Skip to content

Coffee Drink

Strawberry Latte Recipe: Fresh Berries & Espresso

This strawberry latte combines fresh strawberry milk with espresso over ice. The berries leave a little pulp and seed texture; coffee-free strawberry milk is a separate café choice.

Iced strawberry latte with pale pink fruit-speckled milk and brown espresso swirls in a clear glass beside fresh strawberries
Open full size

Drink Snapshot

Caffeine
About 75 mg (reference)Defined 36 g espresso portionThis home extraction has not been measured.
Calories
Estimated 140 kcalFresh-fruit recipe, all ingredients servedNo syrup, cream or topping included.
Serving, sugar and sources
Serving
36 g prepared espresso + 60 g (2.1 oz) hulled strawberries + 140 g (½ US cup + 1 US tbsp) whole milk + 8 g (2 US tsp) sugar + 100 g (3.5 oz) ice
Made with
Fresh strawberries + whole milk + espresso
Sugar
Estimated 18 g total. 7.1 g from milk, 2.9 g from strawberries and 8 g from added sugar.
Preparation
About 7 minutes; espresso equipment ready

USDA SR28 food records support these ingredient estimates, checked 26 September 2026. See the full calculation or label comparison.

Key Takeaways
  • Ask for espresso explicitly when ordering; some strawberry lattes are coffee-free strawberry milk.
  • Choose ripe berries for flavor, and expect a little fruit pulp and seed texture in this fresh version.
  • Blend the fruit with the milk, then add the sweetened espresso and ice separately.
On This Page10 Sections

Iced Strawberry Latte Recipe

Use a 450 ml (15.2 US fl oz) glass for stirring room around the fruit, milk and ice.

Recipe

Fresh Strawberry Espresso Latte

Makes:
1 serving
Time:
About 7 minutes; espresso equipment ready

Ingredients

  • 18 g coffee, ground for espresso, to yield 36 g espresso
  • 60 g (2.1 oz) fresh strawberries, washed, drained and weighed after hulling
  • 140 g (½ US cup + 1 US tbsp) cold whole milk
  • 8 g (2 US tsp) granulated sugar
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) ice

Equipment

  • Espresso machine
  • Grinder and tamper
  • Scale
  • Small blender or immersion blender and suitable container for 200 g (7.1 oz) fruit and milk
  • Small heatproof espresso cup
  • Spoon
  • 450 ml (15.2 US fl oz) glass

Method

  1. Brew 18 g ground coffee to 36 g prepared espresso in a small heatproof vessel.
  2. Stir 8 g (2 US tsp) sugar into the warm espresso until dissolved. Let it cool briefly while preparing the milk.
  3. Blend 60 g (2.1 oz) prepared strawberries with 140 g (½ US cup + 1 US tbsp) cold whole milk until the fruit is finely broken down.
  4. Put 100 g (3.5 oz) ice in a 450 ml (15.2 US fl oz) glass and pour in all the strawberry milk.
  5. Add the sweetened espresso, stir thoroughly and serve promptly.

Estimated nutrition: 140 kcal · 18 g total sugar. Per iced latte, using whole milk, all the unstrained fruit and 8 g added sugar.

Weigh the strawberries after removing their green tops and stems. This is a fresh-fruit recipe: no strawberry syrup, jam, cream or topping is needed. The entire unstrained fruit-and-milk mixture goes into the drink.

Fresh hulled strawberries blended with milk and combined with sweetened espresso over ice.
Open full size
Blend the fruit with milk, then add the coffee and ice separately.

Equipment and Preparation

Use a blender or suitable immersion-blender container that works with 200 g (7.1 oz) of fruit and milk; a large blender may need more liquid than this serving provides. The ice goes into the glass afterward, so this method does not require blending ice.

The espresso brewing guide covers brewing the 18 g dry dose to 36 g collected espresso. Brew the coffee separately rather than putting fruit or sugar into the espresso basket.

