Why Starbucks Cold Brew Is So Good (And How To Make It At Home)

Starbucks cold brew is one of the more popular drinks on the coffee chain's menu, and for good reason. It's a true ole reliable of a beverage — quick, delicious, and packed with sweet, sweet caffeine. But if your at-home cold brew just never lives up to the cup you get from Starbucks, we have a few tricks of the trade to share with you.

Making cold brew seems simple enough, but if you've ever tried to recreate your own version of Starbucks cold brew only to find that something is ... missing, then you know the pain. So how exactly is Starbucks cold brew made and so consistently flawless? We'll let you in on a little secret: They use a concentrate made from a custom blend of beans that are cold-steeped for 20 hours, resulting in the velvety, rich, caffeine bomb that is the epic cold brew. You can actually buy the cold brew concentrate from the stores and create your own cold brew at home that way, or you can cold steep your favorite ground coffee to make a concentrate of your own. You can even use a French press to make cold brew coffee. 

Part of the magic of Starbucks cold brew is the proprietary blend of beans that the company uses. While this mix is technically a secret, one Starbucks employee on Reddit said that the Siren's Blend beans are frequently noted as a close comparison and an excellent choice for homemade cold brew.

With just two ingredients, you can make bold cold brew coffee at home that rivals the Starbucks staple. The key to achieving the same robust flavor and smooth drinkability as Starbucks is proper steep time. So, how long should you steep cold brew? Most agree that a minimum of 12 hours is needed, but anywhere between 14 and 18 hours helps those strong flavors develop. Going over that can lead to some unpleasant bitterness or other undesirable flavors, depending on the beans you use.

Part of the appeal of any Starbucks cold brew creation is the add-ons, syrups, and cold foams that give that extra punch of yumminess (and a little bit of sugar never hurts). When we ranked Starbucks cold brew and nitro cold brew drinks, the Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew came out as number one thanks to the delectable salty, creamy, caramel notes from the syrups and cold foam. If your homemade cold brew is landing more on the lackluster side of things, try adding a custom flair by making your own copycat Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam at home. You can also make homemade coffee syrups with just a few ingredients, wildly expanding the potential of your at-home cold brew.