15 Strongest Starbucks Drinks: Top Caffeinated Coffees

Last updated on September 11th, 2023 by Garret Jacob

If you are a caffeine addict like so many of us coffee lovers are, then sometimes you may just want to know which Starbucks drink packs the biggest punch when it comes to caffeine content.

I’m talking about the kind of punch that has you flying through your work day, taking calls, setting meetings, reviewing reports, kicking ass, and taking names!

Many of the drinks at Starbucks are exactly what you are looking for if you require that next-level caffeine kick. From a Venti True North Blonde Roast Filter Coffee to an Iced Shaken Espresso, there are an incredible number of options available to get you “buzzed”.

So, for your convenience, we have created this go-to list of the top 15 strongest drinks at Starbucks. You can refer to this list any time you are having the kind of day that needs an extra boost. All information is taken directly from the Starbucks menu.

Here is a quick summary for you to refer to: Strongest Starbucks Drinks by Caffeine

Rank	Beverage	Size	Hot or Cold	Caffeine content
1	True North Blonde Roast Filter Coffee	Venti 24 fl oz	Hot	475mg
2	Starbucks Clover Brewed Coffee	Venti 24 fl oz	Hot	470mg
3	Pike Place Filter Coffee	Venti 24 fl oz	Hot	410mg
4	Cold Brew Coffee	Trenta 30 fl oz	Cold	360mg
5	Blonde Caffè Americano	Venti 24 fl oz	Hot	340mg
6	Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso	Venti 24 fl oz	Cold	340mg
7	Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew	Trenta 30 fl oz	Cold	315mg
8	Iced Caffè Americano	Venti 24 fl oz	Cold	300mg
9	Iced Shaken Espresso	Venti 24 fl oz	Cold	300mg
10	Nitro Cold Brew	Grande 16 fl oz	Cold	280mg
11	Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew	Grande 16 fl oz	Cold	265mg
12	Iced Caffè Mocha	Venti 24 fl oz	Cold	265mg
13	Iced Coffee	Venti 24 fl oz	Cold	235mg
14	Blonde Caffè Latte Caffè Americano Iced Caramel Macchiato Triple Shot Espresso	Grande 16 fl oz	Both	225mg
15	Espresso Frappuccino Blended	Venti 24 fl oz	Cold	185mg

Keep in mind, you can always add shots of espresso to any drink to intensify the caffeine content, but for the sake of this article, we have just ranked the strongest drinks based on how they come served with no alterations. 

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Our List of 15 Strongest Starbucks Drinks

1. True North Blonde Roast Filter Coffee

The Truth North Blonde Roasts packs a punch as the drink with the highest concentration of caffeine. The coffee beans are sourced from Latin America and then lightly roasted for a brief time to keep more of the caffeine content and preserve the natural cocoa and nut flavors. True North blend is a derivative of the Veranda blend and is native only to Canada.

A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 475mg of caffeine. 

2. Starbucks Clover Brewed Coffee

The Starbucks Clover Brewed Coffee is another highly caffeinated drink made with an alternative brewing machine called the Clover brewing machine. The Clover brewing machine uses vacuum pressure to pull the water through the coffee grounds helping to extract the flavor better. The coffee then passes through a filter and ends in a carafe. A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 470mg of caffeine. 

3. Pike Place Filter Coffee

The Pike Place Filter Coffee is named for the location of the first Starbucks store that opened in Seattle’s Pike Place Market before Starbucks became the global coffee giant it is today. This medium roast coffee is smooth and well-rounded, mixing several different types of Latin American coffee beans to get a rich chocolate and toasted nut flavor. 

A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 410mg of caffeine. 

4. Cold Brew Coffee

Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee is world-famous for its freshness as it is made in small batches each day and steeped in cool water for 20 hours at a time. The coffee beans that are selected for the cold brew blend are grown specifically for a smoother flavor that does not become overwhelming when steeping for so long.

The Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee comes with no thrills or special flavors. Just extra smooth refreshing coffee with approximately 360mg of caffeine in the Trenta 30 fl oz size. 

5. Blonde Caffè Americano

For a stronger Americano, go ahead and order a Starbucks Blonde Caffè Americano. The espresso shots made from the Starbucks Blonde Roast are extra-smooth with a hint of sweetness to take down a bit of acidity of the espresso. Mixed with hot water and a light layer of crema, the Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 340mg of caffeine. 

6. Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso

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If you are in need of a solid caffeine boost that also comes with some delicious brown sugar and cinnamon goodness, then you need to try the Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso. This iced drink is the perfect drink on a hot summer day with shots of Starbucks Blonde Roast espresso shaken with brown sugar and cinnamon and then topped off with ice and oat milk.

A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 340mg of caffeine. 

7. Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew

The Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is one of the most popular types of cold brew that Starbucks has on its menu. The reason for its popularity is the house-made vanilla sweet cream that perfectly balances with the slow-steeped custom blend of Starbucks Cold Brew coffee. The coffee itself has a natural vanilla flavor that is brought out even more with the vanilla sweet cream.

Enjoy a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew on a summer day with approximately 315mg of caffeine in a Trenta 30 fl oz size. 

8. Iced Caffè Americano

The Iced Caffè Americano comes with delicious shots of espresso and a light layer of crema poured over ice. The flavor is rich and profound but not overpowering. The Iced Caffee Americano comes with less caffeine than the Blonde Roast Americano, however, it still contains approximately 300mg of caffeine in the Venti 24 fl oz size.

9. Iced Shaken Espresso 

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Another favorite summer drink of Starbucks regulars is the Iced Shaken Espresso. The Iced Shaken Espresso comes with rich full-bodied shots of espresso mellowed with a little sweetness and milk to create the perfect iced drink with a solid caffeine boost to get you through the day. A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 300mg of caffeine. 

