Are you looking for the strongest coffee Starbucks has to offer? If you’re looking for a caffeine boost in the morning, we have you covered.
The strongest coffee at Starbucks is the Clover brewed coffee with 280 mg of caffeine per 12 oz serving followed by the Veranda blond roast with 270 mg of caffeine per 12 oz serving.
So you don’t have to scour the menu for their strongest coffees, I’ve found and ranked them in this table.
| Coffee Type | Caffeine Per 12 oz Serving |
|---|---|
| Clover Brewed Coffee | 280 mg |
| Veranda Blonde Roast | 270 mg |
| Pike Place Roast | 235 mg |
| Nitro Cold Brew | 215mg |
| Nitro Cold Brew with Sweet Cream | 200 mg |
| Dark Roast Featured | 195 mg |
| Blonde Caffe Americano | 170 mg |
| Americano | 150 mg |
| Cascara Cold Foam with Cold Brew | 145 mg |
| Frappuccino | 70 mg |
What to Look for When Choosing a Starbucks Drink
Depending on several factors, you may now be looking for the strongest coffee at Starbucks.
It could be the flavor, the roast level, or the caffeine.
I’ll go by caffeine and use the Starbucks online menu as a guideline to determine how much each of those drinks costs for coffee lovers.
I compared the caffeine content of each drink at its 12 fl oz/354 ml capacity. So they’re all compared in this way, and the amount of caffeine they have for that specific serving size is also stated.
For reference, one shot of espresso from Starbucks contains 75 mg of caffeine per 0.75 oz of drink, according to their website.
Table of Contents
1. Clover Brewed Coffee
This one is fairly exclusive, and it may not be available in every Starbucks location. The thing is, Clover brewing systems make coffee like no other in the world, so you’re not only paying for Starbucks but also for premium brewing.
It doesn’t sound like espresso, but rather like an automated, fancy French press type of coffee. Brews for a set amount of time before being thoroughly filtered and poured into your cup.
As a result, Clover Brewed Coffee is the most potent Starbucks coffee. This coffee contains 280 mg of caffeine per 12 oz serving.
It has 3.7 times the caffeine content of a single shot of Starbucks espresso and includes 20 mg more caffeine than the next strongest Starbucks coffee on the market.
That’s more than enough when you’re on your way to work and want to get out of bed; thank you very much.
Now, even in stores that have such a machine, you won’t always be able to find this Clover coffee. This is because the coffee beans used in these machines are unique and produced in small batches.
As a result, it’s a first-come, first-served situation.
If you come across a Clover in your local Starbucks, make sure to get a cup because it’s the best and strongest so far.
2. Veranda Blonde Roast
The Starbucks Blonde Roast may appear strange at first (I was only familiar with blonde beers), but it’s their Veranda blend.
This coffee is intended to be sweeter, less bitter, and more flavorful than their other roast types. It has the highest caffeine content, right after the Clover, with 270 mg per 12 oz.
Blonde Roasts are a permanent fixture, so you’ll probably find this one more frequently than a Clover.
It’s adaptable and goes well with almost any flavoring, though it’s not espresso. Instead, it’s brewed coffee, contributing to its high caffeine content.
3. Pike Place Roast
Starbucks’ signature brew and medium roast.
It’s probably the most popular brewed coffee, and there’s a reason it’s third on this list of the most caffeinated drinks.
It contains 253 mg of caffeine in 12 fl oz of drink, ranking it among the best.
The flavor is stronger than the Blonde Roast, a little more bitter, but still a well-balanced and flavorful beverage. This one, too, is fully customizable. It comes in the form of a hot beverage.
4. Nitro Cold Brew
This is their excellent cold brew coffee. It has been steeped in cold water for hours in small batches, developing a sweet, flavorful aroma as a result.
What’s more, it’s Nitro-infused, so you’ll get a nice, foamy, velvety cold brew that’s just right for an early summer morning.
It looks more like a beer with foam and is slightly translucent.
It simply goes to show that coffee can take you by surprise and turn everything you thought you knew about coffee on its head at times.
Of course, flavored and modified versions of the Nitro Cold Brew exist, including the next one on this list.
