What Brown Sugar Syrup Does Starbucks Use?

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  • Post last modified:February 12, 2024
what brown sugar syrup does Starbucks use

For most Starbucks lovers, this brand’s unique brown sugar syrup is one to die for. One cannot but love this ingredient’s rich texture and fragrant taste that brings any coffee to life.

But this brown sugar syrup is also somewhat mysterious – most people can’t tell which one it is.

Therefore, to clear this question today, we have dedicated our blog to finding out, ‘What brown sugar syrup does Starbucks use?’ Read on to know.

What Brown Sugar Syrup Does Starbucks Use?

What brown sugar syrup does Starbucks use? 

Starbucks brown sugar syrup bottle

Starbucks is always known for using unique ingredients that are difficult to find anywhere else! Keeping this tradition up, the brand launched its very own brown sugar syrup in 2021 and has been using it in all Starbucks outlets ever since then. 

The Starbucks ® Syrup Brown Sugar is a brand product. Starbucks does not sell the product directly, but users can purchase it in most online and offline stores. The syrup bottle is a mid-price product and can cost you about 97.99 USD for a 1L bottle!

The syrup is made of minimum preservatives and has a shelf life of about 6 months. Don’t worry, it uses a mixture of natural flavors to bring out the best amount of brown sugar sweetness. 

But here is the thing – the Starbucks brown sugar syrup is a natural sweetener and can add 10 calories to your drink per pump. Each pump contains 5 grams of sugar. It is not a sugar-free add-on (shocker), but Starbucks does have nonsugar alternatives. 

Since the quantity of syrup used usually is not much, Starbucks brown syrup cannot hurt your teeth or skin unless you overconsume it. Starbucks brown sugar syrup might not be the best choice for those dealing with diabetes, high cholesterol, cardiovascular problems, dermatological allergies related to sugar consumption, or gynecological diseases like PCOS.

Read More: Can I Use the Starbucks App Internationally?

How To Make Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup At Home – Easiest Recipe!

Starbucks has been gatekeeping the brown sugar syrup recipe as a part of their trade secret recipes – however, many culinary and dessert experts have evaluated the taste and ingredients of this syrup to come up with their recipes at home! Here is the only recipe you will ever need:

Ingredients

  • Brown sugar – 6 cups
  • Cinnamon stick – 2 sticks, 6 inches each
  • Maple syrup – 4 cups
  • Sea salt – 1.5 teaspoons
  • Freshly boiled water – 270 ml

Procedure

You guessed right! The unique flavor of the Starbucks brown sugar syrup that differs from most other sugar syrups available in the market is due to the unique addiction to cinnamon and maple flavors. Here is how we are going to make it.

(Serving: 270 ml)

  • Heat a saucepan and add water to it. 
  • As soon as the water starts to simmer, put in the brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon sticks, and sea salt.
  • Let the mixture boil until the sugar has dissolved completely.
  • Check the consistency of the syrup. If you want a thicker syrup, you can continue to boil it a bit further.
  • Take the saucepan off the store and let it cool.
  • Once the mixture is called, transfer all contents to an airtight container and let it rest for 24 hours.
  • Check it the next day – your Starbucks brown sugar syrup should be ready by now!

Few More Tips

  • Use pure maple syrup.
  • Monitor the syrup closely from the point that the brown sugar dissolves – otherwise, your syrup can become crusty and misty!
  • Store it in a tight container with no air inside. Make sure the container is clean.
  • Do not remove the cinnamon sticks. 
  • Preferably, add a nozzle on the bottle so that the sticks do not end up on your coffee!

How to Make the Best Use of Homemade Starbucks Brown Sugar Syrup?

Dessert and bakery lovers can make the best use of Starbucks’ homemade brown sugar syrup and diversify this amazing ingredient from just hot espresso and cold coffee to every confectionery under the sun.

  • Brown sugar syrup is commonly used on top of pancakes, sweet bread, and honey toast. 
  • The hint of maple and cinnamon in the Starbucks variety makes it a good alternative to regular sugar to put in your cake mix. 
  • Similarly, you can enrich your cookie dough by adding some brown sugar to it. 
  • Apart from coffee drinks, you can add brown sugar syrup to milkshakes, hot chocolate, marshmallows, and even fruits like apples and strawberries.

2 More Sugar Syrups at Starbucks That You Should Try

If you are a sucker for sugar syrups, Starbucks has two more sugar syrup ingredients that you might fall in love with.

1. Starbucks Classic Syrup: Classic syrup is made up of regular sugar and the change of citric acid. This syrup is used in almost any drink with regular sugar. The syrup does not contain any additional flavor, and this is just a clear, thick liquid that is used to provide uniform sweetening to the drink. The Starbucks classic syrup adds 20 calories per pump.

2. Starbucks cane sugar: This sugar syrup is not made of regular sugar cane sugar but rather Turbinado Cane sugar. Further, there is a richness in this sugar that is not found in the Classic variant. The liquid cane syrup is less sweet and only adds 10 calories to a pump. Both of these syrups can be easily added to both hot and cold drinks.

Recommended Reading: How Many Flavor Shots in Dunkin?

Sugar Free Starbucks Syrup Alternative – Starbucks Vanilla Syrup

Not everyone can enjoy sugar syrups on their drinks without messing up their health regime. You don’t have to give in to the temptation while at Starbucks! They have an eye-catching and delicious sugar-free syrup alternative made just for you!

Starbucks Vanilla sugar-free

Zero calories and a persistent, delicious aroma of pure vanilla – what else do we want? Vanilla is an aromatic sweetener meaning it can make your drink smell sweet, and their food tricks your tongue and brain into thinking that you are consuming something sweet!

The Starbucks sugar-free Vanilla syrup can also be easily made at home or bought on online and offline stores like Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

Conclusion

What brown sugar syrup does Starbucks use?  The Starbucks ® Syrup Brown Sugar, duh! 

Now that you know how to make or purchase authentic Starbucks brown sugar, you can experiment with this amazing ingredient and add it to homemade lattes, pancakes, sweets, and other culinary delicacies in an affordable manner. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the best Starbucks brown sugar syrup alternative?

Ans: Torani is a top competitor to Starbucks not only for brown sugar syrup but many other classic and sugar-free alternatives as well that you can purchase and use affordably.

Q2. Is brown sugar better than regular sugar?

Ans: Brown sugar and regular sugar cane sugar have similar amounts of calories: 100 grams of brown sugar has 380 calories, whereas white sugar has 385 calories. But brown sugar does contain more iron and calcium than white sugar and also has a more complex and rich taste.

Q3. Is brown sugar syrup healthier than Starbucks classic syrup?

Ans: In terms of calories, Starbucks brown sugar syrup is healthier than Starbucks classic syrup as the former only adds 10 calories to each pump while the latter adds 20 calories.

Q4. Which has fewer calories – Starbucks brown sugar syrup or Starbucks cane sugar syrup?

Ans: Both Starbucks brown sugar syrup and Starbucks cane sugar syrup have 10 calories per pump, and in this aspect, they are equal.