Iced Shaken Espresso

Make a Starbuck’s Iced Shaken Espresso at home! Follow these simple recipes to make three different iced shaken espresso drinks.

Is Iced Shaken Espresso the new cold brew?

Cold brew used to be my afternoon coffee drink of choice, but the caffeine content in cold brew is so high that I had to cut back. Then, I heard that Starbuck’s Iced Shaken Espresso drinks were getting even more popular than cold brew and I knew I had to give them a try!

Make iced shaken espresso by shaken freshly brewed espresso and sweetener over ice. Then, pour over fresh ice and top with milk of choice.

There is about 120 mg of caffeine in 2oz of espresso and 200mg of caffeine in 16oz of cold brew. SO I am actually getting less caffeine from the espresso drink and I can even make decaf ones if I want to.

You can customize this simple iced coffee drink to make it just how you like it! Add brown sugar, honey, simple syrup or maple syrup for a touch of sweetness. Use your favorite non-dairy milks or make a homemade sweet cream to pour on top along with a dash of cinnamon.

What is a shaken espresso?

A shaken espresso is a coffee drink made by pouring shots of espresso over ice in a shaker and shaking it until the espresso is cold and foamy. In Italy this drink is called a shakerato and is usually served neat in a martini or cocktail glass.

You can serve the chilled espresso over ice on its on or you can add sweetener and milk depending on your taste preferences.

What is the difference between a shaken espresso and a latte?

A shaken espresso and an iced latte are very similar beverage. The difference is that for a shaken espresso you shake the espresso over ice before serving, but for iced lattes you just pour the espresso shots over ice before pouring the milk into the cup.

The frothy texture of the shaken espresso is unique to the shaken espresso drinks. I prefer this hand-shaken beverage more than a standard latte.

Starbucks shaken espresso drinks have become my go to order because they are so much better than a standard iced latte. I like strong coffee, but I don’t like the taste of bitter espresso so when I order this drink I usually ask for the blonde espresso roast. You can buy light roasted beans or light roast pods for your nespresso machine.

Kitchen Tools

The most important kitchen tools for this drink is some kind of espresso maker. I use this one from Nespresso. I like that I can recycle the pods from them and I like that I can get different types of espresso including decaf.

But you do not need an espresso machine in order to make these drinks. You can make espresso on your stove top with this Bialetti Express espresso maker.

You will also need measuring spoons, a cocktail shaker and cups to serve your drink in. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker you can shake this drink in a mason jar with a lid on it.

Ingredients

• Espresso – make espresso at home with an espresso machine, a nespresso or you can even use instant espresso.
• Sweetener – I like to use brown sugar, honey or chocolate syrup. You can also use simple syrup or maple syrup.
• Flavoring – Add dry spices like cinnamon or nutmeg and vanilla extract to enhance the flavors of the espresso in this copycat recipe. You can also use flavored simple syrups to combine flavoring and sweetness in one.
• Ice cubes – I use standard ice cubes for sharking the espresso with sweetener and then it is my personal preference to pour this over a fresh large ice cube so that the ice melts slower and does not dilute the drink.
• Milk of choice – I like to use half and half or an extra creamy oat milk, but you can use any milk you like. Sometimes I’ll make a sweetened cold foam with some half and half, heavy cream and a tablespoon of sweetener.

Why do you use the big ice cubes?

The large ice cubes melt slower than the smaller ones which means your shaken espresso drink will be less watered down by melting ice. I use these silicone ice cube molds to make big ice cubes in my freezer.

how do i make cold foam?

I like to top my shaken espresso drinks with cold foam. I make my cold foam in a milk frother on the cold setting.

If you do not have a milk frother you can use these other methods for making cold foam:

• Handheld milk frother – whisk the cold milk in a jar with a hand whisk
• French press – pour milk into a french press and push the plunger up and down vigorously until the milk froths
• Glass jar – Pour milk into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously until the milk froths

I find that dairy milk froths the best, but oat milk also tends to froth very nicely.

Iced Brown Sugar Oat milk Shaken espresso

ingredients

• 2oz shot of espresso
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2oz oat milk
• Cinnamon for topping
• Ice

Method

Brew espresso over the brown sugar in a small mug. Shake espresso over ice in a cocktail shaker.

Pour shaken espresso over fresh ice. Froth cold oat milk and pour the cold oatmilk foam over the espresso drink. Shake cinnamon over top of the cold foam and serve!

You can also make a brown sugar syrup the same way you would make a normal simple syrup. Just heat brown sugar in water until it melts into an even mixture. Allow it to cool completely and then use a few pumps in each drink.

Iced Chocolate almondmilk Shaken Espresso

ingredients

• 2oz shot of espresso
• 2 tsp chocolate syrup
• 2oz almond milk
• Ice

Method

Brew espresso in a small mug. Shake espresso over ice in a cocktail shaker.

Pour shaken espresso over fresh ice. Froth cold half and half with the chocolate syrup and pour the chocolate cold foam over the espresso drink.

You can also save time by using chocolate almond milk

Iced Honey Vanilla Shaken Espresso

ingredients

• 2oz shot of espresso
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• Ice

Method

Brew espresso over the honey and vanilla in a small mug. Shake espresso over ice in a cocktail shaker.

Pour shaken espresso over fresh ice. Froth cold half and half and pour the cold foam over the espresso drink.

Other flavor options

Once you know the basic steps for making an iced shaken espresso drink, you can make all different kinds of recipes!

• Plain Iced Shaken Espresso – Just espresso, ice and milk of choice – you cannot beat a classic!
• Iced Pumpkin Spice Shaken Espresso – Mix 2 tsp of my homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup into the warm espresso, shake over ice and top with cold foam and extra pumpkin pie spice
• Toasted Vanilla Oatmilk Shaken Espresso – Make a vanilla bean simple syrup and mix it in with the esperesso before shaking over ice.

Check out these other Coffee Drink Recipes!

• Cold Brew Coffee Recipe
• Gingerbread Latte Syrup
• Peppermint Mocha Latte Syrup
• Sugar Cookie Latte Syrup
• Caramel Brulee Latte Syrup

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!