for those who have experienced coffee drinkers, customers can select from a range of flavored syrups to add an elevated experience to the coffee with compatible flavors including mocha sauce or hazelnut syrup to play on the underlying notes of the brew.
3. Nitro Cold Brew
With 280 milligrams of caffeine per Grande serving, the Nitro Cold Brew from Starbucks is a good cold drink to give you a mid-afternoon boost during the warmer months. The drink is made by brewing their cold brew as usual, which involves steeping coffee grounds in cold or room temperature water overnight.
Starbucks elevates this drink from an ordinary cold brew by infusing the liquid with nitrogen which results in a sweeter coffee flavor despite the lack of sugar used. A velvety cream sits on top of the drink making it an enjoyable beverage to keep you awake during long work hours.
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: A Grande serving contains 5 calories, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of fat. Given the lack of additional flavorings or toppings, this information is unlikely to change dramatically if ordered as a tall.
- Cup Sizes: Unlike the rest of the drinks on this list, the Nitro Cold Brew is available in only tall (12 ounces) and Grande (16 ounces) serving sizes. This reduces the options available for customers in terms of how much they must order at a time.
- Customizable Options: One of the options available on the Starbucks menu is a Nitro Cold Brew with vanilla sweet cream although the drink contains 15 mg less caffeine when ordered with this option.
4. Featured Starbucks Dark Roast Coffee
With a caffeine content of 260 milligrams per Grande serving, this Featured Starbucks Dark Roast Coffee is ranked directly in the middle of this list. Dark roasts tend to have a heavy body, deeper flavor, and low acidity which Starbucks has lived up to with this blend.
There is a full body with bold flavors in this coffee making it an ideal drink for experienced espresso drinkers or those wanting to limit the customizations they need to make on their drink.
This drink is made by brewing the dark roast with hot water, with customers able to adjust the number of espresso shots used.
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: As a healthy option, this coffee contains 5 calories per Grande serving, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of fat. Adding extra ingredients will result in the nutritional information adjusting.
- Cup Sizes: This dark roast is available in short (8 ounces), tall (12 ounces), Grande (16 ounces), and Venti (20 ounces). Smaller cup sizes will have a more concentrated flavor while the larger drinks can be watered down slightly by adding extra hot water.
- Customizable Options: Among the customizations available for this drink is the option to ask for extra room in the cup to add your choice of milk or creamer. This leaves space to add cream, whole milk, 2% milk, or 7 other creamer options to doctor your drink to the ideal taste and texture.
5. Caffè Americano
A classic drink for those wanting a caffeine boost is an Americano, with Starbucks having their Caffè Americano available on the menu. A Grande serving contains 225 milligrams of caffeine, making this a good drink option for early mornings before work or late-night working.
Starbucks makes this drink by brewing 3 shots of their Signature Espresso Roast with water and leaving it at that. With the right espresso blend, there is no need to add additional ingredients as the taste of the drink is enough to make it enjoyable. The coffee has a deep and rich taste with a depth that makes it enjoyable.
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: Per 16-ounce serving, this drink contains 15 calories, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of fat. Adding sweeteners, toppings, or flavoring will cause this information to adjust following the new ingredients.
- Cup Sizes: A Caffè Americano is available in short (8 ounces), tall (12 ounces), Grande (16 ounces), and Venti (20 ounces). The nutritional information listed above is based on a Grande serving with the possibility of different sizes having different nutritional values.
- Customizable Options: For a classic Americano, the primary customization would be the type of espresso shot and the number of shots used. Aside from the Signature Espresso Roast, there are options for a Blonde roast and decaffeinated options.
6. Iced Shaken Espresso
A drink with a full flavor of coffee and a strong caffeine boost is the Starbucks Iced Shaken Espresso. A plain Shaken Espresso has a full-bodied espresso base, with the caffeine coming from 3 shots of espresso. This is then sweetened with syrup to cut the bitterness of the espresso, leaving a tasty drink to enjoy.
With 225 milligrams of caffeine per Grande serving, this is a good drink option for someone wanting a caffeine boost but would prefer a cold drink over a hot coffee.
This drink is made by combining 3 shots of Starbucks’ Signature Espresso Roast, 2% milk, and 4 pumps of classic syrup, served over ice.
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: A Grande serving (15 ounces) contains 100 calories, 14 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of fat. The drink can be made healthier by choosing a low-calorie milk alternative or decreasing the number of pumps of classic syrup used.
- Cup Sizes: Starbucks’ Shaken Espressos are available in tall (12 ounces), Grande (16 ounces), and Venti (24 ounces). Depending on the size of the cup, the nutritional information above will adjust as more or fewer ingredients are used.
- Customizable Options: A great way for customers to customize this drink is by adding flavored syrups to add a deeper element to the drink. Common options include brown sugar syrup, cinnamon dolce, and hazelnut syrup. Each of these drinks will cause the nutritional information to adjust.
7. Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee with Milk
For someone wanting a cold drink with a strong coffee flavor, the Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee with Milk is a good option. The cold brew has a strong taste of coffee without the acidity one could expect from brewed coffee, with the milk cutting the taste slightly to leave it less bitter and tasting better.
With 205 milligrams of caffeine per Grande serving, this drink has the least amount of caffeine of those on this list. However, the average prescribed amount of caffeine in a day is approximately 400 mg, making this drink more than half of that limit. This drink is enough to give you a caffeine boost and keep you going.
This drink is made by steeping coffee grounds in water overnight to create a cold brew base. It is then finished with ice and a splash of 2% milk although customers can change the milk if they would prefer
Quick Facts
- Nutritional Information: A Grande cold brew contains 35 calories per serving, 3 grams of sugar, and 1.5 grams of fat. Adjusting the milk used to a low-calorie alternative could reduce these numbers to a more desirable level.
- Cup Sizes: Like with most cold drinks at Starbucks, this cold brew is available in 4 serving sizes: tall (12 ounces), Grande (16 ounces), Venti (24 ounces), and Trenta (30 ounces).
- Customizable Options: The main customization that would apply to this drink is the type of milk used. For dairy options, heavy cream, vanilla sweet cream, nonfat milk, whole milk, 2% milk and breve (half and half) are options. Non-dairy options include almond, coconut, soy, and oat milk.
