Introduction
Frappuccinos are delicious. That much we’re sure of. But more than just a drink, the frappuccino is a phenomenon that spearheaded the modern coffee movement and expanded lattes, cappuccinos and frappuccinos from a western thing into a global one.
What is a frappuccino
The name is a combination of lait frappé, milkshake in French, and cappuccino. The idea is to blend a milkshake with all its frothiness and sweetness with a coffee beverage that is characterized by a layer of foam.
A standard frappuccino consists of coffee, milk, sugar, and whipped cream.
It was introduced back in 1995 by Starbucks because, of course, it was Starbucks. So, technically, one of the world’s most popular coffee drinks is a Starbucks original.
Suppose you ask a barista for this drink. In that case, chances are they’re going to resent you because, unlike typical coffee drinks that you can make with an espresso machine, a frappuccino is rather complicated. There’s more work involved outside the brewing station than inside, which means that you don’t really require barista-grade equipment to make a frappuccino.
With that in mind, let us learn how to make a frappuccino at home!
How to make a frappuccino
First and foremost, we have to decide on what type of coffee we’re going to be using. Frappuccino isn’t technically an espresso drink, so you don’t need to use espresso for it. You can easily substitute espresso for brewed coffee, Moka pot coffee, or even instant coffee.
For the sake of this recipe, we’ll be using espresso- but rest assured that you can use other types of coffee and the difference in taste will be minimal.
Ingredients:
- 60ml Espresso
- 250ml Milk (whole, coconut, or otherwise as fatty as possible. Better texture.)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (sub for sweetener of choice. Caramel syrup is highly recommended!)
- Whipped cream. 1 to 2 tablespoons as desired.
- One cup ice
Instructions:
- In a blender or a food processor, pour ice. Blend for five seconds.
- Pour in the milk, sugar, and blend again for five to ten seconds.
- Finally, pour in the coffee and blend again for a few seconds.
- Pour in a tall glass.
- Add whipped cream delicately with a spoon. This is much easier using canned whipped cream, although the taste isn’t the same.
And that’s it!
As you can see, the frappuccino is all over. It checks all the boxes: it’s an iced coffee drink and a milkshake and a sweet coffee drink. It’s just impossible not to like it.
And even though the frappuccino was specifically design to please most coffee lovers, nature will always do its thing. That’s why, today, there are countless frappuccino variations- you know, evolution. Darwinism and all that.
So we thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the most interesting frappuccino variations and see what they’re all about.
Frappuccino variations
Matchaccino
A matcha frappuccino. This one’s incredibly easy to pull off, as all you really need to do is add about a teaspoon of matcha (powdered green tea leaves) into the mix and blend.
Matcha has great synergy with all coffee beverages so it’s obviously a good idea to stick it in a Frappuccino. It also has health benefits and even more antioxidants than coffee does. Delicious and healthy.
Mochaccino
Not to be confused with a regular mocha or caffé mocha, the mochaccino is a frappuccino that has been taken over by chocolate. It usually features at least three different presentations of chocolate: powdered when blending, syrup after serving, and shaved as garnish.
The mochaccino is an absolute disgrace and if you don’t like it you most likely don’t have a soul. Chocolate has even more synergy with coffee than matcha does, and its presence betters almost all coffee drinks- the frappuccino maybe most of all.
Mermaid frappuccino
A “secret” item on Starbucks menu, the mermaid frappuccino looks like something born out of an LSD-addled mind. It’s got a mixture of vibrant, neon colors that make it very attractive just to look at it. The drink is a deep purple/pink color with streaks of green. There’s also blue here and there, making it look positively marine and possibly otherworldly.
To achieve the purple/pinkish color, blackberry is added (and, in some places, spirulina) and for the green streaks a drizzle with matcha is prepared. They blend the drink like the usually would, add the blackberries, and then the drizzle.
Unicorn frappuccino
On the same note, there’s the unicorn frappuccino, a widely marketed Starbucks item. It’s got neon pink and blue colors and just looking at it feels uplifting. We love this one because it’s incredibly cute yet it can jolt a dead person back to life with the amount of caffeine and sugar it’s got. One of these makes you work (or party) at peak condition for quite some time.
While the recipe isn’t completely out there, they do reveal using “pink powder” and “sour blue powder”, which are definitely out of Powerpuff Girls. There’s also mango syrup and blue drizzle in there, which is interesting.
Strawberry frappuccino
This one really brings out the milkshake-y nature of the frappuccino. While some may contain actual strawberry, the strawberry frappuccino is blended using a very thick, very sweet strawberry syrup that is absolutely irresistible.
If had very cold, this type of frappuccino is almost like enjoying a strawberry ice cream.
Red velvet frappuccino
Maybe even cuter than the unicorn one is the red velvet frappuccino. Much like any other red velvet concoction, the red velvet frappuccino uses cocoa powder and food dye to achieve this cozy red color that is so eye-catching.
Drinking a red velvet frappuccino is almost like drinking a cake, and there’s few things that can be better than actually drinking a cake. Well, maybe eating it.
And those are some of the most interesting frappuccinos. The best thing is that they’re really not that complicated- so you can make them at home! You can take photos of them and show them off to your friends on Instagram. Who’s the barista now?
