10 Starbucks’ Sweetest Drinks Ranked in 2023 

I’ve been a fan of Starbucks for quite a while now and find myself ordering their sweet drinks a lot. So, I’ve been compiling a list of the sweetest options on their menu at the moment.

So without further ado, let’s find out about them.

Top Sweet Drinks at Starbucks

These are the sweetest items on the menu at Starbucks throughout the year.

• Best overall: Java chip Frappuccino
• Best hot drink: Caramel macchiato 
• Best sweet and most caffeinated drink: Veranda blend vanilla latte
• Best sweet low calories drink: Iced brown sugar oat shaken espresso  
• Best sweet cold/iced drink: Caffe vanilla Frappuccino 
• Best for winter: Caramel apple spice
• Best semi-sweet Starbucks drink: Blonde smoked butterscotch latte
• Best sweet tea: Chai latte
• Best sweet Frappuccino: White chocolate mocha Frappuccino 
• Best sweet Starbucks drink with no caffeine: White hot chocolate 

Starbucks’ Sweet Drinks

Let’s take a closer look at each of those drinks so that you can decide whether to try them or not. These aren’t in a particular order of preference, I like all of them! 

By the way, each of the tables represent the nutritional information for one portion of the average-sized drink, e.g. grande. 

#1 Best Overall – Java Chip Frappuccino

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The first drink that pops into most people’s minds when they think about sweet drinks at Starbucks is the frappuccino. It’s one of the most popular types of coffee drink in the world and for good reason. 

And perhaps the pick of the bunch for overall sweetness on the current menu is the Java Chip Frappuccino.

This thing is mega sweet, and a big part of the reason for that is that it’s absolutely loaded with sugar. You’ll get that in most of the ingredients.

The drink combines mocha sauce and the famous Frappuccino chips with coffee and milk. All of this is blended with ice and then topped with mocha sauce and whipped cream for the ultimate, sugary coffee drink. And it is delicious!

#2 Best Hot Drink – Caramel Macchiato 

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We’re going over to the hot drink side of things here with the caramel macchiato. This delicious treat is packed full of caramel and vanilla tastes for the perfect pick me up on a cold winter’s day. 

There’s nowhere near as much sugar in this drink as there is in the Frappuccino but it’s nearly as sweet. That’s partially because it’s a smaller drink overall so the ratio of drink size to sugar is actually similar.

Notice that there’s a lot less fat here too, and that’s because there’s less milk and syrup in the drink. 

You’ll get steamed milk (and not as much as in a latte) with vanilla syrup and coffee. And on top, you’ll get a serving of delicious caramel sauce.

It’s worth opting for this drink with the veranda blend if you want the ultimate sweetness as it’s the lightest tasting. So, it won’t impact the sweetness as much as it will with the darker roasts.

#3 Best Sweet and Most Caffeinated Drink – Veranda Blend Vanilla Latte 

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If you want a little extra milk then a latte is the one to go for, and the sweetest latte on the menu in my experience is the vanilla latte. 

I’ve picked the veranda blend here as it’s the lightest tasting roast of the three available at Starbucks. As such, the coffee itself will have the least neutralizing effect on the sweetness of the drink.

And unlike the caramel macchiato, the Veranda blend is what you’ll get if you don’t specify which coffee type you want. Starbucks knows that the vanilla taste and the lighter roast is the perfect combination. 

As you can see, this drink has a little more caffeine than some of the other hot drinks I’ve selected, so it’ll give you more energy. That’s why I’ve picked it as my best Starbucks sweet drink for energy overall. 

This drink has more sugar because of the milk but slightly less fat overall. That’s because there’s less syrup.

#4 Best Sweet Low Calories Drink – Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso

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Back over to ice drinks now and one of the newer items on the Starbucks menu is the iced brown sugar oat shaken espresso. 

This delicious drink combines brown sugar syrup and espresso (the Veranda roast) and then tops it with oat milk and ice.

Because of the use of oat milk the nutritional information isn’t as unhealthy but it’s still just as sweet as many of the other items on the menu.

The iced brown sugar oat shaken espresso also has a whole lot of caffeine so be prepared for an energy buzz!

This menu item is only available in the summer and I can’t wait for that time of year, as this is easily one of my favorite drinks on the Starbucks menu. 

