A Starbucks barista shared a little-known fact about the Sweet Cream Cold Brew and iced coffee.
Megan Palluccio (@cozybarista) refers to herself in her bio as “a millennial with anxiety working at Starbucks and doing cool shit.” Many of the videos feature Palluccio in the Starbucks apron making drinks or discussing her time on the job.
In the most popular TikTok on her account, with over 6 million views, Palluccio reveals how the chain’s iconic sweet cream can be poured on top of cold brew but not iced coffee. “When you can pour the sweet cream on top of the cold brew but can’t put it on top of an iced coffee,” the text overlay on her video reads.
@cozybarista So dumb #starbucks #barista #starbucksdrinks #starbucksrecipes #coldbrew ♬ original sound – Megan Palluccio | coffee vibes
As for why iced coffee can’t be topped with sweet cream, viewers think they have the answers.
One viewer, implying they are a Starbucks worker, said it’s because baristas “have to measure the milk for an iced coffee,” while the “splash” of sweet cream doesn’t need to be measured.
Others argued the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew, specifically, gets “a splash on top for the cascade effect” and that all other cold brews and iced coffees get their additives “mixed” in.
The Daily Dot reached out to Starbucks.
Palluccio responded to a viewer question in a follow-up video, noting, “sweet cream has vanilla and heavy cream in it. Milk is just milk.”
According to the description on Starbucks’ menu, the Sweet Cream Cold Brew consists of a “slow-steeped custom blend of Starbucks Cold Brew coffee accented with vanilla and topped with a delicate float of house-made vanilla sweet cream that cascades throughout the cup.” The iced coffee with milk is made up of a “Starbucks Iced Coffee Blend with milk served chilled and sweetened over ice.” According to the menu, customers can swap out the milk in the iced coffee for vanilla sweet cream.
The difference between iced coffee and cold brew is that iced coffee is brewed and then cooled, while cold brew is made without heat. The coffee beans used for cold brew are often steeped for 18 hours in cold water, creating less acidic cold coffee.
The Daily Dot reached out to Palluccio via TikTok comment.
