If you swoon for the brown sugar and oat milk shaken espresso from Starbucks, you will love this copycat version you can make at home. This version is so easy you can shake it up in a matter of minutes when you need a caffeine fix in the morning or a sweet pick-me-up in the afternoon.
Baristas will use a brown sugar syrup to make this in the coffee shops, but there’s no need to take the time to make and then cool a homemade simple syrup. Instead, all you have to do is dissolve some brown sugar in warm, brewed espresso and the sweet flavor becomes infused into the beverage.
A shaken espresso drink is made a lot like your favorite cocktail. The ingredients are combined in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and then shaken vigorously until foamy and chilled. The delicious mixture of espresso, brown sugar, and cinnamon is then poured over ice and topped with chilled oat milk. The drink will be layered once you add the oat milk for a beautiful presentation. Simply give it a stir with your straw to combine just before sipping.
These drinks can be made one at a time or you can double or triple the batch to have some on hand for later. The result is smooth and creamy with a touch of warm sweetness.
Ingredients
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1 ounce shot brewed espresso
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1 tablespoon firmly-packed brown sugar
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1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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2 cups ice
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1 cup oat milk
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
Kristina Vanni
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In a small cocktail shaker or mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the shot of brewed espresso with the brown sugar and cinnamon.
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Stir to dissolve the brown sugar in the warm espresso.
Kristina Vanni
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Fill the cocktail shaker with 1/2 cup of the ice. Secure the lid and shake.
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Fill a tall serving glass with the remaining ice.
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Pour the shaken espresso mixture over the ice.
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Fill to the top with cold oat milk. Serve immediately.
Kristina Vanni
Coffee vs Espresso
This recipe calls for a shot of espresso. Many people wonder what the difference is between espresso and coffee, and if they can be used interchangeably in mixed drinks such as this.
Espresso has a bold flavor with a thicker consistency than coffee. It is made from finely-ground beans that have been brewed under high pressure with a high grounds-to-water ratio. This makes a shot of espresso the perfect base for making iced or blended coffee drinks. The other ingredients balance out the strong flavor of the espresso rather than water it down. Coffee is a thinner, less concentrated drink that tends to have a milder flavor and the ground used to brew are coarser.
If you don’t have an espresso machine at home and still want to make a brown sugar and oat milk shaken espresso there are a couple of options:
• use 1/2 cup of very strongly-brewed coffee from your home coffee maker
• make instant espresso using espresso powder before proceeding with the recipe