What is Cold Foam Coffee? The Secret to a Creamy, Frothy Drink

Cold foam is a creamy, velvety foam with a texture similar to steamed milk, but with one obvious difference — it's cold. 

it allows you to produce an iced coffee with the texture and flavor characteristics of your favorite milk-based espresso beverages, such as a coffee latte, flat white, or cappuccino coffee.

In this article, you'll learn what cold foam coffee is, what it tastes like, how to make it, and other similar brews that are easy to produce at home. 

What is Cold Foam Coffee?

Cold foam coffee is an iced beverage that's topped with a light, velvety foam made by whipping cold cream and milk. 

Cold foam can be served on a range of different chilled beverages, such as cold brew, black iced coffee, milky iced coffee, Vietnamese iced coffee, flash brew, and nitro brew. The actual brew is not what defines cold foam coffee — it's the foam itself. 

What Does Cold Foam Coffee Taste Like?

Cold foam coffee varies in taste depending on the brew used. The cold foam itself has a light, velvety texture, and creamy taste. It can be sweetened with sugar or flavored coffee syrup to provide additional flavor characteristics. 

The combination of iced coffee or cold brew with a cold foam creates a rich, creamy beverage that's both light and indulgent. Cold foam coffee can taste sweet, dark, floral, and nutty depending on the brewing method, bean type, and roast level used. 

What Do You Need to Make Cold Foam Coffee?

Cold foam coffee is surprisingly easy to make, and it's completely customizable. You can use any type of chilled coffee made with your preferred brewing method for cold foam coffee. 

In our recipe, we use cold brew coffee as the base — the tools and ingredients below reflect this. If you want to make cold foam coffee with a different brew, you'll need the equipment you usually use to make it. 

With that said, here's what you'll need to make our cold foam coffee:

Tools 

1. French Press — This immersion brewer is perfect for making the cold brew coffee needed for this recipe. 
2. Coffee Grinder — Whole-bean coffee that's ground fresh makes the best brew. A burr or blade grinder can create the coarse grind needed for cold brew. 
3. Coffee Measure — Use a coffee measure or weighing scale to accurately portion the coffee. 
4. Milk Frother — You'll need a milk frother or fine whisk to make the cold foam. 
5. Small Mixing Bowl — A small mixing bowl or cup is needed to froth the cold foam in. 
6. Tablespoon — A tablespoon is required to measure the milk and cream for the cold foam and to spoon it onto the coffee. 
7. Serving Glass — Use a large, tall glass to serve the cold foam coffee. 

Ingredients

1. High-Quality Coffee — Opt for a high-quality whole-bean arabica, robusta, or blend to make cold foam coffee. 
2. Water — Use cold, fresh, filtered water for the cleanest brew.
3. Ice — Cold foam coffee is best served over ice.
4. Whole Milk — A small amount of whole milk is needed to “thin” the cream.
5. Heavy Whipping Cream — A heavy whipping cream is needed to give the cold foam volume. 
6. Syrup (Optional) — Use a syrup of your choice (we recommend vanilla syrup) if you want to sweeten or flavor your cold foam. 

Coffee Recommendations

The type of coffee you choose to make cold foam coffee is up to you. What's important is that the coffee is high-quality and fresh. Whole-bean coffee that has been ground just before brewing creates the best cup with the most complex flavor profile. If you don't want to grind beans yourself, opt for a high-quality pre-ground coffee. 

The type of bean you choose will affect the taste of your cold foam coffee. Robusta, arabica, and blends of both beans all produce unique brews:

• Robusta coffee creates a dark, bold, intense brew with a high caffeine content — around double that of arabica. For robusta cold foam coffee, try the authentic HaNoi blend or strong flavors of BanMe Coffee.
• Arabica coffee creates a bold, smooth, naturally sweet brew with a mild caffeine content. For a 100% arabica cold foam coffee, try DaLat coffee.
• Blends of arabica and robusta balance the characteristics of both beans. Blends such as Saigon OG offer smooth sweetness with bold, dark, and slightly bitter notes of nuts and wood. 

Step-by-Step Brew Guide: Cold Foam Coffee

In this guide, you'll learn how to make cold foam coffee with cold brew. Swap out steps one to three with your preferred brewing method if you don't want to use cold brew for this beverage. 

Here's how to make cold foam coffee, step by step:

1. Measure and Grind Your Coffee

First, you need to measure and grind your coffee finely to make the cold brew. A coarse grind — similar in consistency to sea salt — is needed to make cold brew. 

The amount of coffee you need to grind depends on how much cold brew you want to create. If you plan on making cold foam coffee regularly, we recommend making multiple servings of cold brew and storing it in the fridge so you always have it on hand.