#5 Best Sweet Cold/Iced Drink – Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino

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Vanilla is definitely one of the sweetest ingredients at Starbucks so you can only imagine how sweet the Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino is going to be when you consider the other ingredients that go into a Frappuccino.

Here, Starbucks offers a blend of Frappuccino roast coffee and vanilla bean powder. They combine this with milk and ice and then top it all off with whipped cream. Delicious. 

This drink has the most sugar of any of my picks from today so make sure not to drink it too often! That being said, the fat content is a little lower than the java chip offering. 

One factor here is that there isn’t quite so much caffeine so don’t expect to receive too much energy from much but the sugar. But it’s still a fantastic drink for the summer due to the fact that it’s so cold and refreshing. 

#6 Best for Winter – Caramel Apple Spice

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Here’s something a little different. The caramel apple spice drink is a delicious combination of steamed apple juice, cinnamon syrup, whipped cream and caramel sauce drizzle. 

Of course, there’s no coffee in here but it hits the spot in the same way a lot of the time even without the caffeine content. I’ve always found this drink to be great for the evenings. 

But, be warned. With 70 g of sugar, this is one of the sugariest drinks available in any cafe, let alone just Starbucks. Even with lower fat content, it’s not exactly healthy. 

I love to drink this on a winter night. Because it has no caffeine, it’s not going to keep me awake. Plus, the taste is perfect for those cold evenings. 

#7 Best Semi-Sweet Starbucks Drink – Blonde Smoked Butterscotch Latte

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Butterscotch is another one of the tastiest things you can order at Starbucks and perhaps my favorite drink that contains it is the blonde smoked butterscotch latte. It’s a fantastic drink for the festive season as well. 

The ingredients here are simply the Veranda roast coffee, hot milk and smoked butterscotch syrup. It’s simple, it tastes amazing and it’s a great pick me up. But it’s not actually too sweet like vanilla etc. So, if your sweet tooth isn’t that intense, it could be a great option for you.

This drink is a little healthier than some of the others I’ve picked today as well with 35 g. That’s half as much as some of the others.

#8 Best Sweet Tea – Chai Tea Latte 

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A lot of people don’t realize that chai lattes are going to be sweet. But actually, they really are. 

Chai tea is a warm and aromatic yet sweet tea drink and when it’s loaded up with milk Starbucks style, it tastes awesome. 

Even though this is a ‘latte’ it’s actually more of a tea as it doesn’t have coffee. But, there is still reasonable caffeine content in there. This is why I’ve picked it as my best sweet tea from Starbucks.

This drink is very low fat although the sugar content is still pretty high. 

#9 Best Sweet Frappuccino – White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino 

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My third and final Frappuccino pick is another one of the sweetest out there. The white chocolate really helps give that extra injection of sweet taste.

The drink is simply made out of white chocolate Frappuccino roast coffee, milk and ice but wow, it is sweet!

That’s probably because of the high sugar content that is part and parcel for all the Frappuccino drinks. 

Like most Frappuccinos, the caffeine content isn’t very high again here so most of the energy you get from it is going to come from the sugar. 

#10 Best Sweet Starbucks Drink with No Caffeine – White Hot Chocolate

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On the subject of white chocolate, my final pick is the white hot chocolate. The white chocolate here really brings out the extra sweetness compared to an (already pretty sweet) regular hot chocolate. 

This is one of the only drinks in my top picks that isn’t coffee. But, it’s so good that I had to include it. 

If you do want to turn this drink into a coffee then you can do that by adding an espresso shot. But at that point, you might as well be ordering a mocha…

The main nutrition factor to note here is that the fat content and calories are pretty high for a drink. And because it’s hot chocolate and not coffee, it doesn’t have any caffeine. You might still get some energy from the sugar content though.

Sweet Starbucks Drinks FAQ

Want to know more about Starbucks’ sweetest drinks? I hope you find that information below.

Last Thoughts on the Sweetest Starbucks Drinks 

Starbucks is one of the best places to be for sweet drinks and my 10 sweet Starbucks drinks have proved that. It’s up to you to decide which ones you want to try now based on those picks. 

If you want to know more about the coffee industry, check out this guide to coffee statistics.