Starbucks Syrups: Every Flavor and Sugar Free Option Explained
The bar holds a few year-round flavors such as vanilla, caramel and hazelnut, plus seasonal ones that come and go. Baristas add them by the pump, so you can ask for fewer to cut the sweetness. Use the table below to compare flavors, then check the pump counts by size.

Starbucks syrups are the clear, pumped sweeteners and flavors that turn a plain coffee, tea or Refresher into a vanilla latte, a caramel iced coffee or a sugar-free sweet tea. Baristas add them by the pump, which means you control the sweetness more than you might think.
This guide lists the flavors of syrup at Starbucks, separates syrups from thicker sauces, and answers the practical questions: how many pumps go in each size, how many calories one pump adds, and what you can swap. Want the wider picture? See every drink and food category on the main menu page.
An independent note: menuinusa.com is not affiliated with Starbucks. Flavor lineups change by season and by store, so treat this as a map and confirm in the app.
Starbucks Syrup Flavors at a Glance
Most stores keep a core group of syrups on the bar all year, then rotate seasonal flavors in and out. Sauces sit on the same bar but behave differently, so they get their own section below.
Think of the bar in three tiers. Classic and vanilla do the heavy lifting. A middle group of caramel, hazelnut, brown sugar and cinnamon dolce adds identity to a drink. Then come the limited flavors, which are the ones people hunt for each season.
The table gives the flavor note, how reliably you will find it and where it shines. Seasonal means it comes and goes, so "available" depends on the month and the store.
Starbucks Syrup Flavors at a Glance
| Syrup | Flavor note | Availability | Works best in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | Plain liquid cane sugar, no flavor | Year-round | Iced tea, iced coffee, Refreshers |
| Vanilla | Smooth, sweet, familiar | Year-round | Lattes, cold brew, Frappuccino |
| Sugar-free vanilla | Vanilla with a zero-sugar sweetener | Year-round at most stores | Iced coffee, hot coffee, lattes |
| Caramel | Buttery, toasted sugar | Year-round | Macchiatos, iced coffee |
| Hazelnut | Roasted nut | Year-round | Lattes, mochas |
| Brown sugar | Deep, molasses-leaning | Year-round | Shaken espresso, oat milk drinks |
| Cinnamon dolce | Cinnamon and sugar | Year-round | Lattes, cappuccino, chai |
| Toffee nut | Nutty brown sugar | Seasonal or rotating | Lattes, cold foam |
| Peppermint | Cool mint | Holiday | Mochas, hot chocolate |
| Raspberry | Bright berry | Returned to the menu | Tea, lemonade, cold foam |
That list is a snapshot of the Starbucks coffee syrup lineup, not a promise. Toffee nut, for example, has moved between year-round and seasonal status over time, so a store may or may not have it today. Honey blend, chestnut praline, sugar cookie and apple brown sugar also appear at times.
Vanilla Syrup From Starbucks and the Other Year-Round Flavors
Vanilla is the default flavor of the whole bar. It sits in more drinks than any other syrup, and it is the one most people mean when they ask for "a flavor."
Three groups make up the everyday lineup. First come the classic trio of vanilla, caramel and hazelnut. Next are the warm, sugar-forward pair of brown sugar and cinnamon dolce. Then comes raspberry, which has had a bumpy history.
Vanilla, Caramel and Hazelnut Syrup
Vanilla, caramel and hazelnut are the three most requested flavors, and each one tastes the way you expect. Vanilla is round and mellow. Caramel leans toasty and buttery. Hazelnut is dry and nutty with a roasted finish.
All three are thin, clear syrups, which is the key difference from a sauce. They mix instantly into hot or cold drinks, so they work in an iced latte as well as a steamed one.
Vanilla fits almost anything: lattes, cold brew, cold foam and Frappuccino. Caramel syrup suits macchiatos and iced coffee, where it adds sweetness without the heavy drizzle of caramel sauce. Hazelnut pairs well with mocha and with darker espresso roasts.
If you are new to ordering, start with vanilla at half the default pumps. You can always ask for more on the next visit.
Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Dolce Syrup
Brown sugar syrup tastes like molasses and toasted sugar, and it is the flavor behind the Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. Oat milk and cinnamon sit well with it. Try the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso to taste it with espresso and little else.
Cinnamon dolce is the spiced one. It tastes like cinnamon sugar on toast and carries the Cinnamon Dolce Latte. It runs a touch higher in calories per pump than vanilla, according to common nutrition tables, so keep that in mind if you count them.
Both flavors also work in chai and in cold foam. Ask for a pump of either in a plain latte if you want something less sweet than a seasonal drink.
