Starbucks Caffe Misto (Taste, Ingredients, Caffeine, Calories, Copycat Recipe & More information)
If you are a lover of coffee with milk and would love to try something new and exciting next time you visit Starbucks, I recommend you order yourself a good cup of Caffe Misto or just make your cup at home.
I am always eager to try out different tastes and brews when it comes to coffee. I am always curious when I encounter new drinks and will go all the way to learn about the drink from the origins, type of bean used, how the drink has been brewed, the nutritional values, different ways to have the drink, and how the drink tastes. With all this information, I can be sure that I will be friends with the barista and I will get the best coffee just from a friendly chat about the coffee I ordered, and the knowledge of the art.
So there is this day that I was enjoying my latte and the person sited across the table was having a cup of what looked like a latte. From the knowledge of latte I have, I could tell that his cup was different from the color and consistency. My curiosity led me to ask what it was and that’s when I came to hear of Caffe Misto. The coffee looked so interesting and I just had to learn about it. In this article, I will share everything there is to know about Caffe Misto so that next time you order one, you will know what exactly you are having. So, let’s get to it.
Table of Contents
Brief History of the drink
It is said that the first time coffee was tried with milk was in the 16th century somewhere in china. In a café setting, the credit goes to a polish shop owner who was based in Vienna. He had started serving the drink and many loved it. This however has not been documented as any kind of coffee but just coffee with milk. So we ask where did Caffe Misto originate?
This type of coffee originated in France and went by the name café au lait. It was introduced to America by Starbucks under the name Caffe Misto even though Starbucks tweaked the recipe a bit. The composition and ratios are still the same as in café au lait. By now you are wondering what Caffe Misto is and we shall get to it below.
Starbucks Caffe Misto overview
Now that we know the background of Caffe Misto, it’s only fair that we also know what makes this drink amazing.
What’s in a Starbucks Caffe Misto – (ingredients)
This is a very simple drink that consists of equal parts of drip coffee to steamed milk. The ratio of milk to coffee is 1:1. Note that the drink is made using drip coffee and not espresso. In France, it is made of just hot milk but Starbucks uses steamed and frothed milk.
The type of milk doesn’t matter, you can go with 2% milk, non-fat, almond milk, or any other preference. You can add some ingredients like nutmeg and syrups to tweak the taste too.
Starbucks Caffe Misto: Sizes, nutrition, Caffeine & Calories
What sizes are available
Starbucks offers Caffe Misto in four sizes that are Short size (8 fl oz.), Tall size (12 fl oz.), Grande (16 fl oz.), or Venti (20 fl oz.). this is a medium-calorie drink so the size can be as big as they come. You can reduce the calories by choosing a smaller size and also doing away with the syrups. For beginners, I recommend you start with short, experiment with customization until you find your comfort zone, and then advance from there. I like the Grande size.
Nutritional facts
We can say that this drink is within the daily recommended percentages of nutritional values. The amount of calories in the drink is low when the percentage is calculated based on the 2000 calorie-a-day diet. If you take the coffee without additional sugars, you don’t have to worry about your carbs and calorie intake.
Most of the carbs in this drink are from the milk used. Using the normal 2% milk will give you just 10g of carbs which translates to about 4% of the daily recommended intake. This makes Caffe Misto one of the healthiest drinks served at Starbucks. you will also find that a Grande size cup will deliver only 10g of sugar.
Other nutritional values are also considered good on the scale. Most fats will come from the milk used and as we know we can reduce or increase that by changing the type of milk we use to prepare the Caffe Misto. You will get about 2g of fat which is about 10% of the recommended daily intake from the 2% milk on Grande sized cup. You will get some cholesterol, sodium, and protein too. Below is a tabulation showing you the exact values you get from a Caffe Misto Grande size.
| Calories 110 | Calories from fat 35 |
| Nutrient content | % daily value |
| Total fat 4 g | 5% |
| Saturated fat 2 g | 10% |
| Cholesterol 15 mg | 5% |
| Sodium 100 mg | 4% |
| Total carbohydrates | 4% |
| Sugars 10 g | 20% |
| Protein 7 g | 28% |
| Caffeine 150 mg | 37.5% |
The percentage values are based on a 2000 calories daily diet.