Use the table below to work out how much coffee and water you need:

2. Prepare Your French Press

Add your ground coffee and the required amount of fresh, cold, filtered water. Stir the grounds into the water with a spoon and place the lid on the press (do not plunge yet). 

3. Brew the Coffee

Place the French press in the fridge for 18 to 24 hours so the coffee has time to brew. You don't need to disturb the French press during this time, just let it sit.

After 18 to 12 hours, remove the French press from the fridge and press the plunger down to separate the grounds. Pour the brew into another container and store it in the fridge. Avoid keeping the brew and grounds together during storage — this can lead to over-extraction over time. 

4. Create the Cold Foam

In a mixing bowl, add 50 mL of heavy whipping cream, 25 mL of whole milk, and a small amount of flavored syrup (optional). 

Take your milk frother or fine whisk and froth the liquid until a light, fluffy foam has been created. When you dip a spoon into the foam it should form soft peaks that stand up from the edge of the spoon. 

5. Assemble the Cold Foam Coffee

In a glass, add ice followed by your cold brew coffee. Leave around an inch of room near the rim of the glass for the cold foam. 

Gently spoon the cold foam on top of the coffee. You can serve the brew like this or gently stir it a couple of times to create a marbled effect. 

Enjoy your coffee while ice-cold. 

Similar Brews to Cold Foam Coffee

Cold foam coffee isn't the only chilled coffee beverage you can make at home. Several types of iced coffee offer a similar flavor and experience to cold foam coffee. 

Here are five of the most popular chilled coffee beverages and how to make them:

1. Iced Coffee 

Regular iced coffee is simple to make and extremely versatile. You can make iced coffee by cooling almost any hot-brewed coffee, pouring it over ice, and diluting it with milk. One of our favorite ways to make iced coffee is with a French press. 

Here's how to make iced coffee with a French press:

1. Boil a kettle of fresh, filtered water. 
2. Measure and grind your coffee. You’ll need around seven grams of coarse-ground coffee per 120 mL of water. 
3. Add the coffee to your French press followed by the hot water. Place on the lid and allow the coffee to brew for five minutes. 
4. Press the plunger down to separate the grounds and pour the concentrated coffee into a cup. 
5. Let the coffee cool to room temperature. You can add an ice cube to speed up the process. 
6. In a glass, add ice, the shot of coffee, and milk. Sweeten with sugar or syrup to taste.
7. Enjoy your iced coffee while cold. 

2. Cold Brew 

Cold brew is like an iced coffee but it's typically served black — without milk or sugar. It's much less acidic than hot-brewed coffee and contains more caffeine. In our cold foam coffee recipe above, we used cold brew because its delicate and naturally sweet flavor combines well with cold foam. 

We outlined briefly how to make cold brew coffee in the cold foam recipe above, so we won't add a guide here. However, if you want to learn more about cold brew coffee and follow some more in-depth instructions, check out: How to Brew Cold Brew Coffee the Right Way. 

3. Frozen Coffee 

Frozen coffee is essentially an iced coffee that has been blended until a slushy, milkshake-like beverage has been produced. It was created by the popular food and beverage chain Dunkin’ Donuts. 

The frozen coffee combines ice, strong coffee, milk, and sugar or syrup. If you can confidently make iced coffee and own a blender, this is an excellent chilled brew to try. 

Here's how to make frozen coffee at home:

1. Brew a concentrated shot of coffee using an espresso machine, moka pot, French press, or drip coffee maker. Aim for 30 to 60 mL in total.
2. Cool the coffee to room temperature. You can speed this process up by pouring the shot back and forth between two cups.
3. Add one cup of ice, one cup of whole milk, the concentrated coffee shot, and a tablespoon of sugar or syrup (optional).
4. Blend the ingredients. Start at a low speed until the ice is roughly crushed and then increase the blend speed until a smooth, slushy consistency is produced.
5. Pour the frozen coffee into a large glass and add a straw (optional).
6. Enjoy while ice-cold. 

4. Frosted Coffee

Frosted coffee is a milkshake-like beverage that's similar to frozen coffee. However, it's much smoother in texture, sweeter, and creamier in taste. This beverage combines strong coffee (usually espresso) with ice cream, salted caramel, and ice. It's simple to make and the process doesn't take too long. 

Here's how to make frosted coffee at home:

1. Brew a strong concentrated shot of coffee with a volume of 30 to 60 mL. You can do this with your preferred brewing method but espresso, moka pot coffee, or Aeropress coffee are the best options.
2. Cool the coffee to room temperature. 
3. Add the coffee, one and a half cups of vanilla ice cream, half a cup of ice, and a tablespoon or two of salted caramel sauce to a blender. 
4. Blend the ingredients until thoroughly combined and a milkshake-like beverage has formed. 
5. Pour the frosted coffee into a glass and garnish with an extra dash of salted caramel. 

5. Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Vietnamese iced coffee combines dark, bold, strong robusta coffee with sweetened condensed milk. The result is a well-balanced iced coffee with a strong caffeine hit. 

Vietnamese iced coffee is prepared using a phin filter — a traditional pour-over brewer from Vietnam. However, you can make a similar brew with a regular pour-over such as the Hario V60, Chemex brewer, or Kalita Wave. 

Here's how to make Vietnamese iced coffee:

1. Boil a kettle of water.
2. Measure and grind your coffee to a fine consistency. Vietnamese robusta is the best option — HaNoi or BanMe work well for iced coffee. You’ll need around 14 grams of coffee for a 120 mL phin filter. 
3. Assemble your phin filter over a cup. The tray goes on the bottom, followed by the brew chamber. Leave the gravity press and lid to one side. 
4. Add the ground coffee to the brew chamber of your phin and tamp lightly with the gravity press. 
5. Add a small amount of water to saturate the grounds and “bloom” them — this improves extraction. Wait for 45 seconds, and then add the rest of the water. 
6. Wait for the coffee to finish brewing — this takes around five to seven minutes. 
7. Add ice to a glass, followed by the coffee. Stir in two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk. 
8. Enjoy your Vietnamese iced coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá) while it's cold. 

FAQs: Cold Foam Coffee

Want to learn more about cold foam coffee and other iced beverages?

Check out the answers to the FAQs below:

1. How Much Caffeine is in Cold Foam Coffee? 

Cold foam coffee contains somewhere between 70 and 200 mg of caffeine per serving. The exact amount varies depending on the bean type, coffee-to-water ratio, and brewing method used to make the coffee. 

2. Is Cold Foam Just Whipped Cream? 

Almost. Cold foam is a mix of milk, cream, and occasionally flavored syrup. When whipped, the mixture produces soft peaks — not stiff peaks like whipped cream. 

3. What’s the Best Coffee for Cold Foam Coffee?

The best coffee for making a brew with cold foam should be freshly brewed from high-quality whole-bean coffee. Whether you use arabica, robusta, or a blend is down to you. 

Arabica produces a naturally sweet, smooth coffee. Robusta makes a dark, bold, intense coffee with a high caffeine content. Blends of both beans offer a balance between the sweet smoothness of arabica and the dark, nuttiness of robusta. 

4. How Do You Order Cold Foam Coffee at Starbucks?

Ordering cold foam coffee at Starbucks is simple. First, choose your brew — cold brew, iced Americano, iced coffee, or nitro brew. Then, ask for cold foam and select your chosen syrup (optional) — try vanilla syrup, salted caramel, chocolate folded foam, or pumpkin spice (seasonal). 

5. Does Cold Foam Coffee Contain Dairy?

Yes. The cold foam in cold foam coffee is made from heavy whipping cream and whole milk — both dairy products. However, it's possible to produce a similar foam with plant-based products such as oat or coconut cream and milk. 

6. Can You Make Vegan Cold Foam Coffee? 

Yes. You can make vegan cold foam coffee by using plant-based milk and cream. However, the texture may not be the same as dairy cold foam. Opt for a high-protein, high-fat vegan cream — this will produce the thickest, lightest foam.

7. What’s the Difference Between Iced Coffee and Cold Foam Coffee?

Iced coffee and cold foam coffee are both chilled beverages made with coffee. Cold foam is essentially a thin whipped cream that's served on top of iced coffee or cold brew (usually black). Iced coffee is a chilled beverage without the foam that's usually diluted with milk and sweetened with sugar or syrup.

8. What’s the Difference Between Iced Coffee and Cold Brew?

Iced coffee is made by cooling hot-brewed coffee, pouring it over ice, and combining it with milk. Cold brew coffee is made by extracting coarse coffee grounds with cold water for an extended period — typically 18 to 24 hours. Cold brew coffee has a higher caffeine content and is much less acidic than iced coffee. 

9. Is Vietnamese Iced Coffee Similar to Cold Foam Coffee? 

Vietnamese iced coffee is similar to cold foam coffee in that it's also chilled and served over ice. However, it doesn't have a dairy foam on top and is sweetened and creamed with sweetened condensed milk. Cold foam coffee is more similar to Vietnamese egg coffee — a beverage served with foam made by whipping egg yolks with condensed milk. 

10. How Many Calories in Cold Foam Coffee?

The amount of calories in a glass of cold foam coffee depends on whether the beverage is sweetened with sugar or syrup:

• Unsweetened cold foam coffee contains 10 to 30 calories per serving.
• Sweetened cold foam coffee contains between 20 and 50 calories per serving, depending on how much sugar or syrup is used.