Is Cold Brew Salted Caramel Cream Vegan?

The Ingredient Breakdown

As a food scientist, I look past the marketing buzzwords to the chemical composition of the product. The COLD-BREWED STARBUCKS COFFEE base is perfectly fine—it's just water and coffee beans. The trouble starts when we look at the creaming agents used to create that "salted caramel" mouthfeel.

The primary non-vegan culprits here are SKIM MILK and CREAM. While skim milk is often associated with health food, in the context of veganism, it is strictly an animal product derived from cows. The addition of CREAM (which is the high-fat layer skimmed from milk) confirms that this beverage is a dairy-heavy formulation. These ingredients are used to provide the rich, velvety texture that plant-based milks struggle to replicate without added gums.

Finally, the NATURAL FLAVORS are generally considered vegan in isolation, but in a dairy-based product, they are often formulated to interact with milk proteins. While the salt is just SEA SALT, the overall matrix of the drink is undeniably dairy-based.

Nutritional Value

From a nutritional standpoint, this beverage is a source of added sugars and saturated fats. A single bottle typically contains a significant amount of calories derived almost entirely from the added SUGAR and the fat content in the CREAM. While it does provide a small amount of calcium and protein due to the milk content, it is not a 'health food.' For those monitoring their sugar intake or adhering to a low-fat diet, this drink would be considered an indulgence rather than a daily staple.