The Difference Between Starbucks Sauces And Syrups You Should Know Before Your Next Order

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While you can get a plain coffee or shot of espresso at Starbucks, most of its popular drinks include flavored sauces and/or syrups. This includes many of the chain's lattes, cold brews, mochas, and endless list of Frappuccinos. However, many customers may not know the difference between the chain's sauces and syrups. The main distinction comes in the thickness of each, and they have slightly different uses.

Coffee syrup is typically thin and dairy-free, serving only to sweeten and flavor a beverage. Starbucks' vanilla syrup, for instance, is listed on the site as containing sugar, water, natural flavors, potassium sorbate, and citric acid. Meanwhile, coffee sauces are thicker and often contain dairy, though Starbucks' mocha sauce does not. Its ingredients are listed as water, sugar, cocoa, and natural flavor. Since sauces are thicker, they add a creamy mouthfeel to drinks, whereas syrups are meant to blend seamlessly and not affect the drink's texture. Sauces are also often swirled around a cup to create aesthetic appeal.

Typically speaking, Starbucks only carries each flavor in either a syrup or a sauce, depending on how it uses the flavor in drinks. For instance, vanilla is a syrup at Starbucks and is used in most flavored drinks to add extra sweetness. Mocha, which is used in the mocha drinks and Frappuccinos, is a sauce. This is good to keep in mind when customizing Starbucks drinks, as adding sauce may change the mouthfeel of drinks that don't typically include it.

Syrup and sauce is not a distinction exclusively used at Starbucks; it's a common coffee term, and brands like Torani often offer both. You can even buy Starbucks branded sauces and syrups online and use them to make your drinks at home. If you don't want to just follow the Starbucks recipe, though, you can use them to create your own personalized drinks.

Ethan Rode, founder of FLUR glassware, suggests on his YouTube channel (@Ethanrodecoffee) that home baristas use sauces for milk-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, and syrups for water-based drinks like Americanos. This is because sauces will not mix into water very well, but will add richness to a milk-based drink, where it blends in better. However, this is not a hard-and-fast rule, as syrups can still be delicious in coffee based drinks. It depends on what you prefer; while sauces do add rich, deep flavor, some people prefer their lattes with a stronger coffee taste and less sugar. In this case, a syrup would work better, especially since syrups often come in sugar-free varieties, such as Jordan's Skinny Mixes. Don't be afraid to play around with both and find the combinations that taste best to you.