Starbucks Iced Caramel Protein Americano

The Starbucks Iced Caramel Protein Americano costs £6.65 for a Tall and carries 102 calories in a Grande with 16.5g of protein, which is the best protein to calorie ratio anywhere on the Starbucks UK menu. Espresso, water and sugar free caramel syrup go over ice under a protein cold foam.

With no milk in the body of the drink, the espresso stays sharp and clean and the foam does all the work of softening it. The contrast is more obvious here than in the latte version: the top third is thick and sweet, and everything below it is a cold americano. Ice suits an americano well anyway, because chilling flattens the bitterness that black coffee carries when hot.

The numbers are the reason to order it. 16.5g of protein for 102 calories works out at roughly six calories per gram, where the protein latte sits nearer nine. Sugar is 3g in a Grande, less than a plain latte carries from milk alone. Caffeine climbs with the cup, at 89.1mg in a Tall, 133.6mg in a Grande and 178.2mg in a Venti, because each size adds a shot rather than more liquid.

Foam behaviour is the one thing to watch. Without milk underneath to hold it up, the layer sits on a much thinner liquid and works its way down faster than it does on the latte version. Spooned on gently it holds for a good fifteen minutes; poured from a jug it sinks almost immediately. Stores build it with a spoon for that reason, and a drink that arrives already mixed has been made in a hurry.

It is the drink for anyone counting calories and protein at once, and it holds better on a desk than any other protein option because everything in it is already cold. The Iced Caramel Protein Latte trades the calorie count for a richer drink with 24.2g of protein, and Cold Brew Coffee is where to go for the same lightness with far more caffeine and no protein at all.