What a Steamer Is
A steamer is steamed milk with syrup and foam, a latte with the espresso left out. Starbucks calls the flavored ones crèmes. They are built on the same bar as the lattes and take the same syrups, so a vanilla crème is a vanilla latte without the shots, and a barista will make a caramel, hazelnut or cinnamon dolce crème the same way even though only two are on the board.
Plain steamed milk and cold milk are sold as well, mostly for children and for people who want a warm drink at night. Every item here is 0 mg of caffeine.
| Item | Price | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Milk | $4.15 (Grande) | 260 cal |
| Steamed Milk | $4.15 (Grande) | 200 cal |
| Vanilla Crème | $5.15 (Grande) | 350 cal |
| Pistachio Crème | $6.25 (Grande) | 330 cal |
The Four Drinks
Steamed Milk
The Steamed Milk is 2% milk steamed with a little foam, in Kids, Short, Tall, Grande and Venti. A Grande is 200 calories with 13 g of protein and 19 g of lactose sugar. The Kids cup is 100 calories for $2.95, the cheapest hot drink in the store.
- Why choose it: a warm milk for a child or a bedtime drink, and the base for any custom steamer.
Cold Milk
The Cold Milk is milk served chilled or over ice in Tall, Grande and Venti. A Grande is 260 calories, $4.15 at the reference store.
- Why choose it: a glass of milk with a pastry, or a base for a cold syrup drink.
Vanilla Crème
The Vanilla Crème is steamed milk with vanilla syrup and whipped cream, 350 calories and 43 g of sugar in a Grande at $5.15. It comes in all five sizes including Kids.
- Why choose it: a sweet, warm, caffeine-free drink that tastes like a vanilla latte.
- Nutrition tip: no whip and two pumps take it near the plain steamed milk figure.
Pistachio Crème
The Pistachio Crème is the winter seasonal: pistachio syrup, steamed milk and a salted brown-butter topping. 330 calories, 47 g of sugar, $6.25 for a Grande, and it also comes in a Kids cup.
- Why choose it: the pistachio latte flavor for a child or an evening.
Steamer Calories by Size
| Item | Tall | Grande | Venti | Kids | Short |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steamed Milk | 160 cal | 200 cal | 260 cal | 100 cal | 100 cal |
| Cold Milk | 200 cal | 260 cal | 370 cal | - | - |
| Pistachio Crème | 230 cal | 330 cal | 410 cal | 150 cal | 150 cal |
| Vanilla Crème | 280 cal | 350 cal | 430 cal | 200 cal | 190 cal |
Crème vs Latte vs Hot Chocolate
A Grande Vanilla Crème at 350 calories is heavier than a Grande Caffè Latte at 190 because of the syrup and whipped cream, and close to a Hot Chocolate at 370. The difference is caffeine: the latte carries 150 mg, the hot chocolate 25 mg, the crème none. For an evening or a child, the crème or the hot chocolate; for the morning, the latte.
Kids and Dairy-Free Orders
- Kids temperature: every steamer can be served at a lower temperature; the Kids size is by default.
- Oat, almond, soy or coconut milk: all four items can be made with any milk; the crèmes stay dairy only through the whipped cream.
- No whip: makes the vanilla crème dairy free with a nondairy milk.
- Custom flavors: caramel, hazelnut, cinnamon dolce or sugar-free vanilla all work as a crème.
- Cold vanilla milk: cold milk with a pump or two of vanilla is the summer version.
Every item declares none declared beyond dairy. The pistachio topping is a flavored crumble made on shared lines; the steam wand is shared with every milk drink.