Is there anything more refreshing than a tall glass of cold coffee on a sweltering hot day? Even better if it’s decaf (too much caffeine can make you jittery after all) and gives you that hit of coffee without the effects of caffeine.
All this might make you wonder—does Starbucks, everyone’s go-to coffee shop, offer decent decaf iced coffee options? If so, what are the different ingredients in each and how do you go about ordering them?
Let’s dive deep and talk in detail about the different types of decaf coffee options offered by Starbucks and which drink might be the most suitable to your taste. Knowing Starbucks, it’s a safe bet that the global coffee chain offers a variety of decaf iced coffee drinks—and that’s certainly the case! Read on to find out more.
Starbucks Decaf Iced Coffee – Everything You Need To Know
If you wanted a complete guide on getting decaf iced coffee from Starbucks—you’ve come to the right place! Let’s start by talking about all the different types of decaf iced coffee available at Starbucks.
One important thing to note here is that you cannot get decaf coffee in the form of cold brew or actual brewed iced coffee, as most Starbucks locations do not have freshly brewed decaf coffee on hand and this can take some time to prepare.
First, it’s necessary to know that most drinks on the menu that use espresso beans can be made into a decaf version! This is because Starbucks stocks decaf espresso beans and can substitute those for regular coffee beans in espresso drinks. This includes those fancy frappuccinos with extravagant toppings and flavors too!
However, if you’re looking mainly for good ol’ plain decaf iced coffee, your basic options would look something like this:
- Decaf Iced Espresso Coffee
- Decaf Iced Shaken Espresso
- Decaf Iced Caffè Americano
- Decaf Iced Flat White
- Decaf Iced Latte
- Decaf Iced Mocha
- Decaf Iced Macchiato
You can customize your drink any way you want by adding different flavorings, sweeteners, milk or cream etc. as well as choose the level of decaf beans you want in your coffee. You can keep it simple and quick, or go all out and try new flavors!
Top Decaf Iced Coffees at Starbucks
To make things easy for you, we have compiled a short list of the top 5 most popular decaf iced coffees at Starbucks. Make sure to try one of these out the next time you make a quick coffee run!
1. Decaf Iced Espresso Coffee
The decaf iced espresso coffee is top of our list for just one simple reason—this is the go-to standard iced coffee for hardcore coffee aficionados without any frills or bows. Although nothing fancy, the decaf iced espresso is sure to fulfill all your iced coffee cravings without that caffeine hit.
The most basic version of this coffee includes ice, decaf espresso shots, some milk, and classic syrup to add a bit of sweetness.
This coffee is best for those in love with the bold and intense taste of espresso and the airy layer of aromatic crema on top. As with all Starbucks drinks, you can change it up a bit to suit your liking and go for more coffee shots if you want something even stronger, as well as add flavored syrup or mocha/caramel sauce for that extra dimension of flavor.
2. Decaf Iced Shaken Espresso
Similar to the Decaf Iced Espresso, this drink is made from decaf espresso shots, ice, syrup and a touch of milk. The difference? This barista shakes the coffee by hand to combine the ingredients really well and make the drink more light and frothy. The decaf iced shaken espresso was formerly known as Doubleshot on Ice before Starbucks changed its name.
3. Decaf Iced Caffè Americano
If you’re a fan of Americanos, the decaf iced americano is sure to be a big favorite. As the name suggests, this drink is simply a decaf version of an iced americano (espresso shots, cold water and ice).
Its flavor is more dilute than stronger plain espresso shots and it makes for a deliciously refreshing drink. You can add a bit of syrup to the drink for a touch of sweetness.
4. Decaf Iced Coffee Pourover
Last but not least, the decaf iced coffee pour-over is another top classic that is a must-try for all coffee lovers. It is prepared by the barista by slowly pouring hot water on finely-ground decaf espresso beans and collecting the coffee in a cup of ice. This method gives the coffee a distinct, mouth-watering flavor, but the downside is that it takes a bit of time to prepare.
