I feel like we just celebrated Christmas, but Valentine’s Day is already around the corner. How did that happen? Luckily, I’m a huge fan of the day of love. My favorite colors are red and pink and I love sweets and gifts and telling the people we care about how much we love them, so really, the whole thing is my jam.
That’s why I am loving all of the special edition Valentine’s Day coffee drinks that have come out and I’ve also been mixing up a few of my own! I’m going to round up all of them here for you as the ultimate guide to Valentine’s Day coffee drinks!
Valentine’s Day Coffee Drinks at Home:
Let’s start with a few recipes I’ve been mixing up at home to usher in the season of love. Feel free to tweak these to use what you have at home! I’ve seen some homemade strawberry puree recipes that look to die for, so you can even make these more from scratch than this.
1. Iced Strawberry White Mocha:
Yup, strawberry syrup, white chocolate sauce, and coffee, come together to make a a white chocolate covered strawberry of a coffee. Yum. This is my favorite new coffee recipe. You can easily make this hot by skipping the ice and steaming the milk. Here’s what you’ll need to put it together:
- Espresso Shots: I used two of my favorite Starbucks blonde roast espresso pods. Each makes one espresso shot. This set from Amazon is the best deal I’ve found. A double shot is what I put in a medium or grande size, so that’s two pods per drink. I use my Nespresso Vertuoline machine to make espresso and it makes it so easy.
- White Chocolate Sauce: I used Kyya, but they are made in small batches and can be hard to get, so feel free to use a white chocolate sauce like this. I’ve used this one many times and it’s a fave.
- Monin Strawberry Rose Syrup: I recently ordered this from Monin and it’s very good. Note: you can taste the floral rose in this, so if that’s not for you, just grab a plain strawberry syrup this one.
- Milk of Choice: Use any milk you like. The only ones that’ll change the flavor slightly are coconut and almond.
- Ice: Yaaaaasss. Ice, ice, baby. I do not brew the coffee over ice, because it melts it and waters it down too much. I brew my espresso into an espresso cup, so that it cools a bit before adding it to the sauces to melt them. By the time you are adding the ice, it’s cooled enough where it won’t melt the ice as quickly.
- Toppings: I used whip cream and sprinkles! So easy!
To put it together, head to this post where I’ll give you all the amounts and even a video on how to do it.
2. Iced Stawberry Mocha:
Another delicious Valentine’s Day drink is the strawberry mocha! Made iced or hot, it combines all the goodness of the holiday in one glass: strawberry, chocolate, whipped cream and fun sprinkles!
My go to method for deliciously smooth coffees is adding syrups and sauces to my espresso glass before brewing the shots, especially the sauces, because the heat of the espresso starts to melt the flavors together. Then, it becomes one flavorful coffee mixture that you can add to ice and milk without it separating. Here’s the ingredients you’ll need to make this drink!
- Espresso Shots: I used two of my favorite Starbucks blonde roast espresso pods. Each makes one espresso shot. This set from Amazon is the best deal I’ve found. A double shot is what I put in a medium or grande size, so that’s two pods per drink. I use my Nespresso Vertuoline machine to make espresso and it makes it so easy.
- Chocolate Sauce: I used Kyya, but they are made in small batches and can be hard to get, so feel free to use a chocolate sauce like this.
- Monin Strawberry Rose Syrup: I recently ordered this from Monin and it’s very good. Note: you can taste the floral rose in this, so if that’s not for you, just grab a plain strawberry syrup this one.
- Milk of Choice: Use any milk you like.
- Ice: Yaaaaasss. Ice, ice, baby. I do not brew the coffee over ice, because it melts it and waters it down too much. I brew my espresso into an espresso cup, so that it cools a bit before adding it to the sauces to melt them. By the time you are adding the ice, it’s cooled enough where it won’t melt the ice as quickly.
- Toppings: I used whip cream and sprinkles! So easy!
3. Strawberry Cold Foam Cold Brew:
Last year, Starbucks had a special drink that used strawberry cold foam on top of a cold brew and it was delicious! I am a big fan of this combo and I wanted to recreate it at home. It’s easier than you might think!
- Espresso Shots: I used two of my favorite Starbucks blonde roast espresso pods. Each makes one espresso shot. This set from Amazon is the best deal I’ve found. A double shot is what I put in a medium or grande size, so that’s two pods per drink. I use my Nespresso Vertuoline machine to make espresso and it makes it so easy.
- Monin Strawberry Rose Syrup: I recently ordered this from Monin and it’s very good. Note: you can taste the floral rose in this, so if that’s not for you, just grab a plain strawberry syrup this one.