5. Nitro Cold Brew with Sweet Cream
This is the nicer, sweeter sister of the Cold Brew, if you can imagine. It has sweet cream added, which raises the calories slightly, but the caffeine content remains very high.
Caffeine is 200 mg here, so that you can get a better deal than the regular Nitro for just 15 mg less.
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Cup of coffee
6. Dark Roast Featured
This is the third and darkest of the Starbucks roasts, and it has a stronger flavor profile due to its darker color.
It has a stringier flavor and is a little more bitter than darker roasts. But it’s still a very enjoyable drink with plenty of caffeine.
It has 195 mg of caffeine per 12 fl oz of coffee, which is a lot. However, it pales in comparison to the other monster-like coffees we’ve discussed previously.
However, keep in mind that the humble espresso, which serves as the foundation for most Starbucks drinks, contains 75 mg of caffeine, so keep that in mind at all times.
Because Featured Dark Roast is a hot drink, you’ll notice that the drink’s temperature has no bearing on the caffeine content.
7. Blonde Caffe Americano
This variant of the Americano is a stand-alone beverage. The Americano is a classic drink consisting of an espresso shot with hot water.
On the other hand, A Blonde Americano isn’t as common, but it’s becoming more popular thanks to Starbucks.
The Blonde Americano hot and iced versions contain 170 mg of caffeine per 12 fl oz of drink.
Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee, 155 mg caffeine per 12 fl oz. This is classic cold brew coffee the way it should be.
One of the most popular drinks, which goes to show how much people enjoy iced drinks. It’s also a highly caffeinated beverage, with 155 mg of caffeine per 12 fl oz of coffee.
It may not sound as impressive as the others, but believe me when I say cold brew coffee is something special.
And I guarantee it will get you through the day when summer hits you hard.
Its sibling, the Cold Brew with Cold Foam, will do just as well because it contains the same amount of caffeine.
8. Americano
This is the classic, what we’re all familiar with, and it’s unlikely to go out of style.
A Blonde roast contains 170 mg of caffeine, while the original darker roast contains 150 mg of caffeine per 12 fl oz.
Other drinks at this level, such as the Doubleshot Iced Beverage and Latte Macchiato, are less well-known than the classic Americano.
9. Cascara Cold Foam with Cold Brew
Another cold brew, but this time with Cascara syrup as a sweetener. Aside from the sweetness, it adds nice brown sugar and maple tones.
It appears that cold brew has made its way into the heart of Starbucks and has taken over all of the prime locations.
You’ve probably noticed that many of these drinks are cold brewed.
A longer steeping time allows the caffeine to be released completely. A hot cup of coffee, on the other hand, will quickly turn unappealing if you try to do so.
So, the fact that Starbucks brews their coffee in cold water for 20 hours (as stated on their website) means that the caffeine has plenty of time to infuse into the drink.
This also means that the majority of the drinks most popular during the summer will be cold brews. 12 fl oz iced coffee, 120 mg caffeine
This is yet another classic and one of Starbucks’ signature drinks. It’s amusing to note that if you order this iced coffee sweet, it contains 120 mg of caffeine per 12 fl oz of coffee.
If you get it unsweetened, you’ll get less filler (syrup) and 140 mg of caffeine. It may or may not be relevant. However, it’s comforting to know that you have that option.
10. Coffee Frappuccino No. 12 70 mg caffeine per 12 fl oz of blended coffee
Finally, we’ve arrived at the frappuccino, one of Starbucks’ most iconic drinks but one of the least caffeinated.
Assuming that the other, more flavored variants may have a higher caffeine level, I chose it because it was the simplest I could find.
Considering how much milk, cream, and whipped cream are included in the drink is reasonable. After all, a frappuccino only requires one shot of espresso, so it can’t be any less.
Still, having both the frappuccino and the espresso as comparisons for the other drinks Starbucks has to offer is a good thing.
Finally Thoughts.
It is now up to you to decide which drink to order when you walk into a Starbucks.
However, these were the strongest drinks on the menu, and I included the frappuccino in case anyone wanted the classic as well.
You can always request a double shot of espresso if you believe your drink requires it.