Starbucks Syrup Raspberry: Is It Still Available
Yes, raspberry is back. Starbucks announced in early February 2026 that raspberry syrup returned permanently after a limited run the summer before, and the company framed it as a year-round option for customizing drinks.
It appears in the Iced Double Berry Matcha, which layers strawberry puree, matcha and raspberry cream cold foam. Beyond that, raspberry works as a flavor add-on to iced tea, lemonade and cold foam.
Taste-wise, it is a sweet, slightly tart berry flavor rather than a candy one. It looks pink in cold foam and tints a clear drink only lightly, so the color stays soft. Because stores order differently, a particular location may run out. If yours has none, ask a barista what berry options are on hand, or check the app before you go.
Starbucks Classic Syrup: What It Is and Which Drinks Use It
Classic syrup is a clear, flavorless liquid sweetener made from cane sugar. It adds sweetness and nothing else, which is why the bar uses it in drinks where you want the sugar but not a flavor.
Think of it as sugar that is already dissolved. Granulated sugar will not melt in cold liquid, so Starbucks uses the syrup in iced drinks so the sweetness spreads evenly.
You will find it in iced tea, iced tea lemonade, many Refreshers, iced coffee and the base of most Frappuccinos. If you order an iced black tea with no changes, it arrives lightly sweetened with classic syrup unless you ask for none.
That default surprises people. Anyone watching sugar should say "unsweetened" or ask for fewer pumps. The same goes for Refreshers and lemonades, which carry sweetness from juice bases as well as from syrup. Many baristas will happily make it with zero.
Classic syrup is also the closest thing Starbucks has to the simple syrup you might make at home, though the recipe and concentration are Starbucks's own. Drinks that use it look light in color, because there is nothing in the syrup to tint them.
Three quick facts help here. It is sweet and plain, so it will not change a drink's flavor. It counts as a pump like any other syrup when you ask for more or fewer. And its calories per pump appear in the calorie section further down, right beside the flavored options.
Because classic does the quiet work in so many cold drinks, it is also the easiest syrup to adjust. A grande iced tea with no classic syrup tastes like brewed tea. The same tea with the default pumps tastes like the sweet tea most people expect. Somewhere between those two is a count that suits you, and it is usually one or two pumps, not four.
Seasonal Starbucks Coffee Flavor Syrups: Peppermint, Sugar Cookie, Chestnut Praline and More
Seasonal syrups appear for a few weeks or months, then leave. The signature flavors are peppermint, sugar cookie, chestnut praline, apple brown sugar and toffee nut, though what you can order depends on the season and your store.
Winter brings the bulk of them. Peppermint is the base of the Peppermint Mocha, and sugar cookie and chestnut praline show up in lattes during the festive stretch. Browse the holiday menu to see what is on in winter.
Fall has its own pair. Apple brown sugar appears in autumn drinks, and pumpkin spice flavoring is a sauce rather than a syrup. The fall menu lists the autumn lineup.
When a flavor is "on the menu" depends on dates Starbucks sets, not on what a store stocked last year. A barista may still have a bottle left after the season ends, so it is worth asking even in the off-season. The answer is sometimes yes.
Seasonal flavors also change how a drink is built. A limited syrup often replaces vanilla in a recipe rather than adding to it, so the pump count stays the same while the flavor shifts. That is why a seasonal latte and a regular latte can sit at similar calories per pump. When a favorite flavor leaves, the recipe usually leaves with it, which is why returning drinks make news.
Two habits help. First, check the app, which shows what a store can make today. Second, ask for the syrup by name. If it is gone, ask for a similar flavor: brown sugar and cinnamon dolce stand in well for most warm spices.
Starbucks Sugar Free Syrups: Which Flavors Have Zero Sugar
Sugar-free vanilla is the one sugar-free syrup you can expect to find at most stores. Some locations also carry a sugar-free cinnamon dolce, but that is not guaranteed, so ask before you plan a drink around it.
Sugar-free syrups use a zero-calorie sweetener in place of sugar, which gives them very few calories and no sugar per pump. They taste slightly different from regular syrup. The sweetness arrives fast and fades quickly, and some people notice an aftertaste.
The table compares regular and sugar-free vanilla per pump, using figures from common nutrition tables.
Starbucks Sugar Free Syrups: Which Flavors Have Zero Sugar
| Per pump | Vanilla | Sugar-free vanilla |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | About 20 | 0 to 1 |
| Sugar | About 5 g | 0 g |
| Texture | Thin, clear | Thin, clear |
For the full nutrition angle, see the notes on starbucks sugar free vanilla syrup nutrition in the next section, and check the in-app label for your exact order. If you want a longer list of low-sugar picks, the guide to sugar-free Starbucks drinks covers whole drinks as well as syrups.
Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup Starbucks Uses: Taste and Ingredients
Sugar-free vanilla syrup is sweetened with sucralose according to commonly cited ingredient lists, and some tables show a trace of calories from a bulking agent. Read the label in the app or ask for the ingredient card if you have a sensitivity.
It tastes like a lighter vanilla. It works best in iced coffee, hot coffee and lattes, where milk softens the finish. It is weaker in tea and lemonade.
Availability can vary, and stores sometimes run low. Ask which version they have, then order accordingly.
Starbucks Caramel Sauce and Other Sauces vs Syrups
Sauces are thicker, richer and often higher in sugar than syrups, and they usually contain dairy. The main ones are mocha, white chocolate mocha, caramel and dark caramel, with pumpkin spice appearing in the fall.
A syrup is a thin, clear liquid that pumps out smoothly. Sauces come from a different pump or a squeeze bottle and are heavier, so a pump of sauce delivers more sweetness and body in the same spoonful. A sauce is a heavy, opaque liquid more like chocolate or caramel topping. Because of that, Starbucks flavoring comes in two layers: syrups for flavor, sauces for body and richness.
The drizzle on top of a macchiato or Frappuccino is caramel sauce. The mocha in a Caffe Mocha is mocha sauce.
Starbucks Caramel Sauce and Other Sauces vs Syrups
| Syrup | Sauce | |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | Thin, clear | Thick, opaque |
| Examples | Vanilla, hazelnut, classic | Mocha, white mocha, caramel |
| Calories per pump | About 20 for most | 25 to 60, depending on the sauce |
| Dairy | Generally none | Many contain milk |
| Where used | Lattes, iced drinks, tea | Mochas, macchiatos, Frappuccinos |
White chocolate mocha sauce sits at the top of the calorie range at roughly 60 calories per pump in common tables, while mocha sauce is around 25. If you swap sauces for syrups, a drink gets lighter fast.
Starbucks Honey Blend Syrup and Other Liquid Sweeteners
Honey blend syrup is a liquid sweetener made with honey, and Starbucks uses it in some tea drinks and as a swap for classic syrup. It tastes sweeter and rounder than plain sugar syrup.
Starbucks offers a few liquid and packet sweeteners next to flavored syrups. Classic syrup is the standard cane sugar liquid covered above. Honey blend adds honey flavor with a smooth, floral note. Liquid cane sugar plays a similar role to classic in iced drinks. The condiment bar also holds sweetener packets, including raw sugar and sugar substitutes.
The practical difference is how quickly each dissolves. Liquids blend into cold drinks right away. Packets work in hot drinks but sink in cold ones.
It is also the sweetener people reach for when they want tea sweetened without the plain sugar taste. Because it contains honey, it is a different product from classic syrup for anyone who avoids honey.
Ask for honey blend in hot tea or a cold tea latte. Not every store stocks it, so confirm before you build an order around it.
How Many Pumps of Syrup Go in Each Starbucks Drink Size
Starbucks syrups follow a standard pump count by cup size, and the count rises as the cup gets bigger. A grande gets four pumps in both hot and iced versions; a venti hot gets five, while an iced venti gets six.
The numbers below are the commonly cited defaults for flavored drinks such as lattes. Match them to the cup sizes and what they hold if you want to see how the volume compares.
How Many Pumps of Syrup Go in Each Starbucks Drink Size
| Size | Hot | Iced |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 2 | Not offered |
| Tall | 3 | 3 |
| Grande | 4 | 4 |
| Venti | 5 | 6 |
| Trenta | Not offered | 7 |
The logic is simple. Starbucks builds flavored drinks so the sweetness stays steady as the drink grows. A short is small and gets two pumps. Each step up adds one, until an iced venti and trenta, which hold more ice and liquid, add extra.
Treat these as a starting point. Several drinks run on their own rules. An Americano, a tea, a Refresher or a cold brew can use fewer or more pumps than the table shows, and some seasonal drinks use their own recipe.
You can change the count freely. Ask for "two pumps" in a grande to cut sweetness by half, or ask for "one extra" if you like it sweet. Changing the number of pumps of a flavor already in your drink usually costs nothing extra, though store policies differ.
Calories and Sugar Per Pump of Starbucks Syrup
Starbucks syrups run about 20 calories and 5 grams of sugar per pump for the standard flavors, so the total depends mostly on how many pumps you get. A grande with four pumps adds about 80 calories from syrup alone.
