Everything you need for pumpkin cream cold brew at home

by: Jordan C Woika, BestReviews Staff

Posted: Aug 30, 2023 / 03:28 PM EDT

Updated: Aug 30, 2023 / 03:28 PM EDT

If you’re among the legions of pumpkin spice fans, ordering your first pumpkin-flavored drink of the season can feel like a holiday. Pumpkin cream cold brew from Starbucks is a classic cold brew with a pumpkin-flavored cold foam that melts and filters into the drink as you sip. And, it turns out, it’s not that complicated to make at home.

In this article: Vitamix Quiet One Blender, Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder and Boao Cloth Coffee Strainers.

Making cold brew at home is much easier than you might think, and it requires very little in the way of equipment.

The only ingredients you need to make cold brew are water and coffee beans or pre-ground coffee. Make sure to get the best possible ingredients for the highest quality taste.

However, if you want to make an “authentic” Starbucks cold brew as used in the pumpkin cream cold brew recipe, you need to few more things. For example, you’ll need a few pumps of vanilla syrup with your cup of cold brew.

If you don’t want to make your own, you can use canned or bottled cold brew. Any will do, but you can go with Starbucks-brand cold brew for accuracy.

Making cold brew is a simple three-step process:

The equipment needed to make pumpkin cream cold foam depends on how you want to make it. There are two approaches.

For the Starbucks method, you only need a blender. Simply add all the ingredients in, and blend them together.

For the alternate method, you need:

Like cold brew, the pumpkin cream cold foam only requires a few ingredients. Starbucks uses a proprietary pumpkin syrup — the same one used for pumpkin spice lattes — plus vanilla syrup and milk.

Even though you can’t purchase Starbucks’ pumpkin spice syrup, you can buy syrups from other brands that taste close enough.

For the base, you can use milk, cream, half-and-half or a mix of the three depending on how thick you want the finished product to be. Starbucks uses special blenders to make the milk frothy and thick, so at least some cream or half-and-half is recommended if you don’t have this blender.

The pumpkin cream cold foam recipe involves two steps. Add your ingredients together and use your preferred mixing method. The ingredient ratios and time spent mixing are up to you.

Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder

This grinder can grind enough coffee beans to make up to 12 cups of coffee. Its cord has hidden storage, so it doesn’t tangle up your counter or cabinet.

County Line Kitchen Cold Brew Mason Jar

This cold brew mason jar comes in 32- or 64-ounce sizes with a pouring lid that can have a handle. It also comes with an insertable strainer to hold your coarse coffee grounds, letting you combine the steep and strain phases.

Boao Cloth Coffee Strainers

This four-pack of strainers has washable flannel cups that are perfect for straining your cold brew or making pour-overs.

Wibimen Round Ice Cube Trays

This set comes with two silicone ice cube trays that make 33 ice balls each and a container with a lid to keep them stored. It also comes in blue, green, pink or white.

Vitamix Quiet One Blender

This is the very Vitamix blender that Starbucks buys for its coffee shops. It’s quiet and programmable, and it can hold up to 48 ounces.

Ball Mason Jars

This set of Ball mason jars comes with four 32-ounce jars and matching lids. The lids have spaces for writing dates so you can accurately track how long the cold foam has been inside.

Zulay Kitchen Executive Series Milk Frother

This Zulay milk frother comes with a stand, a “froth cheat sheet,” a recipe book, a guide to coffee drinks and a lifetime warranty. It runs on two AA batteries.

Briout Bar Spoon

This bar spoon is 1-foot long, which is perfect for reaching down into large mason jars when mixing big batches. It doesn’t hurt that it’s useful for making all manner of other drinks too.

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Jordan Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.

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