[Best] Vanilla Iced Coffee Starbucks DIY Home Recipe

Coffee and ice are simply a match made in heaven. Especially if it’s scorching heat outside. And that’s exactly when a handful of ice cubes added to your cup of Joe can be a real lifesaver. Alternatively, you can hit the local coffee shop to get you some coffee with ice. But that’s usually the more expensive and less fun. That’s why we’ve decided to bring you the ultimate vanilla iced coffee Starbucks copycat DYI recipe!

It’s obvious that the Starbucks iced coffee with vanilla is a favorite among many coffee drinkers.

However, you might be looking for a cheaper alternative.

Something that you can prepare at home in a couple of minutes that’s just as tasty.

Well, this simple and easy to follow recipe is exactly what you need!

The Go-To Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Iced Coffee Recipe

This recipe will give you a cup of iced coffee that has pretty much the same taste as the Iced Vanilla Latte courtesy of Starbucks.

But it’ll be cheaper and you won’t even have to leave your home with the help of our awesome Starbucks copycat recipes at home!

Time to roll up your barista sleeves and prepare you some coffee with ice.

Vanilla Iced Coffee Starbucks Copycat DYI Recipe

Preparation time: 2 minutes

What you need:

• Eight (8) tablespoons coffee grounds (whichever brand you prefer)
• One (1) to two (2) tablespoons vanilla syrup
• Twelve (12) ounces of cold water
• Three (3) tablespoons whole milk or half & half (half cream)
• One (1) cup of ice (around 6 ounces)

How to prepare it:

• Get a tall glass cup (12 oz preferably)
• Pour everything except the ice into the glass cup
• Add the ice into the mix
• Enjoy while cold

Now, it’s worth keeping in mind that you’re not supposed to add ice to the coffee until you’re ready to drink it.

After all, iced coffee is supposed to be consumed cold, right?

As for the milk vs creamer debate – use whichever you prefer, it’s up to you.

But if you’d like to get as close to that Starbucks taste, then half & half is your best bet.

How To Avoid Your Iced Coffee Getting Watered Down?

Easy, double the amount of ground coffee that you’re using.

For instance, if you’re generally using a 2:1 coffee-to-water ratio, you’d want to increase that to 4:1.

Or in other words, if you’re making an average-sized 6-ounce cup of coffee using 2 tablespoons of coffee, you’ll increase that to 4 tablespoons.

By doing so you’ll prevent the dreaded watering down effect that happens when the added ice starts melting.

Pro tip: Free brewed coffee by pouring it into an ice tray and leaving it in the freezer fora while. This way you’ll have ice cubes made of coffee!

Ideally, you might use pure espresso as it’s stronger.

But if you have a regular coffee maker that works with ground coffee, just put more coffee to make the brew stronger.

And what if you just prefer your iced vanilla latte to actually be watered down?

Well, in this case – don’t do anything!

Just make your coffee as you usually would and the added ice will do its thing.

What Is In A Starbucks Vanilla Iced Coffee?

The Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte is made of 4 ingredients: Ice, milk, espresso and vanilla syrup.

Basically, this is your regular flavored espresso-based drink by Starbucks, but with some ice thrown into the mix.

As for the actual nutritional value, it differs depending on the cup size you go for.

To give you an idea, the amount of caffeine for each is:

• Tall (Small), 12 oz – 75 mg of caffeine
• Grande (Medium), 16 oz – 150 mg of caffeine
• Venti Iced (Large), 24 oz – 225 mg of caffeine

Then again, going for tall might result in a more watered down taste since the coffee won’t be as strong.

But the other nutritional aspects of the Starbucks iced vanilla latte differ greatly, especially depending on what type of milk you go for.

For example, let’s take one tall cup of this iced coffee made with nonfat milk:

• Fat – 0 g
• Cholesterol – 0 g
• Carbohydrates – 24 g
• Sugars – 22 g
• Protein – 6 g
• Calories: 120
• Caffeine – 75 mg

Okay, that’s quite a bit of sugar for a relatively small amount of caffeine.

If you’re looking for a stronger caffeine kick, better go for the Grande cup size.

It doubles the amount of caffeine while adding only about 7 grams of sugar, which isn’t a deal-breaker.

Unless you’re on a keto diet of course, but then you have no business in Starbucks whatsoever!

How Much Is A Vanilla Iced Coffee At Starbucks?

This is how much ice coffee costs at Starbucks for each particular cup size:

Iced Coffee (with milk/without milk)

• Tall (small) – $2.25
• Grande (medium) – $2.65
• Venti (large) – $2.95
• Trenta (extra large) – $3.45

Iced Caramel Macchiato

• Tall (small) – $3.75
• Grande (medium) – $4.45
• Venti (large) – $4.95

Note that these prices have been taken from the associated Starbucks menu prices, based on NDTV Foods’s data (link).

Also, their “Small” cups aren’t all that small e.g. like demitasse cups.

And btw, did you know that Starbucks will not charge you extra for putting more syrup in your drink?

The only catch is that your drink should have syrup, to begin with.

So if you order a vanilla-flavored iced coffee, you can top it with additional syrup free of charge!

Is There A Difference Between Cold Brew And Iced Coffee?

You bet! The main difference is in the brewing techniques utilized.

Cold-brew stands for coffee that’s brewed using time instead of heat, while iced coffee is just regularly brewed coffee poured over ice cubes.

In essence, one is made using cool water while the other is made with hot water.

This results in different flavor profiles due to the varying coffee flavor extraction methods. Here’s a more specific explanation of the differences:

Cold Brew

• Sweet and chocolatey notes
• Full-bodied, aromatic and smooth
• Less acidic

Iced Coffee (Regular Brew i.e. Hot)

• Caramel and cola notes
• Well-balanced and medium-bodied
• More bitter and acidic

So, once again – remember that cold brew simply means coffee grounds that have been steeped in cold or room temp water.

On the other hand, iced coffee is brewed as regular hot coffee, which is then poured over ice.

And some coffee makers brew coffee at 200 F degrees, which has nothing to do with the cold brew technique.

Basically, the two rely on different brewing methods.

Regardless of this, it’s all coffee even though there are slight differences in taste and flavor.

Conclusion

Now you know how to make your very own vanilla iced coffee Starbucks, DYI style!

Not only will it taste pretty much like the real thing, but you’ll most likely save some hard-earned cash along the way as well!

Besides, the sheer convenience of not having to leave the house to get your Starbucks fix is hard to beat.

Btw, have you personally tried to make your own iced coffee at home?

If yes – was it any good or as good as Starbucks’drink?

Make sure to leave a comment below with your answer!