Is There Really A Difference Between Starbucks' Caramel Drizzle And Sauce?

Learning how to customize your favorite Starbucks drink to your exact preferences makes your morning that much sweeter. Sure, you can start your day with tried and true favorites like a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew or Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso — but considering there are over 170,000 different ways you can switch up your Starbucks beverage, it can pay off to learn the ins and outs of the menu.

Once you're ready to customize, it's important to know what each adjustment means. If you're looking to add a little extra caramel to your drink, how do you know if you should go for a drizzle or a pump of sauce? While the terms may cause a little confusion, there's no difference between the two, as the caramel drizzle consists of caramel sauce. Your decision really comes down to where you want the extra sugary goodness: Incorporated in your beverage or drizzled on top. If you ask for the former, in general, your barista will stir the sauce into the espresso in your drink until it dissolves, using a swirling method. If you get an iced coffee, they'll typically mix the sauce into the java instead.

Since the caramel sauce pumps and drizzle are made of the same thing, here's what you'll get with both: The ingredient list includes sugar, corn syrup, butter, water, heavy cream, nonfat dry milk, salt, and natural flavors, along with a few additives to form the consistency. If you're looking for something simpler to replicate at home, however, Starbucks has a recipe with just four ingredients: Brown sugar, butter, half-and-half, and salt (and once you make it, we have some tips for how to drizzle it like a true barista). But if you are ordering in-store, note that the caramel sauce is different from the syrup. The latter only contains sugar and water, along with natural flavor and a couple of additives, which results in a thinner, less decadent product.

So when should you ask for a drizzle vs. a pump of the sauce? It really depends on when you want that saccharine flavor to hit your tongue in your favorite caramel drink. For example, Starbucks' Iced Caramel Macchiatos are designed to give you flavors of espresso, milk, and caramel, in that order. But if you want to taste the sauce in every sip, add pumps of it into a hot latte, where it should evenly distribute into your drink. Also, you may want to use the drizzle for your iced beverages, since baristas say it can be difficult to fully melt the sauce into cold coffee.