Coffee Drink
Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew: Recipe, Calories and Cream
Vanilla sweet cream cold brew is cold-brewed coffee over ice with a pour of sweetened vanilla cream. The cream flows into the coffee rather than sitting as a whipped topping. This home recipe uses 180 ml ready-to-drink cold brew and a measured blend of cream, milk and vanilla syrup; no frother is needed.
Drink Snapshot
- Caffeine
- About 63 mg180 ml STōK UN-SWEET, 48 oz bottleA named-product calculation; homemade cold brew and other bottled products vary.
- Calories
- About 125 kcalDefined home servingIncludes all the cream blend; uses Monin US Vanilla Syrup and generic USDA dairy values.
Serving, sugar and sources
- Serving
- 1 drink: 180 ml cold brew, 20 g cream, 30 g milk, 10 ml syrup and 100 g ice
- Made with
- Cold brew, heavy cream, whole milk and vanilla syrup
- Sugar
- About 10 g total. About 7.7 g from syrup, plus naturally occurring milk and cream sugars.
- Preparation
- About 3 minutes with chilled coffee ready
Ingredient calculation, not a laboratory result. The 450 ml glass capacity is not the finished liquid yield. See the full calculation or label comparison.
Key Takeaways
- 1Mix 20 g heavy cream, 30 g whole milk and 10 ml vanilla syrup, then pour it into 180 ml cold brew over ice.
- 2Sweet cream is liquid. Cold foam is aerated; frothing the topping creates a different texture.
- 3The named bottled-coffee example is about 125 kcal, 10 g sugar and 63 mg caffeine. Homemade coffee needs its own caffeine information.
On This Page8 Sections
Sweet Cream vs. Cold Foam
Sweet cream is a sweetened liquid cream mixture; cold foam has air worked into it. You do not need an electric frother for this drink. The cream's pale ribbons will gradually blend into the coffee, which is the intended effect.
Starbucks describes its Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew as cold brew with vanilla and a cream float. Its published home recipe also finishes diluted cold brew with a pour of sweet cream. The quantities below are our independently defined home starting point, rather than the chain's café formula.
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| Drink | What goes into the coffee | Texture to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla sweet cream cold brew | A modest sweetened milk-and-cream blend | Liquid cream dispersing through coffee |
| Cold brew with cold foam | An aerated milk or cream topping | A soft foam layer that gradually settles |
| Cold brew latte | A larger milk component | Milk and coffee mixed throughout |
| Vanilla latte, served iced | Espresso, milk and vanilla syrup | A milk-led espresso drink over ice |
Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew Recipe
Makes one drink in a 450 ml glass. Start with cold ingredients and already prepared coffee. The glass leaves space for the ice and pouring; it is not a promise of 450 ml liquid.
Ingredients
- 180 ml chilled, unsweetened ready-to-drink cold brew
- 20 g cold heavy whipping cream
- 30 g cold whole milk
- 10 ml vanilla syrup; nutrition example uses Monin US Vanilla Syrup
- 100 g ice cubes
Method
- Mix. Stir 20 g cold heavy cream, 30 g cold whole milk and 10 ml vanilla syrup in a small jug until combined. Keep the blend liquid; do not whip it.
- Fill. Put 100 g ice in a 450 ml glass and add 180 ml chilled ready-to-drink cold brew.
- Pour. Add all the sweet cream blend slowly over the coffee. Stir gently for an even flavor, or sip through the cream as it mixes. Serve promptly.
To brew the base yourself, use the cold-brew preparation guide. Dilute a concentrate according to its directions before measuring the 180 ml portion. A bottle marked ready to drink needs no concentrate dilution. Ice provides additional dilution as it melts, so assemble shortly before drinking.
How Much Sweet Cream Should You Add?
The starting blend uses 20 g cream and 30 g milk, keeping a small dairy portion while making the cream easy to pour. Do not replace those weights with an assumed equal number of milliliters when reproducing the calculation.
For less sweetness, keep the dairy unchanged and reduce syrup to 5 ml. For less richness, try 10 g cream and 40 g milk, retaining the 10 ml syrup. These are different adjustments: reducing syrup changes added sugar, while substituting milk for cream mainly changes fat and body.
Using the same coffee and labels, the less-sweet version calculates to about 110 kcal and 6 g total sugar; the less-rich version to about 100 kcal and 10 g sugar. Neither removes caffeine from the fixed coffee portion. These are ingredient comparisons, not taste-test results.
Vanilla extract supplies concentrated flavor without the syrup's sweetness. It is not a 10 ml-for-10 ml substitute. For an extract-based variation, follow the extract's label, add a small amount and sweeten separately; the recipe estimate will change. Prepared vanilla creamer is also a different product, so measure and calculate it from its own label.
Calories, Sugar and Caffeine
The defined home serving is about 125 kcal, 10 g total sugar and 63 mg caffeine. This example uses 180 ml STōK UN-SWEET Black from the 48 oz bottle, regular Monin US Vanilla Syrup, and generic USDA cream and whole milk. Another cold brew can change the caffeine substantially.
Serving assumptions and calculation
The STōK label states 15 kcal and 0 g sugar per 360 ml; its product graphic gives 125 mg caffeine. Half that serving contributes 7.5 kcal and 62.5 mg caffeine. USDA SR28 references give heavy cream 340 kcal and 2.92 g sugars per 100 g, and whole milk 61 kcal and 5.05 g sugars per 100 g. The 20 g cream contributes 68 kcal and 0.584 g sugar; 30 g milk adds 18.3 kcal and 1.515 g sugar. Monin lists 100 kcal and 23 g sugar per 30 ml, so 10 ml adds 33.33 kcal and 7.667 g sugar. Total before rounding: 127.13 kcal and 9.766 g sugar. Plain ice adds neither. Values are approximate because the references and labels are rounded.
For comparison, the standard US Starbucks Grande menu listing, checked 26 September 2026, gives 110 kcal and 14 g sugar. That is a separate café serving, not the nutrition of our recipe. A similar drink name or glass size does not establish the same amounts of coffee, syrup and cream.
Using less syrup can lower this recipe's sugar; it does not make the drink sugar-free because dairy contains lactose. Cream and milk are milk allergens. A plant-based version needs replacements for both dairy ingredients and a fresh label-based calculation. Use decaf cold brew if you want less caffeine; decaf does not always mean caffeine-free.
Keep the Coffee Clear and the Cream Pourable
This table scrolls horizontally on smaller screens.
| What you notice | Likely issue to check | Useful adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee tastes unusually intense | Undiluted concentrate | Follow its dilution directions first |
| Drink becomes watery quickly | Warm coffee or partly melted ice | Chill the coffee and dairy before assembly |
| Cream sits in thick clumps | Whipped topping or very thick creamer | Use fluid cream and milk; stir without aerating |
| Uneven sweetness between sips | The cream is still layered | Stir through the glass before judging sweetness |
Mix a serving when you want it. Keep dairy and prepared coffee covered and refrigerated at 4°C / 40°F or below, and follow their after-opening directions. A mixed drink does not last longer than its ingredients. FDA guidance limits unrefrigerated perishable food to two hours, or one hour above 32°C / 90°F.
Common Questions
Does vanilla sweet cream cold brew have milk?
Is vanilla sweet cream the same as cold foam?
Can I use iced coffee?
Can I make the cream ahead?
Is this a Starbucks copycat?
Editor's Take
Sources and Further Reading
6 references
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