The Starbucks Secret Menu Latte Inspired By Cocoa Puffs

If there are two things people love, it's Starbucks secret menu drinks and nostalgia. The number of different syrups and ingredients available at the coffee chain has created a whole online ecosystem around unique combinations and recipes, and a lot of those aim to hit people with tastes that recall beloved childhood treats. There are Refreshers, Frappuccinos, and Hot Chocolates that capture the essence of everything from s'mores to Sour Patch Kids. Still, no source of flavor nostalgia is more powerful than that which pays homage to your favorite breakfast cereal. 

Those early morning sugar bombs are buried deep in our brains, and even as we grow a little older they evoke something simple and powerful — and plenty of chefs and food chains understand that. It's why we got the cereal milk flavor trend, and it's why somebody figured out how to make a Starbucks Latte taste like Cocoa Puffs. The Starbucks secret menu Cocoa Puffs Frappuccino and Latte recipes have been floating around online in a couple of different forms for years and TikTok has recently given them a new life. 

It's varyingly found as either an Iced Latte or Frappuccino, but the base flavors are usually mocha and hazelnut. The Iced Latte version includes 3 pumps of mocha sauce, 1 pump of toffee nut syrup, and 1 pump of hazelnut syrup for a grande, with blonde espresso and a mocha drizzle added. The Frappuccino version keeps the mocha sauce and hazelnut syrup but drops the toffee nut and uses a vanilla bean Frappuccino as the base. Of course, you don't need to limit yourself to those recipes in your hunt for childhood memories.

If you want your Cocoa Puffs Latte hot, you can just rely on the same combination of flavors. A normal hot grande Starbucks Mocha features 4 pumps of mocha sauce in espresso, so adding toffee nut and hazelnut syrups, while cutting out 1 pump of the mocha, should get you a similar result. You can also get a double dose of chocolate nostalgia by switching out one of the mocha pumps for chocolate malt powder. It's a lesser-known add-in at Starbucks that doesn't get used very often, but if you want that true chocolate ball flavor it's a great way to get closer. If Cocoa Puffs weren't your childhood cereal of choice, don't worry. 

There are plenty of other surprising breakfast-inspired possibilities at Starbucks. You can get a Cap'n Crunch Frappuccino by mixing a Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino with toffee nut, hazelnut, and caramel syrups. Or, you can capture the flavors of longtime favorite Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Just order a grande Iced White Chocolate Mocha with 2 pumps of white chocolate sauce, then add 3 pumps of the cinnamon dolce syrup and a packet of Sugar in the Raw and top it with cinnamon powder. Given the plethora of flavor options at Starbucks, we're sure it's only a matter of time before enterprising fans figure out how to recreate more cereals in drinkable coffee form.