The Starbucks Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso is one of the easiest Starbucks drinks to make at home.
Made by shaking espresso, chocolate malt and dairy free almond milk with ice, it is a super refreshing, chocolatey coffee perfect for lovers of cold coffee drinks.
If you are a fan of the Starbucks iced shaken espresso recipes, or you are curious to know how to make shaken espresso at home, read on.
Our Starbucks chocolate almond milk shaken espresso copycat recipe is quick and easy to make in a few minutes with just 4 ingredients.
What Is A Shaken Espresso?
A shaken espresso is a cold coffee drink made by combining hot espresso shots with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker.
The ingredients are shaken together to form an aerated, foamy and refreshingly cold espresso.
Shaking the espresso with ice changes the taste and texture of the coffee and it tastes very different to a regular iced coffee or cold brew coffee.
History Of The Starbucks Shaken Espresso
Starbucks introduced shaken espresso drinks to their menu in 2021, but variations of this type of espresso drink have been around for many years.
The Starbucks shaken espresso recipe was perhaps inspired by the Italian form of the drink, fondly known as a shakerato – made by shaking espresso, sugar syrup and ice in a cocktail shaker and enjoyed black.
Starbucks have several shaken espresso drinks on their menu including:
- The standard iced shaken espresso
- Iced toasted vanilla oatmilk shaken espresso
- Iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso
- The iced chocolate almondmilk shaken espresso.
The beauty of the shaken espresso drinks range is they are super easy to make at home, unlike some of their other drinks like the pumpkin cream cold brew.
What Is In a Starbucks Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso?
The Starbucks chocolate almond milk shaken espresso ingredients listed on the Starbucks website are:
- Ice
- Almondmilk
- Brewed Espresso
- Chocolate malt powder
Our copycat recipe replicates these ingredients, noting that Starbucks use their own trademarked almond milk and chocolate malt powder.
Iced Chocolate Almond Milk Shaken Espresso Ingredients
To make our copycat Starbucks chocolate almond milk shaken espresso at home you will need:
- Cubed ice – the larger the better to reduce the speed at which it melts.
- Almond milk – Starbucks almondmilk is sweetened, but unsweetened almond milk also tastes great. I like Califia Farms almond milk.
- Espresso – Starbucks use blonde espresso, a lighter medium roast coffee.
- Chocolate malt powder – essential for that sweet chocolatey flavor. is an easy to find option, Milois a great choice, but harder to find.
What Is Blonde Espresso?
Starbucks Blonde Espresso is a lighter roast compared to their Signature Espresso roast.
Starbucks describe the Veranda blonde roast as having notes of toasted malt and baking chocolate. It is made from 100% arabica coffee beans sourced from Latin America.
While Starbucks describe it as their lightest roast, it is comparable to medium roast coffee beans from other roasters. For more on different roast levels see our guide to coffee roasts.
Starbucks offer the blonde roast as whole beans, ground coffee, k-cup pods and Nespresso Vertuo pods. See the options here.
How To Make Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso At Home
Now you have your ingredients on hand, it’s time to make your iced chocolate almond milk shaken espresso.
Step 1 – Pull Your Espresso Shots
The first step is to pull a double espresso on your espresso machine.
This equate to around 2 ounces / 60ml of espresso.
If you have a manual or semi-automatic espresso machine, use your large / double brew basket in the portafilter to extract a double shot in a single go.
When using an automatic espresso machine be sure to select 2 x espresso or double espresso.
Tip: If you don’t have an espresso machine, the next best thing to use is a stove top moka pot.
The moka pot makes a strong, espresso like coffee at a fraction of the cost of an espresso maachine.
My favorite moka pot brand is Bialetti. You can see it here.
Step 2 – Add Your Ingredients To A Cocktail Shaker
Next you want to add the ice, chocolate malt powder and espresso to a cocktail shaker or a large mason jar with a lid.
You want to ensure your jar seals well as you are going to shake it quite vigorously!
Top Tip: Put the ice in first (unlike my picture below!). It helps stop the malt getting stuck on the bottom of your shaker.
Step 3 – Shake
Pop the lid on and shake shake shake for a minute or two until the ingredients are well combined and you have a nice frothy mixture.
Step 3 – Pour
Grab your glass and pour the shaken espresso mix into your glass, ice and all.
If some of the ice has melted while shaking, top up your glass with a little more fresh ice.
Step 3 – Add Almond Milk
Finally, pour your almond milk over the top of the iced chocolate shaken espresso. Add more to taste, serve and enjoy!
Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso Recipe FAQs
Yes, both the Starbucks and my homemade version of the iced chocolate almondmilk shaken espresso have caffeine. This is thanks to 2 shots of Starbucks blonde espresso.
You could make this shaken espresso recipe with decaf coffee for a caffeine-free version.
The difference between iced shaken espresso and cold brew is in the coffee brewing method. Shaken espresso is hot espresso shaken over ice. Cold brew is made by immersing ground coffee in cold water over many hours.
Yes there is natural sweetness in the chocolate almondmilk shaken espresso thanks to the sugar in the chocolate malt powder. The Starbucks iced chocolate shaken espresso also has sweetened almond milk for extra sweetness.
A cocktail shaker is the easiest and quickest way to make a shaken espresso – and it comes in handy for coffee cocktails too! Thankfully cocktail shakers aren’t expensive and they make great gifts too.
The difference between a shaken espresso and latte is how the drink is combined.
An iced latte combines ice, espresso and cold milk – the ingredients are not stirred or shaken together.
A shaken espresso combines the same ingredients, but they are shaken together to quickly cool the espresso, aerate the mix and generate a light and frothy mixture.
Whilst not vegan certified, the Starbucks chocolate shaken espresso uses vegan-friendly ingredients. When making a homemade shaken espresso, check the chocolate malt powder ingredients as many include milk powder.
More Starbucks Copycat Recipes
If you loved this DIY iced shaken espresso recipe, here are some more Starbucks copycat recipes to make at home.
Hop over to all our coffee drinks recipes or browse all our coffee recipes.
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Starbucks Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons chocolate malt powder
- 2 shots espresso
- ½ cup almond milk
- 2 cups ice cubes
Instructions
- Pour ice cubes, chocolate malt and espresso into a cocktail shaker or mason jar with lid.2 tablespoons chocolate malt powder, 2 cups ice cubes, 2 shots espresso
- Seal jar well and shake vigorously for at least a 1 minute until all ingredients are well combined and the chocolate malt powder has dissolved.
- Pour mixture into glass (including ice) and top with almond milk.1/2 cup almond milk
- Add more milk and ice to taste and serve immediately.
Notes
- I prefer unsweetened almond milk, but for a sweeter drink use sweetened almond milk, which is what Starbucks use in their shaken espresso recipe. You can also use regular dairy milk if preferred.
- If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, use any jar with a lid.
- Use Starbucks Blonde roast espresso coffee beans for the closest tasting drink to the real thing. Starbucks Blonde espresso is available as whole beans, ground coffee and as capsules. The best alternative to Starbucks Blonde espresso beans is a medium roast coffee.
- If you don’t have an espresso machine, a good alternative is a stove top coffee maker (moka pot).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