Here are the per-pump figures from common nutrition tables. They differ slightly from source to source, so use them as estimates and confirm in the app. The line for calories in classic syrup starbucks sits in the first row.
Calories and Sugar Per Pump of Starbucks Syrup
| Syrup or sauce | Calories per pump | Sugar per pump |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | About 20 | About 5 g |
| Vanilla | About 20 | About 5 g |
| Caramel | About 20 | About 5 g |
| Hazelnut | About 20 | About 5 g |
| Cinnamon dolce | About 25 | About 6 g |
| Sugar-free vanilla | 0 to 1 | 0 g |
| Mocha sauce | About 25 | About 5 g |
| White chocolate mocha sauce | About 60 | About 15 g |
Why does this matter? Syrup is the part of a drink you can change with one sentence. Milk, espresso and whipped cream are harder to adjust, but pumps are a dial. Dropping a grande latte from four pumps to two removes about 40 calories and 10 grams of sugar, and most people stop noticing the difference within a week or two.
To scale it, multiply the pump count by the calorie number. Four pumps of vanilla is roughly 80 calories and 20 grams of sugar. Halving the pumps halves both.
Brown sugar, honey blend and seasonal flavors vary by source, so check the app for those. The calorie and nutrition guide covers whole-drink numbers.
Calories in Starbucks Vanilla Syrup
A pump of vanilla syrup carries about 20 calories and 5 grams of sugar. A default grande uses four pumps, so the syrup contributes around 80 calories before milk or espresso.
Classic syrup lands at the same place per pump. Switching to sugar-free vanilla takes the syrup contribution close to zero, which is the easiest way to cut a vanilla latte without changing the flavor much.
Dairy Free Syrups at Starbucks: Vegan and Allergen Notes
Most clear syrups are made without milk, while many sauces contain dairy. That makes syrups the safer starting point if you avoid dairy, and sauces the part of the bar to double check.
Do not read "no dairy ingredient" as "vegan." Vegan status can depend on how sugar is processed, and Starbucks does not make a vegan claim for its syrups that this guide can verify. If that matters to you, check the official ingredient and allergen information.
Where does that leave you in practice? If you want a dairy-free flavored latte, ask for a clear syrup such as vanilla or hazelnut with a plant-based milk, and skip white mocha and caramel sauce. The drink will taste lighter, but the dairy risk drops. If you want mocha, ask whether the mocha sauce suits your needs and read the allergen details rather than assuming.
Cross-contact is another point. Syrup pumps and shared tools mean trace exposure is possible, so people with serious allergies should tell the barista and read the allergen details in the app. For plant-based swaps beyond syrups, ask about oat, almond, soy or coconut milk, which change a drink more than the syrup does.
Best Syrup Pairings for Lattes, Cold Brew, Iced Tea and Frappuccinos
A good starbucks coffee with syrup balances the sweetness against the drink's strength. Dark roast and espresso handle bold flavors, while tea and lemonade want something lighter.
Lattes take vanilla, caramel, hazelnut and cinnamon dolce equally well, and brown sugar suits oat milk best. Cold brew likes vanilla or brown sugar, since it is smooth and slightly sweet already. Iced tea and lemonade want classic syrup, honey blend or raspberry, which keep the tea flavor in front. Hot chocolate and mocha pair with peppermint or hazelnut for a candy-bar effect.
Iced coffee deserves its own mention. Try the iced coffee drinks that take syrup well, where melting ice dilutes the sweetness slightly, so one extra pump is often right. Hot drinks do the opposite: nothing dilutes them, so the default count can taste sweeter than the same number of pumps over ice.
A cold foam topping is another place for syrup. Vanilla or raspberry in the foam adds flavor on top without changing the sweetness of the coffee beneath, which is a neat trick if you want the first sip sweet and the last sip plain.
Frappuccinos use a syrup base that blends with ice and milk. A Frappuccino roast base or creme base accepts a flavor swap, such as vanilla or hazelnut. See the Frappuccino flavors and bases for the full list of blended options.
Mixing two syrups is allowed too. Popular combinations are vanilla with caramel, hazelnut with mocha and brown sugar with cinnamon dolce. When you blend, split the pump count: two pumps of each in a grande, not four of each, or the drink gets too sweet.
Pairings are personal. If a combination sounds odd, order it in a tall first.
How to Order Syrups: Swaps, Half Pumps and Extra Flavors
Starbucks coffee flavoring is easy to customize, because the order is built from pumps you can name. Say the drink, the size, then the change: "grande latte with two pumps of caramel instead of four."