- Vanilla Syrup: You can buy one or make one. If you make one at home, here’s my easy recipe. Making vanilla syrup is really easy and just takes three ingredients.
- Milk of Choice: Use any milk you like!
- Ice: Yaaaaasss. Ice, ice, baby. I do not brew the coffee over ice, because it melts it and waters it down too much. I brew my espresso into an espresso cup, so that it cools a bit before adding it to the sauces to melt them. By the time you are adding the ice, it’s cooled enough where it won’t melt the ice as quickly.
- Toppings: Whipped cream, sprinkles, drizzle, go for it!
For the exact amounts and to see a video of me making it, head to this post here.
4. Iced Hazelnut Latte with Chocolate Hazelnut Cold Foam:
For some of us, Valentine’s Day is all about the chocolate. This drink is going to be a winner for you. And, ironically, it’s very similar to the one that Starbucks just released for this Valentine’s Day! I actually laughed out loud when I saw their new release! I’ll recreate their exact one soon, but this one is also delicious.
- Espresso Shots: I used a double espresso Nespresso pod. You can use any espresso or even make shots with instant espresso. You can swap this out for cold brew, too. I use my Nespresso Vertuoline machine to make espresso and it makes it so easy. You can sub this out for really strongly brewed coffee. If you use cold brew coffee, cut back on the amount of added milk or it’ll be watered down.
- Hazelnut Syrup: I used the last of my Monin hazelnut syrup. So good, people. I’ve recently been trying out all sorts of new syrups and got some sample packs of Monin syrups. Many of them are delicious and will become regulars in my rotation.
- Chocolate Hazelnut Sauce: This is delicious. I love this particular sauce. You could use this sauce in the drink as well, if you only wanted to buy one of them, but make sure to use the espresso shots to melt the sauce so it doesn’t stay at the bottom of the glass.
- Oatmilk: I use oatmilk in this one. I like the slightly nutty flavor and how it works with the coffee. I’m also working on reducing dairy, so this makes it easy. I use this as the milk in the heavy whipping cream as well. You can swap this out for whatever milk or milk substitute you prefer.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: You’ll need 4 tbsp of this for the cold foam.
- Ice: Yaaaaasss. Ice, ice, baby. I do not brew the coffee over ice, because it melts it and waters it down too much. I brew my espresso into an espresso cup, so that it cools a bit before adding it to the sauces to melt them. By the time you are adding the ice, it’s cooled enough where it won’t melt the ice as quickly.
- Toppings like chocolate hazelnut drizzle are delicious on this.
To get the step by step and amounts, plus a video, head to this post here.
Starbucks Valentine’s Day Drinks in the US:
1. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Creme Frappuccino:
Ooooh, this was a treat! It looked so pretty in the cup, too! It tastes like a chocolate chip frappuccino with strawberry puree. Very much nailed the flavor profile you’d expect with that title. They use their java chip frappuccino base with their strawberry puree to create this masterpiece.
2. Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew:
So similar to the recipe I made before this came out, this one has hazelnut syrup and is topped with chocolate cream cold foam and a chocolate cookie crumble topping. It’s absolutely delicious. I loved it!
Starbucks is releasing other Valentine’s Day drinks in other territories. To find what’s available near you, check out this post.
Dutch Bros Valentine’s Day Drinks:
There are also three new drinks you can grab at Dutch Bros as part of the LUV campaign! I’ll be trying all of these ones today, so I’ll update with new photos once I get them. These all look delicious, too!
UPDATE: I’ve tried them all and they’re so good! They all have a berry/sugar cookie flavor. Sweet and delicious. The frost is the best and tastes like a strawberry sugar cookie. Amazing.
1. Dutch LUV Latte:
This is the top of my list to try today. I’m so excited. It uses their white coffee base, which is also in their secret menu drink the Cookes & Creme Breve (delicious) combined with frosted sugar cookie flavor and topped with pink cold foam!
2. Dutch LUV Rebel:
Love their Rebel energy drinks? This one is for you! Made with berry syrups and topped with the pink soft top as well. This one is sure to be delicious and I can’t wait to get one.
3. Dutch LUV Frost:
This coffee and caffeine free option is great for kids and is a sugar cookie milkshake topped with pink soft top! Talk about a sweet, creamy sugar bomb!
And, good news, you can treat yourself and give back, since $1 from every LUV drink will be donated to a local food organization to help fight against hunger. I love that!
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I hope you find a Valentine’s Day coffee drink that you love (see what I did there)? Take me on social to let me know what you choose!
Get roasted,
A