Caffeine information
Like most regular coffees, the amount of caffeine in Caffe Misto is average compared to the allowed daily intake which is 400 mg. you will get about 150 mg of caffeine from a Grande size Starbucks Caffe Misto which is very okay with nutritionists. You can also make lower caffeine Caffe Misto at home using different types of coffee that have lower caffeine levels.
So what does Starbucks Caffe Misto taste like?
Starbucks Caffe Misto has a very distinguished taste and aroma. Without any customization, it will have full coffee flavoring as the coffee is brewed with double the amount of coffee a normal drip brew would use. This will also be affected greatly by how the beans were roasted, whether medium roast or dark roast. The milk used to make Caffe Misto brings about a watery taste to the coffee and this can also be changed around by customizing a drink or simply adding some sugar to your cup.
Ways to Customize a Caffe Misto at Starbucks
Coffee lovers often come up with ways to spice things up for them to enjoy their favorite cup of coffee. Some of these ideas fail but others trend so much that they get added to the Starbucks menu. Caffe Misto has not been left out, it has been used as a base for the secret menu drinks and holiday menus. Apart from that other ways can be had on a regular. So how can I customize a Caffe Misto?
Depending on how you like your coffee you can start by adding syrups to sweeten the cup. The most common syrups for this drink are hazelnut, chocolate, and caramel. The number of pumps of these syrups determines the levels of sugars. After the syrups, you can also add toppings like whipped cream with sprinkles of pumpkin spice, nutmeg, or any other preferred kind of sprinkle.
How to make Starbucks Caffe Misto at home - Starbucks Caffe Misto Copycat Recipe
Equipment
- Home Drip coffee maker or French press
- Milk frother
Ingredients
- Ground coffee beans
- MilkSugar – optional
- Heavy cream – optional
- Sweet syrups- optional
Instructions
- Start by preparing your black coffee. You will use 1.5 teaspoons of coffee per cup of water and if you love your coffee strong, be free to use 2 teaspoons of coffee per cup of water.
- Take your milk of choice and heat it to the desired temperature. Be careful though not to bring the milk to a boil as it won’t be good for frothing.
- When the milk is ready, run it through the frother to make a silky microbubble froth.
- In a cup pour equal amounts of coffee and milk and you will have your traditional Caffe Misto.
- For taste, you can add sugar or sweet syrups.
- The heavy cream can be whipped to form a topping for your homemade Caffe Misto.
Notes
- Starbucks uses a k-cup pond type of coffee to make Caffe Misto.
- If you own a Keurig machine, brewing this coffee is easier and will take you closer to the Starbucks taste especially when you use the k-cup ponds with the machine. Set your Keurig machine to 6 ounces of water and use one k-cup pond, then use the frother in your machine to steam the milk into your cup then add the regular coffee in the 1:1 ratio.
- At home, the French press seems to work best as it gives more concentrated coffee. The press can also be used to make whipped cream. You just have to add heavy cream and move the handle up and down very fast about 40 to 50 times and you will have a very good topping.
- If you don’t own a milk frother, try adding your warm milk to a tightly closed microwave container and shake vigorously. You will have aerated your milk as a frother would. You can also try beating the warm milk in a blender to form microbubbles.
- If you don’t froth the milk and just use the warm milk, the end product will be Caffe au lait and no Caffe Misto.
- You can reduce sugar levels by using less syrup of using sugarless syrup like vanilla syrup.
- To make a holiday drink, use the pumpkin spice syrup, and the cream foam topping with a sprinkle of pumpkin spice.
Informative section
What’s the difference between a Caffe Misto and a Cappuccino?
The difference between a Caffe Misto and a Cappuccino is the type of coffee used to make each of them. Cappuccino is based on espresso type of coffee while Caffe Misto is based on drip brewed coffee.
Is Starbucks Caffe Misto good?
Yes, Starbucks Caffe Misto is really good. It brings out the best taste of your normal homebrew. The best thing is that the drink can be customized to your liking. The bold coffee taste remains no matter how you customize your cup,
Is Starbucks Caffe Misto healthy?
Yes, Starbucks Caffe Misto is a healthy drink. Many people find it healthier when taken plain without additives while others like having sugar in it. When you choose sugar or sweet syrup, you can always regulate how much sugars are in your drink. As for the caffeine, it is within limits and also can be lowered by using different types of coffee.