Useful requests are short. To swap a flavor, say "hazelnut instead of vanilla." For fewer pumps, say "just two pumps." For more, say "one extra pump." To add a flavor to a drink that has none, try "a pump of cinnamon dolce in my latte." To strip sweetness from an iced tea, say "no classic."
Be specific about size too. A barista scales pumps to the cup, so "extra vanilla" in a venti is a different amount from "extra vanilla" in a tall. If you care about the exact number, say it as a number.
Half pumps are not a standard setting, so a barista may round to one pump or suggest a half-pump measure by hand. Ask politely and be ready for a simple answer.
Extra flavor can add a small charge at many stores, depending on the location and whether the syrup is a new addition. Swapping an included flavor usually costs nothing. The app shows the price before you pay, which is the easiest way to know.
In the mobile app, open the drink, choose Customize and adjust syrup pumps there. That avoids any confusion at the counter.
Syrup Questions Answered
What syrups does Starbucks offer?
Starbucks syrups include classic, vanilla, sugar-free vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, brown sugar, cinnamon dolce and raspberry year-round at most stores. Seasonal flavors such as peppermint, sugar cookie, chestnut praline and apple brown sugar rotate in. Availability depends on your store and the time of year.
What is classic syrup at Starbucks?
Searches like starbucks what is classic syrup all end in the same place: it is a clear, flavorless liquid sweetener made from cane sugar. Baristas use it in iced tea, Refreshers and iced coffee, where granulated sugar would not dissolve. You can ask for fewer pumps or none.
How many pumps of syrup are in a grande drink?
A grande typically gets four pumps in both hot and iced flavored drinks. Tall gets three, a hot venti gets five and an iced venti gets six. Drinks like Americanos, teas and Refreshers can differ, so ask the barista or check the customization screen for the exact count.
Which syrups at Starbucks are sugar free?
Sugar-free vanilla is the main one and is available at most stores. Some locations also carry sugar-free cinnamon dolce. Availability varies, so ask before ordering. Sugar-free syrups use a zero-calorie sweetener and contain zero grams of sugar per pump on common nutrition tables.
How many calories are in a pump of Starbucks syrup?
Standard flavors such as vanilla, caramel, hazelnut and classic run about 20 calories and 5 grams of sugar per pump. Cinnamon dolce is slightly higher. Sugar-free vanilla is close to zero. Multiply by the number of pumps in your drink to estimate the total.
Is Starbucks raspberry syrup still available?
Yes. Starbucks announced in February 2026 that raspberry syrup returned permanently after a limited run in summer 2025. It appears in drinks like the Iced Double Berry Matcha and can be added to tea, lemonade and cold foam. A specific store may still run out, so check the app.
Are syrups at Starbucks vegan or dairy free?
Most clear syrups do not list milk as an ingredient, while many sauces contain dairy. That is not the same as a vegan label, and this guide cannot confirm vegan status. Check Starbucks's ingredient and allergen details in the app, and tell the barista about any allergy.
What is the difference between a Starbucks syrup and a sauce?
A syrup is thin, clear and pumped into drinks for flavor. A sauce is thick and opaque, like mocha or caramel, and usually carries more calories and often dairy. Syrups mix easily into cold drinks, while sauces are meant for mochas, macchiatos and Frappuccinos.
Does adding syrup to a drink cost extra?
Sometimes. Adding a new flavor to a drink often carries a small charge, while swapping one flavor for another or changing the pump count usually does not. Pricing varies by store and by company or licensed location, so the app is the most reliable place to see the cost. Licensed stores, such as those inside grocery stores or airports, may follow different rules from standalone cafes.
Can I buy Starbucks syrup bottles to use at home?
Some flavors are sold as bottles through Starbucks's at-home line and at certain stores, but selection varies. Seasonal flavors rarely stay on shelves long. Ask your store or look on the official at-home page for what is currently stocked.
What syrup is used in a Frappuccino?
Most A cold foam topping is another place for syrup. Vanilla or raspberry in the foam adds flavor on top without changing the sweetness of the coffee beneath, which is a neat trick if you want the first sip sweet and the last sip plain.
Frappuccinos use a syrup base that dissolves in cold liquid, plus the flavor syrups or sauces in the recipe. A caramel Frappuccino, for instance, uses caramel syrup and a caramel drizzle. You can swap flavors the same way you would in a latte.
Can I ask for half pumps of syrup?
You can ask, but half pumps are not a standard setting. A barista may round up or down, or offer one pump instead. For lighter sweetness, requesting fewer pumps in a larger drink is the cleaner way to do it.