10. Nitro Cold Brew

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If you are a fan of the Starbucks Cold Brew, then you will love the Nitro Cold Brew as well. The Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew takes the 20-hour slow-steeped cold brew coffee that is brewed fresh each day and infuses it with nitrogen to create a sweet flavor without adding too much sugar. The nitrogen also creates a velvet texture that makes the drink go down smoothly every time. A Grande 16 fl oz comes with approximately 280mg of caffeine. 

11. Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew

If you are looking for the amazing Nitro Cold Brew taste but you prefer something a little extra sweet, then the Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew is the way to go. All of the same incredible flavor, velvety goodness, and bold taste as the original Nitro Cold Brew but with Starbucks’ famous vanilla sweet cream. The vanilla sweet cream mixed with the cold and bold coffee flavor of the Nitro Cold Brew is a treat for a hot summer day.

A Grande 16 fl oz comes with approximately 265mg of caffeine.

12. Iced Caffè Mocha

The Iced Caffe Mocha is a wonderful drink for chocolate lovers. The bittersweet mocha sauce is mixed perfectly with Starbucks’ full-bodied and rich espresso shots and then sweetened with whipped cream to provide some overall balance to the drink.

The drink does come with a higher calorie count and with more fat content, so be sure to ask for some lighter alternatives to the whipped cream if you are on a diet. A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 265mg of caffeine. 

13. Iced Coffee

If you are looking for a low-calorie refreshing drink with a solid caffeine content, then you can’t go wrong with the Starbucks traditional iced coffee. Starbucks Iced coffee comes sweetened with its classic syrup, so if you are watching your sugar intake as well, you may want to hold the syrup pumps and opt for an alternative sweetener.

Starbucks Iced Coffee comes with approximately 235mg of caffeine for a Venti 24 fl oz size. 

14. Blonde Caffè Latte/ Caffè Americano/ Iced Caramel Macchiato/ Triple Shot Espresso

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All of these drinks are distinctly different except when it comes to caffeine content. The Grande 16 fl oz size Blonde Caffè Latte,  Caffè Americano, Iced Caramel Macchiato, and a triple shot of espresso all come with approximately 225mg of caffeine. 

15. Espresso Frappuccino Blended

The last drink to complete our list of the 15 strongest drinks you can order at Starbucks is the Espresso Frappuccino Blended. If you are a fan of the Starbucks Frappuccino, then you will love it combined with a shot of full-bodied espresso, milk, and ice blended together in ice-smoothie form. The Espresso Frappuccino Blended comes sweetened with classic Starbucks Frappuccino Syrup.  A Venti 24 fl oz comes with approximately 185mg of caffeine. 

How to order strong coffee at Starbucks

Pay attention to roast

If you are wondering how to order strong coffee at Starbucks, look at the list above and you may notice that the three strongest drinks you can order include special coffee blends. These blends are grown and roasted differently than your standard coffee blends to keep more of the original flavor and caffeine content intact during the roasting process.

Typically, when you roast coffee beans for a longer period of time, like dark roasts for example, more of the caffeine content is burnt off in the process. The light roast specialty blends at Starbucks that can pack the most punch when it comes to caffeine include the True North Blonde Roast Filter Coffee and the Pike Place Filter Coffee.

Another type of coffee that maintains a high level of caffeine is the Starbucks Clover Brewed Coffee which combines a lighter roast with a vacuum-pressure brewing process to extract more of the caffeine and flavors from the coffee grounds. 

Diversify your espresso shots

Aside from ordering the specialty blends of coffee at Starbucks that come with the highest caffeine content, you can also ask for additional shots of espresso in any drink or order a long shot versus a regular shot when ordering any type of drink that uses espresso as the base.

So, what is a long shot of espresso from Starbucks?

A long shot of espresso is a bit different from a Ristretto or normal shot of espresso because it uses more water content and more time to pull the water through the coffee grounds. The higher water content can make the taste of the espresso more diluted, but at the same time, the longer the extraction, the more caffeinated the shot will be. 

Meaning, if you are looking to order an espresso-based drink like the Iced Caffè Mocha, you should ask for long shots of espresso when ordering. Otherwise, simply ask for an additional double shot of espresso if you are looking for the easiest way to boost the caffeine content. 

If you want to add a twist to it, you can also try Espresso con panna which is coffee with whipped cream.

What are the effects of caffeine?

The important thing to remember when it comes to caffeine is that it provides no nutritional value on its own. It is tasteless, odorless, and comes with a number of side effects, some of which are good and some not so good.

Additionally, consuming caffeine in excess can have more intense negative side effects, such as caffeine withdrawal, that you may want to avoid to prevent discomfort or irritation. 

According to some health experts, it is recommended that the average person avoids consuming more than 400mg of caffeine per day, however, as tolerances can form from daily consumption, that 400mg threshold can easily be breached. 

Here are some of the most common effects of caffeine and caffeine withdrawal, both positive and negative. 

Positive effects of caffeine

• Increased alertness
• Temporary drowsiness and fatigue relief
• Increased metabolism 
• Lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia
• Decreased suicide risk
• Decreased risk of oral and throat cancers

Negative effects of caffeine

• Increased heart rate
• Overstimulated induced confusion
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Heartburn
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Muscle aches
• Fertility and pregnancy issues
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased urination
• The jitters or shakes

Also, keep in mind that it is possible to overdose on caffeine although it is extremely rare. Overdosing on caffeine can cause confusion, hallucinations, vomiting, and even convulsions. It is the convulsions that can lead to death, but again, this is extremely rare.

For a list of Starbucks drinks that go easy on the caffeine, check out our full list.

Haven’t seen your favorite drink yet? You might find it in our best Starbucks Tiktok drinks.

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