The drink may show pink milk and brown coffee swirls before stirring, but the final stir makes the serving more even. Fresh fruit leaves some pulp and tiny seeds; blending does not turn it into a clear syrup. For the coffee-and-milk foundation, see iced latte.

Does a Strawberry Latte Have Coffee?

This recipe does, but the name alone does not guarantee it. Strawberry latte is also used for strawberry milk, including on Korean café menus. That distinction changes what you need to make it and where its caffeine comes from.

Three drinks that share strawberry and milkScrollable table
Three drinks that share strawberry and milk
DrinkMain preparationCoffee or tea?
This strawberry espresso latteFresh strawberry milk, sweetened espresso and iceEspresso
Korean-style strawberry milkStrawberry preparation with milk; recipes may use purée, syrup or piecesOften neither; check the recipe or menu
Strawberry matcha latteStrawberry preparation, milk and matchaMatcha tea, unless coffee is separately added

For a real menu example, Tom N Toms in Carrollton describes its strawberry latte as strawberry purée with fresh milk and lists strawberry matcha separately. Meanwhile, Casabrews’ strawberry milk foam espresso explicitly includes espresso with fresh fruit, milk, cream and garnishes. Our formula uses fresh fruit and espresso with simpler ingredients and measured amounts.

What Does a Strawberry Latte Taste Like?

This strawberry latte brings fresh berry aroma and gentle tartness into cold milk, with a roasted, slightly bitter coffee finish. Blended fruit gives the drink more texture than a syrup latte: tiny seeds and fine pulp stay in the glass. Riper, more flavorful berries make a rounder fruit-and-milk base; extra sugar changes sweetness more readily than strawberry aroma.

I choose berries that taste good on their own because I want them to contribute flavor as well as color once the espresso joins them.

Fresh Strawberries, Syrup or Jam in a Strawberry Latte?

Choose the fruit preparation first. Fresh fruit supplies water, pulp and seeds as well as strawberry flavor. Syrup is a different ingredient with its own concentration and sweetener content; replacing 60 g berries with 60 g (2.1 oz) syrup would change the recipe substantially.

Choosing a strawberry ingredient
Choosing a strawberry ingredient
FormPractical difference
Fresh berries, used hereBlend with cold milk; retain the fruit mixture and its texture
Prepared strawberry beverage syrupUse a syrup-based latte recipe and the bottle’s dose and nutrition label
Sweetened purée or sauceCheck whether it already contains sugar and how much fruit it contains
Jam or preservesMay contain pieces or gelling ingredients; does not behave like unsweetened blended fruit

If you want a smooth hot strawberry latte, a recipe developed around a beverage syrup is a clearer starting point than heating this fresh-fruit mixture. Nespresso’s Strawberries & Cream Latte uses syrup and half-and-half in a different hot preparation. Keep fruit pulp out of an espresso machine’s milk system.

Adjusting Strawberry Latte Sweetness

The baseline uses 8 g (2 US tsp) added granulated sugar. Since the fruit is separate from the sweetener, you can reduce the sugar while keeping the strawberry, milk and coffee portions fixed.

Sugar options for the same fresh strawberry latteScrollable table
Sugar options for the same fresh strawberry latte
Added granulated sugarEstimated caloriesEstimated total sugar
0 g110 kcal10 g
4 g (1 US tsp)125 kcal14 g
8 g (2 US tsp), defined recipe140 kcal18 g

No added sugar does not mean sugar-free: the fruit and milk still contribute roughly 10 g total sugar. Berry ripeness also affects the taste, so the same weighed recipe will not taste identical with every punnet.

Dissolve the chosen sugar portion in warm espresso before cooling it. Adding dry sugar to an already cold, icy drink makes it harder to distribute. Taste the fruit before blending; choose ripe berries with a flavor you enjoy.

Fixing Seeds, Separation and Weak Coffee

  • Pulp or small seeds: blend more thoroughly with a machine suited to the portion. Straining removes solids and changes the defined recipe; use a syrup-based recipe if you want a pulp-free drink.
  • Uneven pink and brown layers: stir before drinking and again if the mixture settles.
  • Coffee disappears: first check that you collected the stated espresso amount and did not fill a larger glass with extra milk. Added coffee changes caffeine as well as flavor.
  • Drink becomes watery quickly: keep the milk cold, cool the espresso briefly and use the measured ice. Do not steam the milk for this version.
  • Blender blades miss the mixture: use a smaller suitable container rather than adding unmeasured milk.