If there is a big queue at your local Starbucks and the staff is fully occupied we wouldn’t recommend going for this one. But if you have a bit of time and there are just a handful of customers try ordering this and experiencing the magic for yourself.
5. Other Options
If none of these classic decaf iced coffees strike your fancy, there are always other options you can try. If you want something milkier with a more subtle coffee flavor, go for a decaf iced latte or flat white.
Apart from these, if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth you can go for a decaf Iced Caramel Macchiato or even a decaf frappuccino, which comes topped with whipped cream. You can play around with the toppings and flavors as much as you like and get non-dairy options for the milk as well.
Another option is to get a decaf iced brewed coffee, such as Decaf Pike Place, but that depends a lot on the availability, staff and location of the Starbucks.
How to Order Decaf Iced Coffee at Starbucks
Ordering a decaf iced coffee at Starbucks may seem complicated on the surface but is really pretty simple. Plus if you get stuck at any step don’t hesitate to ask the Starbucks staff to help you figure out what exactly you want.
1. Choose Your Drink
The first step is to make up your mind about what sort of drink you want—a decaf iced espresso, americano, latte, flat white, mocha, macchiato etc. After you have chosen your basic drink you can customize it to your liking in the next steps.
2. Specify the Flavor and Toppings
Next, you need to specify what flavor and toppings you want by choosing from a variety of flavored syrups and sauces. The syrups include Chocolate, Caramel, Toasted Vanilla, Toffee Nut, Cinnamon Dolce, Hazelnut etc., and there are toppings such as Caramel or Mocha Drizzle or a swirl of whipped cream.
You can also select how much ice and room you want in your drink.
3. Sweeten It Up
Choose your sweetener from a variety of both sugar-based and sugar-free sweeteners, including honey and the Starbucks classic syrup.
4. Select the Coffee Beans
Here you can choose how many shots of espresso you want as well as the type of roasted coffee beans. If you’re going for decaf, Starbucks offers four types of decaf roasted beans—decaf espresso roast, ⅔ decaf roast, ½ decaf roast and ⅓ decaf roast.
5. Choose Your Cup Size
The last thing to choose is your cup size out of the three offered—Tall, Grande and Venti from small to large.
And voila! That’s how you go about ordering some decaf iced coffee at Starbucks.
Some Interesting Facts About Starbucks’ Decaf Iced Coffee
- Did you know that the decaf coffee at Starbucks isn’t totally caffeine free? The caffeine extraction process from the espresso beans is such that a small amount of caffeine (3-15mg per shot) is left behind.
- Decaf coffee is rarely available freshly brewed at most Starbucks stores because of low demand. However, this varies from location to location and also depends on the time of day.
- In comparison, freshly-brewed regular coffee is often available
- Decaf espresso beans might not be available in some of the smaller Starbucks stores such as outlets in malls, Target, grocery stores, etc.
- A handful of Starbucks shops have the Clover machine, which is a special machine used to brew cups of top-quality coffee with an intense and delicious flavor. This is because the machine uses a metal filter instead of a paper one to filter the coffee and this process allows oils from the beans to pass through as well. Do try a cup of Clover-brewed coffee if you get the chance!
Conclusion
The bottom line is that Starbucks does indeed offer a lot of good options for decaf iced coffee and there’s something to suit everybody’s personal preferences and taste.
The main options include decaf Iced Espresso, Iced Shaken Espresso, Iced Caffè Americano, Iced Flat White, Iced Latte, Iced Mocha and Iced Macchiato. Basically, any drink made from espresso beans (apart from brewed coffee) is available in the decaf version if that particular Starbucks branch stocks decaf espresso beans.
Apart from that, the drinks can be customized by adding different flavorings, toppings, sweeteners etc., and also changing the number of espresso shots as well as the type of milk to your liking. All in all, Starbucks is the place you should go to in order to satisfy those decaf iced coffee cravings!