Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte: Flavor, Caffeine & More

Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte is a popular seasonal holiday beverage. Here's a look at what's in a Caramel Brulée from Starbucks, what it tastes like, caffeine, calories and more.

Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte with green straw.

Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte

Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte is an espresso beverage that combines coffee, caramel brulée sauce and milk. It’s topped with whipped cream and a crunchy caramel brulée topping.

This handcrafted Starbucks beverage comes as a hot latte or as an iced latte. Caramel brulée flavor is also available as a frappuccino blended beverage—with coffee or without.

Here’s how Starbucks describes a hot Caramel Brulée Latte:

Our signature espresso, steamed milk and rich caramel brulée sauce [is] finished with whipped cream and a supreme topping of even more caramel brulée bits.
starbucks.com

Starbucks Caramel Brulée latte is a seasonal holiday drink that’s a longtime favorite. In fact, this returning holiday handcrafted latte has been on the winter menu since 2009. That’s how good it is!

So what does a caramel brulée latte taste like?

A Starbucks Caramel Brulée latte has a sweet and smoky taste compared to Starbucks regular caramel syrup and sauce, which is sweet and buttery. Combined with steamed milk and espresso, this latte is delicious.

A topping of sweetened whipped cream and sweet bits of caramel brulée perfectly balance the carmelized sugar flavor. This cozy winter drink even has a festive shimmer.

What’s in a Caramel Brulée Latte from Starbucks

Caramel Brulée Sauce + Brewed Espresso + Steamed 2% Milk (or Ice & Milk) + Whipped Cream + Caramel Brulée Topping

Caramel brulee topping on an Iced Caramel Brulee Latte. — Starbucks Caramel Brulee lattes and frappuccinos are sprinkled with shimmering caramel brulee topping.

Caramel brulée lattes at Starbucks are flavored with caramel brulée sauce. The sauce is thicker than most other Starbucks syrups and contains dairy. This means, you cannot get a dairy-free Caramel Brulée Latte at Starbucks.

On the other hand, since this is an espresso-based beverage, it is possible to get a decaf Caramel Brulée Latte at Starbucks.

Additionally, if you prefer the more mellow flavor of light roast coffee, Starbucks has got you covered. Simply order either a Blonde Caramel Brulée Latte or the iced blonde variation.

What’s in a Caramel Brulée Latte: The drink portion contains caramel brulée sauce, brewed espresso and steamed milk. Iced lattes get cold milk and ice in place of steamed milk.

Caramel Brulée Toppings: This holiday latte is topped with a signature swirl of Starbucks sweetened vanilla whipped cream and sweet caramel brulée bits.

Bottle of Starbucks Caramel Brulee sauce. — Caramel Brulee Sauce is used to make lattes and frappuccinos at Starbucks.

Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte: Sizes, Caffeine & Calories

Starbucks Caramel Brulée latte is a caffeinated beverage since it has espresso in it. Specifically, a short or tall size has 75 mg of caffeine and a grande or venti Caramel Brulée latte, with twice the espresso, contains150 mg.

Caramel Brulée Latte Sizes	Calories	Caffeine
Short (Hot)	220	75 mg
Tall (Hot)	310	75 mg
Tall (Cold)	300	75 mg
Grande (Hot)	410	150 mg
Grande (Cold)	400	150 mg
Venti (Hot)	500	150 mg
Venti (Cold)	520	225 mg

Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte Sizes, Caffeine and Calories from starbucks.com

Grande Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte. — A Caramel Brulee Latte at Starbucks has espresso in it and is a caffeinated beverage.

Wondering why short and tall Caramel Brulées have the same amount of caffeine or why an iced venti drink has more caffeine than a hot venti? Be sure and check out this related article for Starbucks cup sizes.

Ways to Customize a Caramel Brulée Latte at Starbucks

There are many ways to customize your caramel brulee order at Starbucks.

Reduce the Calories: If you want to cut some of the calories out of a Caramel Brulée Latte, you can order it without any toppings. Additionally, you can substitute in a lower-calorie, alternative milk.

Decrease the Dairy: While you cannot get a completely dairy-free Caramel Brulée at Starbucks since the sauce contains skim milk powder, you can substitute the standard recipe’s 2% milk with a plant-based variety. They have almond, oat, soy and coconut. Additionally, forgo the whipped cream. Just keep in mind, this substitution costs around .70 cents.

Customize the Toppings: If you love to customize your drinks, or take it to a whole other level like TikTok Starbucks drinks, then the caramel brulée flavor opens up a lot of possibilities.

Personally, I think the Caramel Brulée Latte is perfect as it comes. But for even more sweetness or decadence you could combine it with Toasted White Mocha Sauce or get extra caramel or dark caramel sauce on top.

Boost the Caffeine: Need a little more of a caffeine boost to get your day going? At Starbucks it’s easy to add an espresso shot to your drink. This add-on costs about a .90 cents.

Questions You May Have

What’s the difference between a caramel latte and caramel brulée?

A caramel latte at Starbucks is a regular Caffè Latte with caramel syrup added in. It’s available year-round. On the other hand, a Caramel Brulée Latte is made with caramel brulee sauce and is only available seasonally. Caramel syrup and caramel brulee sauce are not the same thing. Additionally, a caramel latte can be made dairy-free, whereas caramel brulee sauce contains milk products.

What’s in a Caramel Brulée Latte from Starbucks?

A Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte combines caramel brulée sauce, espresso and milk. It’s topped with whipped cream and caramel brulee topping. All caramel brulée lattes and frappuccinos contain dairy that’s in the sauce, milk and whipped cream.

Is a Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte seasonal?

Caramel Brulée lattes and frappuccinos are seasonal Starbucks drinks. You can order a caramel brulée handcrafted beverage from the Starbucks holiday menu which launches during November every year for the winter season.

Does caramel brulée sauce have dairy?

The label on a bottle of Starbucks caramel brulée sauce lists skim milk powder as an ingredient so it does contain dairy.