Starbucks Just Launched a Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew—But Is It Healthy?
You know a new season is on the horizon when Starbucks unveils a new drink or two, and the arrival of spring is no exception. The coffee chain is shaking things up a little with this seasonal drop, introducing the Cinnamon Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew not as a passing seasonal sip, but a year-round menu item.
Related: Pedro Pascal Revealed His Starbucks Order & Fans Are in a Frenzy—Here's What a Dietitian Thinks
This drink joins the fleet of creamy, fluffy cold foam options at Starbucks—and it's the first new cold foam cold brew the coffee chain has announced since last year's summertime chocolate option. The Cinnamon Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew starts with smooth, nitrogen-infused cold brew and cinnamon caramel syrup before getting topped with cinnamon sweet cream cold foam and the coffee giant's signature cinnamon dolce sprinkles. That makes the drink especially appealing for Starbs customers who feel torn between a cinnamon dolce drink or something with caramel. The new drink is like a fusion of salted caramel and decadent cinnamon rolls, a Starbucks beverage developer said in a media release.
If a combination of sticky buns and gooey caramel sounds like a sweet treat to you, you've got the right idea. A cup of this dessert-inspired java has more sugar than what we'd recommend for an every-morning beverage. Here's how the nutrition information shakes out for a tall, 12-ounce Cinnamon Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew:
- 180 calories
- 10 grams total fat
- 6 grams saturated fat
- 70 milligrams sodium
- 22 grams carbohydrate
- 22 grams sugar
- 1 grams protein
- 185 milligrams caffeine
This drink comes in within our suggested parameters for calories and sodium in a drink, but it's higher in added sugar and saturated fat than we'd typically recommend. Both added sugar and saturated fat can be tough on your heart in excess, and the American Heart Association recommends keeping your saturated fat intake down to 13 grams per day. If you don't consume much saturated fat in a given day, it may be easy to add a small cold foam cold brew to your day—but it does contain almost half of the suggested daily intake.
The saturated fat in this drink comes from the cream in the cold foam topping, so the only way to trim the fat is by asking for less creamy topping. But if you're more concerned by the amount of sugar in the drink, you could ask your barista to skip the cinnamon-caramel syrup in the cold brew itself. The cold foam already contains a touch of that syrup (plus vanilla syrup), so you've already got some sweetness on your hands if you include it.
Like all sweet treats, this coffee drink can definitely be a part of your coffee routine in moderation. Snag one for dessert after lunch or enjoy it as your morning coffee treat on a warm weekend day. That said, we just wouldn't recommend making this rich beverage your daily go-to for your morning coffee run.
Of course, if you'd rather save some cash and recreate the coffeehouse experience at home, our Vegan Whipped Coffee has the same frothy texture with half of the sugar. Pair it with our Copycat Starbucks Spinach & Mushroom Egg Bites for an at-home breakfast that works as a healthy twist on your drive-thru favorites.