Milk and Coffee Variations

For a strawberry oat milk latte, blend 60 g (2.1 oz) hulled strawberries with 140 g (4.9 oz) cold oat drink. Dissolve 8 g (2 US tsp) sugar in 36 g espresso, cool briefly, then combine with the fruit milk and 100 g (3.5 oz) ice. Use the carton for nutrition, measuring volume separately if its label is in milliliters; the mixture may separate differently. For a strawberry vanilla latte, decide how much sugar the vanilla syrup replaces before adding it; the vanilla latte guide gives a measured syrup example.

Without an espresso machine, brew with the moka-pot guide, then measure 36 g (1.3 oz) prepared coffee and dissolve 8 g (2 US tsp) sugar in it. Blend 60 g (2.1 oz) hulled strawberries with 140 g (½ US cup + 1 US tbsp) milk, then combine with the coffee and 100 g (3.5 oz) ice. Brew the pot normally before measuring the serving; use the chosen coffee’s caffeine information. For fruit with a thicker blended coffee texture, see avocado coffee.

Strawberry Latte Calories, Sugar and Caffeine

One serving made with 36 g espresso, 60 g (2.1 oz) strawberries, 140 g (½ US cup + 1 US tbsp) whole milk, 8 g (2 US tsp) sugar and 100 g (3.5 oz) ice has an estimated 140 kcal, 18 g total sugar and 75 mg reference caffeine. It contains milk. All the strawberry milk is served, no solids are strained out, and no cream, syrup or garnish is counted.

Serving calculation and source assumptions

The USDA SR28 references are per 100 g of edible food. Whole milk supplies 61 kcal and 5.05 g sugar: 140 g contributes 85.4 kcal and 7.07 g sugar. Raw strawberries supply 32 kcal and 4.89 g sugar: 60 g contributes 19.2 kcal and 2.934 g sugar. Granulated sugar supplies 387 kcal and 99.8 g total sugar: 8 g contributes 30.96 kcal and 7.984 g sugar. Generic prepared espresso supplies 9 kcal and 212 mg caffeine: 36 g contributes 3.24 kcal and 76.32 mg caffeine.

Together, that is 138.8 kcal and 17.988 g total sugar, displayed as 140 kcal and 18 g. Ice contributes neither. With 4 g added sugar, the total is 123.32 kcal and 13.996 g sugar; with none, it is 107.84 kcal and 10.004 g sugar. The rounded comparison uses 125 and 110 kcal respectively.

Nutrition is estimated from public composition records. The caffeine value does not measure the output of this particular 18 g coffee dose; beans, extraction and decaffeination change it.

Common Questions

Can I make strawberry latte without coffee?
Yes, but it becomes a strawberry milk drink. Blend 8 g (2 US tsp) sugar with 60 g (2.1 oz) hulled strawberries and 140 g (½ US cup + 1 US tbsp) milk, then pour over 100 g (3.5 oz) ice. Omitting espresso removes the coffee contribution.
Is strawberry latte caffeine-free?
The espresso version here is not. A preparation using only strawberries, milk, sugar and ice has no coffee or tea ingredient, while a matcha version contains tea. Check the exact drink before ordering.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Use unsweetened berries and follow their package preparation instructions. If the package requires heating, complete that step and cool the fruit before using it. This recipe and its composition reference are written for fresh, prepared berries.
Can I just use strawberry syrup instead?
Use a syrup-based recipe rather than exchanging the berry weight for the same weight or volume of syrup.
Can I make this decaf?
Yes. Keep the fruit and milk preparation and use decaf espresso. Replace the regular caffeine estimate; decaf does not necessarily mean zero caffeine.

Editor's Take

Sources and Further Reading

View 7 references