Smooth and perfectly sweet, make this Starbucks iced latte with just 4 ingredients. It’s so quick and easy to make at home using an espresso machine or a Nespresso!
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Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte
Starbucks Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte is an Iced Vanilla Latte made with blonde espresso instead of regular espresso. Blonde espresso is a lightly roasted coffee bean and it’s a smoother, mellower version of Starbucks signature espresso, which is a dark roast.
The vanilla comes from vanilla syrup, which sweetens and flavors the drink. Vanilla syrup can be purchased directly from Starbucks or can be homemade.
This cold coffee drink is made with 4 ingredients at Starbucks that consists of blonde espresso, ice, 2% milk, and vanilla syrup.
Recipe Highlights
- This copycat drink recreates the Starbucks recipe using Starbucks blonde espresso roast and homemade vanilla syrup although you can use store-bought syrup.
- To make blonde espresso, you just need to buy blonde espresso coffee and make it the same way you would make espresso in an espresso machine or a Nespresso.
- The recipe makes a grande (16 ounces) Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte.
RELATED: Starbucks Blonde Vanilla Latte Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Blonde espresso: Get Nespresso Starbucks branded capsules for the flavor closest to Starbucks.
- Vanilla syrup: Store-bought or homemade vanilla syrup can be used but I recommend the homemade version since it’s so easy to make.
- Milk: This drink is made with 2% milk at Starbucks but you can use any kind of milk you like.
- Ice: Use filtered water to make ice if possible for a better tasting drink.
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Pour blonde espresso into a cup.
Use 2 Nespresso blonde espresso pods or pull 2 shots from an espresso machine.
Step 2: Add vanilla syrup.
Step 3: Add milk.
Step 4: Top drink with ice.
Nespresso Notes
The easiest way to make espresso at home is with a Nespresso machine.
1 shot of espresso = 1 Nespresso espresso capsule
This recipe makes a grande size drink (16 ounces), so you’ll need 2 espresso capsules or 1 double espresso capsule to recreate this Starbucks drink at home. You can use your favorite espresso Nespresso capsules or use the Starbucks Nespresso capsules.
Don’t use the coffee (7.77 ounces) capsules which makes brewed coffee instead of espresso.
Expert Tips
- If you don’t have a way to make espresso at home, use instant coffee. Combine 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and ¼ cup hot water to replace the 2 shots of espresso in the recipe.
- To make this drink decadent, add cold foam on top.
- I prefer making homemade vanilla syrup but you can buy Starbucks vanilla syrup directly from any of their store locations. The only catch is that it’s not always available for purchase since they’ll only sell it to you if they have extras in stock. At the store, it’s about $14 for the bottle.
- If you do use Starbucks vanilla syrup, use 2 tablespoons per drink since their syrups have a lot more sugar than my homemade version.
Questions You May Have
In a grande sized drink, there’s ice, 2% milk, 4 pumps of Vanilla Syrup, and 2 shots of blonde espresso.
The less impurities there are in water, the cleaner and tastier it’ll be. Starbucks uses triple filtered water to make all their drinks and they use the same water to make ice.
The drinks are exactly the same but the Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte is made with blonde espresso (light roast) and Iced Vanilla latte is made with Starbucks signature espresso, which is a dark roast.
Related
- 12 Starbucks Iced Coffee Recipes
- 15 Nespresso Starbucks Drink Recipes
- Starbucks Iced Americano Copycat Recipe
- Starbucks Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso Copycat Recipe
- Starbucks Iced Shaken Espresso Copycat Recipe
- Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato Copycat Recipe
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Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte (Starbucks Copycat)
INGREDIENTS
- ¼ cup vanilla syrup
- 2 capsules Starbucks blonde espresso (or 2 light roast espresso shots)
- ⅔ cup 2% milk
- 1 cup ice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour blonde espresso, vanilla syrup, milk into a cup. Use 2 Nespresso blonde espresso pods or pull 2 shots from an espresso machine.
- Add ice.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- 2 shots of espresso = 2 Nespresso espresso capsules
- To make a 16 ounce (grande) Starbucks drink, you’ll need 2 Nespresso espresso capsules. You can also use 1 Vertuo double espresso capsule.
- With the Vertuo machine capsules, only use espresso capsules and not the coffee capsules that make 7.77 ounces.
- Starbucks makes all their lattes with 2% milk but you can use any kind of milk you like.
- If you don’t have a way to make espresso at home, use instant coffee. Combine 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and ¼ cup hot water to replace the 2 shots of espresso in the recipe.
- To make this drink decadent, add Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam on top.
- I prefer using homemade vanilla syrup but you can buy Starbucks vanilla syrup directly from any of their store locations. The only catch is that it’s not always available for purchase since they’ll only sell it to you if they have extras in stock. At the store, it’s about $14 for the bottle.
- If you do use Starbucks vanilla syrup, use 2 tablespoons per drink since their syrups have a lot more sugar than my homemade version.
This tasted as good or better than the coffee shops. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Absolutely love your homemade vanilla syrup! Way better than the premade syrups. Added vanilla cold cream using half and half. Sooo good! Thank you for all the tips and ideas you’ve shared.
Tasted just like Starbucks! Best recipe by far.