Starbuck drinks that don t taste like coffee

Coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of…tea? Or maybe coffee? Anyway, if you don’t love how coffee tastes but enjoy the pick-me-up you get from a nice cup of java, this article is for you. Not all coffee drinks are created equally, which means some will be more palatable for people who don’t love the taste of coffee. You can go as simple as adding a splash of milk to your regular coffee or as complex as ordering a flat white with almond milk.

In this guide, we’re going to cover the wide world of coffee for people who don’t like coffee. We realize that might sound paradoxical, but we’re going to run through our favorite coffee drinks that are more welcoming to people who aren’t as crazy about coffee’s flavor as we are. We’ll also give you some tips for how to acquire a taste for ordinary coffee if you’re looking to branch out and give it another chance. Without further ado, let’s get started! Here are six types of coffee for people who don’t like coffee:

The 6 Best Coffee Drinks for People Who Don’t Like Coffee:

1. Café Mocha

Who doesn’t love chocolate? If you like chocolate but aren’t too jazzed about coffee, give café mocha a try. Chocolate is usually the predominant flavor in café mocha, and the coffee merely comes along for the ride. It’s a sweeter drink than a cappuccino or latte, so it helps balance out the coffee taste.

Whenever we introduce a non-coffee drinker to coffee, this is the drink we choose. The great thing about café mocha is you can adapt it to suit your taste by asking for more or less coffee. You can also add a dollop of whipped cream on top if you need a little more coaxing.

2. Vanilla Latte

Vanilla lattes are sweet – very sweet. We’re willing to bet that you’ll love it if you aren’t typically a coffee fan since the overwhelming taste is vanilla. There is coffee in a vanilla latte since it is based on a classic latte, but you barely can taste the coffee behind all the sweetness, which is a huge plus for people looking to keep their coffee thoroughly non-coffee-flavored.

We like vanilla lattes because they also serve as a bridge to ordinary lattes if you ever decide you want to branch out. Traditional lattes are significantly less sweet than vanilla lattes but have just enough similar flavor to taste familiar. A nice tip is to order less vanilla syrup over time as you start to acquire the taste since we don’t imagine it’s very healthy to make vanilla lattes your daily coffee.

3. Caramel Macchiato

With this entry, we’re getting more into more powerfully coffee-flavored drinks, but fear not! A caramel macchiato is still a good choice for non-coffee drinkers since it doesn’t have coffee at the forefront. The main ingredients are espresso, caramel syrup, and steamed milk. Don’t be scared away by the espresso. There are enough diluting flavors to keep the coffee taste in the background for the most part.

This might not be the best option for you if you hate any coffee flavor in your drink whatsoever. If you’re on the fence or can tolerate a slight coffee taste, give this one a shot. It’s a great introduction to other espresso-based drinks as well.

4. Latte

Lattes can be intense, but you can always request more milk if the standard amount leaves you with too much coffee for your liking. Don’t be afraid to ask your barista to use more milk to suit your palate. Coffee is a personal experience, and there is never a right or wrong answer.

We especially like this approach because it’s very tunable, which means you can adjust it if you start to become more of a coffee drinker. Coffee is an acquired taste, so it shouldn’t be surprising if your taste evolves over time.

5. Cold Brew

Now we’re in the big leagues. Cold brew might seem like a strange pick since the usual way to serve cold brew is black, but you can absolutely add milk and sugar if you want to. We like cold brew for people who don’t like coffee because it is much smoother and sweeter than regular hot brewed coffee, even if you don’t add any sweetener.

Cold brew extracts different flavors from the coffee beans, which means you never get bitter, burnt tasting coffee. If you’ve never had cold brew and think you just don’t like the taste of coffee, give it a try. You might be surprised by how different it is.

6. Regular Coffee

No, this isn’t a joke. You might think it sounds strange to suggest that people that don’t like coffee drink coffee, but hear us out. Many people try a cup of black coffee, get repulsed by the strong flavor, randomly splash half a gallon of milk into their mug, take another sip, and then swear off coffee for life, assuming it’s not for them.

There are as many ways to prepare coffee as there are people who drink it. You can add as much or as little milk as you like, try a flavored creamer, add sugar, and there are at least a million other ways you can make coffee that you might find you like.

Our recommendation is to start with a healthy dose of patience and an open mind. Try adding one teaspoon of sugar and about a quarter of a cup of milk to start. Drink at least half the mug before trying to diagnose what you do and do not like about it. If you have a sweet tooth, maybe you need to add more sugar. Too sweet? Try less. An iterative process like this can quickly hone in on the perfect cup for you. We’ve seen far too many people realize they actually like coffee after all once they’ve given it a fair chance.

Looking for inspiration? 7 Surprising Ways to Add Extra Flavor to Your Coffee

Conclusion

Hopefully, you found this guide helpful. We tried to structure the list in increasing order of coffee taste, with the first entry being the least coffee-flavored. Many people that don’t love coffee nonetheless turn to the beverage to get their caffeine fix, so we tried to cover as many people as possible. If you don’t like coffee, we’re pretty sure you can find a drink you’ll love on this list.

If you are encouraged to seek out some of these less coffee-flavored drinks by this article, that’s great! Keep in mind that like whiskey, wine, and olives, coffee is an acquired taste, and it might take a while for you to warm up to it. Give these drinks a try. We wish you good luck on your coffee journey!

More great reads:

• Ethiopian Coffee History: The Birthplace of Coffee
• How to Make a Turmeric Latte: Recipe & Pictures
• Healthy Coffee Recipes: 24 Delicious & Guilt-Free Drinks

Featured Image Credit By: Antonio Guillem, shutterstock

Top 17 starbuck drinks that don t taste like coffee