A Frappuccino is a name given by Starbucks to a type of cold coffee flavoured drink. The flavouring comes from several pumps of something called “Frappuccino Roast” which is made from a powdered instant coffee and water. It’s blended with milk and ice and served cold.
If you have never ordered one, it is pronounced slightly different to how it looks. You should ask for a FRAPUHCHEENO.
You’ll only be able to order a Frappuccino in Starbucks because they have trademarked the name so that no other coffee shop or company can serve it with that name but anyone can use the same ingredients.
Do Frappuccino’s contain coffee?
There are “Coffee Frappuccino’s” and “Cream Frappuccino’s”. The cream frappuccinos have no coffee in them but the coffee Frappuccino’s do, kind of.
Its powdered instant coffee with water added and other undisclosed ingredients that makes up what Starbucks call “Frappuccino Roast”.
Depending on the type of Frappuccino you order, various syrups are added before being blended with milk and ice.
Then (depending on which one you order) toppings and drizzles are added to make up the final drink.
It’s more popular in the USA than it is in the UK and that is reflected in the 30 different types of Frappuccino that you can order in the United States!
Here in the UK there is still plenty of choice but is limited to about 6 different types of coffee Frappuccinos and 10 different types of cream Frappuccinos at any one time.
You can find the full range on Starbucks website but here are the ingredients for the 6 coffee Frappuccino’s that Starbucks offer in the UK for the ‘tall” size:
Caramel Frappuccino. Whole milk, two pumps of caramel syrup, two pumps of Frappuccino Roast, whipped cream and caramel drizzle.
Coffee Frappuccino. Whole milk, two pumps Frappuccino Roast.
Java Chip Frappuccino. Whole milk, two pumps mocha sauce, two pumps Frappuccino Roast, java chips, whipped cream and mocha drizzle.
Espresso Frappuccino. Whole milk, 1 shot of espresso, 2 pumps of Frappuccino Roast.
Mocha Frappuccino. Whole milk, 2 pumps of mocha sauce, 2 pumps of Frappuccino Roast, whipped cream.
White chocolate mocha Frappuccino. Whole milk, 1 pump of white chocolate mocha sauce, two pumps Frappuccino Roast, whipped cream.
All of the above have ice added before being blended and they can all be customised to exactly how you like it.
What’s the difference between a Frappuccino and a Frappe?
Unless you are in Greece then there isn’t any difference at all. Both a Frappe and a Frappuccino are essentially the same thing.
They are both a cold, blended beverage with the only difference being that a Frappuccino is a Starbucks trademark that can only be used by Starbucks.
Both are mainly coffee-based drinks and when you add milk and ice and syrups of your choice and blend them all together you end of with a Frappe (or Frappuccino if you go to Starbucks).
Frappe coffee was kind of invented in Greece back in the 1950s and is part of their culture there and you will find them readily available to order in all coffee shops and cafés.
The Greeks use a teaspoon of instant coffee, sugar to taste and a 40ml of cold water. Use a hand blender to whisk into a frothy, coffee mix.
Once its frothed up, add more cold water, some ice and milk if you like your coffee with milk.
In Greece, it is specifically a cold coffee drink with no added syrups, whipped cream or toppings.
Is a Frappuccino Cold or Hot?
A Frappuccino is always served cold a but the way to get a more authentic coffee flavour is to substitute the “Frappuccino Roast” and ask for an Espresso shot instead.
The espresso is hot but when combined with a lot of cold milk and ice and then blended it will end up cold anyway.
The Frappuccino Roast is very sweet already so you won’t need to add any sugar but if you substitute the Frappuccino roast for an espresso then you may want to sweeten it with sugar depending on the type of Frappuccino you go for.
The Espresso and Coffee Frappuccino’s don’t come with any added syrups.
Switching the pumps of Frappuccino roast for espresso with those versions for an extra shot of espresso may need some sugar syrup adding if you normally like a sweet coffee.
Can you make a Frappuccino at home?
You certainly can. You won’t be able to add Starbucks Frappuccino roast but do you really want to add instant coffee mixed with water to your blended cold coffee flavoured beverage anyway?
Check out the ingredients above that Starbucks use for their Frappuccino’s and simply replace the Frappuccino roast part of the drink with a double shot of espresso for a far tastier blended cold coffee drink.
Is a milkshake like a Frape or Frappuccino?
Yes, it is. All three are cold, thick, milk-based drinks so they all blend into each other to a certain extent.
The biggest difference is that the thickest creamiest milkshakes tend to be made with ice-cream whereas Frappe’s and Frappuccino’s are made mostly from milk.
Milkshakes mostly don’t contain coffee (but they can) whereas Frappuccino’s and Frappe’s do contain coffee a lot of the time (but not all of the time) but they do contain blended ice and milkshakes don’t.
It doesn’t really matter what you call them. If you need a nice cool, satisfying drink, with or without coffee then any Frappe, Frappuccino or Milkshake is going to be perfect on a hot Summers day or any day that you feel like changing it up from the norm.
What’s the difference between a Latte and a Frappuccino?
Although a Frappuccino may look like a Latte, they are actually completely different.
A latte is a hot milky coffee that contains espresso coffee with milk and a Frappuccino is a cold coffee flavoured drink that can have lots of different things added to it.
This article explains in detail how to make a latte at home.
