Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte: Flavor and Build Guide

The syrup is a sweet, cinnamon-forward sauce made mostly of sugar and water, with natural flavor, citric acid and a preservative. It tastes like cinnamon sugar with a warm, brown-sugar edge, which is where the name dolce, Italian for sweet, comes from. It is different from the cinnamon shaker at the condiment bar, which is dry spice with no sugar.

The latte is built from three layers of flavor. The syrup goes in first and carries the sweetness. The espresso adds roast and a little bitterness. The steamed milk rounds it all into a smooth, mild drink, and the whipped cream and topping finish it off.

There is no mapped price card for this drink here, because the delivery-app menu does not list it. Price depends on the size and the store.

At a glance:

• Served: hot or iced
• Flavor: sweet cinnamon with a brown-sugar feel
• Milk: 2% unless you pick another
• Topping: whipped cream and cinnamon sugar sprinkles
• Main allergen: milk

For a wider look at flavors you can swap in, the syrup flavors and sugar-free options page lists what each pump adds.

Cinnamon Dolce Sprinkles and Whipped Cream Topping

The topping is sweetened whipped cream under a dusting of sprinkles. Published ingredient lists show the sprinkles as sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter extractives, which come from milk, so the topping adds dairy. The whipped cream is made from cream and vanilla syrup.

If you skip the whipped cream, you still get the sprinkles unless you ask to leave them off too. Ask for "no whip" and the drink loses a big share of its fat and about 70 calories. Ask to leave off the sprinkles as well if you want to remove the last bit of added sugar. Both are simple changes in the app or at the counter.

Ingredient lists show no nuts, but check with the store if you have a serious allergy, since shared tools can cause cross-contact.

One more detail on the whipped cream: it is not plain cream. It is sweetened with vanilla syrup, so even a drink with no syrup in the cup still gets a little vanilla sweetness from the top. That is why a no-whip order tastes noticeably less sweet than the full build.

The drink is made from syrup, espresso shots, steamed milk, whipped cream and the topping, in that order. The number of shots and pumps rises with the size, and the iced version uses cold milk and ice in place of steam.

The build for the hot drink is:

1. Pumps of syrup go into the cup.
2. Espresso shots are added and mixed with the syrup.
3. Steamed 2% milk is poured in.
4. Whipped cream goes on top.
5. The cinnamon topping finishes the drink.

These are the standard counts reported in ordering guides, and stores can vary a little. A hot venti has the same two shots as a grande but more syrup and more milk, so it is sweeter and milder. If you want a stronger coffee taste in the bigger size, ask for an extra shot.

A grande made with 2% milk and whipped cream has about 340 calories, according to published nutrition guides. Sugar is about 40 g, fat is about 13 to 14 g, protein is about 12 g, and caffeine is about 150 mg.

Grande calories by build, from published trackers.

Caffeine follows the shots, at about 75 mg each, so a tall has about 75 mg and a grande about 150 mg. The iced venti has three shots, so it reaches about 225 mg. Numbers vary a little between sources, and the app shows the one Starbucks uses today. Nutrition for tall and venti sizes scales up or down with the pumps and milk, so use the app for those.

The no-whip row shows how much the topping matters. Skipping the cream saves about 70 calories and several grams of fat but barely changes the sugar, because most of the sugar is in the syrup and the milk.

One pump of the syrup adds about 20 to 25 calories and 5 to 6 g of sugar, depending on the source. Cinnamon dolce syrup Starbucks calories therefore add up to about 80 to 100 in a grande with four pumps. For a broader view, see the calorie guide for all drinks.

Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte Starbucks Orders: Sugar-Free Syrup and Nonfat Milk

A skinny order uses the sugar-free version of the syrup, nonfat milk and no whipped cream. Skinny is a nickname for that combination rather than a formal menu item, so say each change out loud or add it in the app.

The sugar-free syrup has close to zero calories per pump, roughly 0 to 5, so the syrup stops being the main source of sugar. Nonfat milk removes most of the fat, and skipping the whip removes about 70 calories. Together, the changes bring a grande down toward 200 calories, though your totals depend on the store and the milk.

Not every store keeps the sugar-free syrup in stock, so check before you build your order around it. The sweetness will taste slightly different from the regular syrup, as most sugar-free syrups do.

The iced version uses cold milk, ice, espresso, syrup and the same whipped cream and topping. It is a little lighter than the hot drink, since ice takes the place of some milk, and it tastes crisper and less cozy.

Iced sizes follow a slightly different pattern. A grande still has two shots and four pumps, but the iced venti is 24 fl oz with three shots and six pumps, which makes it stronger and sweeter than the hot venti. A published grande iced build lands near 300 calories and 35 g of sugar with whipped cream.

Pick hot for a slow, warm sip and iced for a faster, colder one. The hot drink holds the cinnamon aroma better, since the steam carries it up to your nose, while the iced one tastes more like sweet cold coffee. The ice melts, so the flavor thins as you go. If you want the sweetness to last, ask for light ice. For other cold options, see the other iced lattes.