by Nigel Ong
Ask around, and you will easily meet someone who enjoys Frappuccinos. It is ice-cold, slushy, creamy, and full of coffee goodness. No wonder it is one of Starbucks’ best sellers.
In fact, Starbucks was selling so much of the drink they introduced a Ready-To-Drink (RTD) version in a bottle. The idea here is to allow you to enjoy your Frappuccino anytime. Just walk into your grocery store and pick one from the chilled aisles.
The question here is, how close is the taste between the two? Can the RTD drink even match or get close enough to the hand-made version? I got on a little experiment to find out.
In this post, I compare the taste of Starbucks’ hand-made Frappuccino to the RTD frappuccino at your local grocery. I’ll also discuss if the RTD drink is suitable for you.
Getting A Starbucks Hand-Made Coffee Frappuccino
I need both hand-made and RTD Coffee Frappuccino to compare the taste. For the hand-made Frappuccino, that’s easy. I only walked into a local Starbucks and ordered my coffee frappuccino.
I tried to look at how the barista made the drink, but I did not seem able to, as the liquids pumped into my cup were not labeled. I could only tell milk and some kind of ‘Frappuccino’ syrup.
There is, however, one thing I can confirm: no espresso shots are added to my coffee Frappuccino. The barista pumped something black into my cup. I suppose that is the coffee used to flavor the Frappuccino.
How To Make an RTD Frappuccino Look Hand-Made?
At this point, comparing the taste head-on may not be fair. The hand-made Frappuccino is ice cold and full of ice slush, too. I should at least make the RTD Frappuccino look similar.
The fastest way to do this is to create my own ice slush. I pulled out my trusty blender and loaded it up with a cup of ice cubes. Then, I shook the RTD bottle and emptied the contents into the blender, with the ice slush inside.
I then turned on the blender and blended the ice cubes and RTD drink. I frequently checked the ice slush to ensure they were the right size with the hand-made Frappuccino.
I emptied the contents inside the blender into a glass and placed the drinks side by side with the hand-made Frappuccino. Color-wise, they look the same. Both looked like rich, icy coffee full of goodness.
At this point, if your hand-made Frappuccino has cream on top, you can also pump some on the RTD version.
I took a sip of water to cleanse my palate, stirring the hand-made Frappuccino to mix everything up first. Then I put in my steel straw and started sipping.
RTD Bottled vs. Hand-Made Starbucks Frappuccino
| Hand-Made Frappuccino | RTD Frappuccino + Ice Slush | |
| Coffee taste | Stronger | Weaker, less prominent |
| Sweetness | Sweeter | Less sweet |
| Creaminess | Creamier | Less creamy, with strong powdered milk taste |
| Satisfaction | Cold, rich, bittersweet, satisfying | Not satisfying |
| Additional Notes | Could be improved with additional shots of espresso, sugar syrup and full-cream milk. |
It could be improved with additional espresso shots, sugar syrup, and full-cream milk.
I started off with the hand-made Frappuccino. This is a pleasing drink. It is ice cold, bitter, sweet, and has that deep coffee taste I love. The coffee taste is strong and competes for your palate’s attention against the creaminess and sweetness of other ingredients.
This is the kind of Frappuccino you would expect when you order from Starbucks. Sip this on a hot day, and you will be satisfied, and smiling on your face.
Now I have a clear idea how the taste that Starbucks needs to replicate on their RTD Frappuccino. Next, I cleanse my palate with water and try the RTD Frappuccino.
My first sip had a strong, milky taste without much coffee flavor. Surprised, I took a tablespoon and stirred the ice slush before trying another sip.
Again, it has a similar milk-forward taste with little coffee. I also notice that the milk tastes powdery as if the milk is made from freeze-dried milk powder. The coffee taste is also less prominent, and it seems happy to let the milk take the limelight.
I checked the bottle again for the expiry date, just to ensure. My RTD Frappuccino still has a lot of runway before expiring.
There is also not much sweetness. The RTD version of the Frappuccino gave me the impression that it was a hand-made Frappuccino diluted with water.
The distance is vast if I compare the RTD Frappuccino with the hand-made version. The hand-made version is so, so much better.
I do not expect the RTD version to taste exactly the same; it is, after all, an RTD. But to see such a huge difference in taste and satisfaction? It is a disappointment.
Why Does The RTD Starbucks Frappuccino Taste So Different?
When I started this little experiment, I knew the taste between the two would be different. There is no way Starbucks can replicate 100% of the original Frappuccinos taste in a bottle.
However, I was disappointed by how far the difference is between the two. They seem to taste totally different, and the quality gap is way too far. I may think the RTD bottle could come from a totally different company or is a counterfeit product.
The milk powder taste is just a turn-off, and the lackluster coffee taste is a bit of a letdown.
I decided to look at the ingredients to see why the RTD Frappuccino tasted so different. Here, I found the answer.
Manufacturers usually list food ingredients by weight. This means the more ingredients there are in the food, the earlier they are listed.
When I look at the ingredients list in the RTD Frappuccino, they use much more milk than coffee in the drink. The milk used is full-cream and skimmed milk powder, which explains the milk-powder-like taste.
On top of that, Starbucks also loaded instant coffee into the RTD, which may explain why the coffee taste is so weak on the RTD Frappuccino.
Starbucks likely must compromise and use these ingredients since they need to produce and sell the RTD in bottles. These bottles must stay on grocery shelves for a long time, and using fresh coffee and milk may be bad for shelf life.
However, the trade-offs here are unacceptable to me. I would not have purchased one if this is how the RTD Frappuccino tastes.
How To Improve The Taste Of RTD Starbucks Frappuccino?
After discovering that the RTD Frappuccino is unlike the hand-made version, I thought the next natural step was to see how to improve it.
It lacks intensity in flavors. There is the hated milk powder taste, and the coffee flavor is not strong enough. It is also not as sweet.
I started off by pushing up the coffee flavor. I added a shot of Starbucks Espresso Roast into my Frappuccino. It tasted much better. I added another shot for more strength, which suits my palate. You may be satisfied with a single shot here.
Next, I try to see if I can remove the powdered milk taste. I added two shots of full cream milk and tasted the drink. The milk powder taste went down, but the milk softened the coffee.
I did a bit of balancing around, then figured out that I could get away with 2 shots of espresso, and 2 shots of milk. The flavors work out decently enough for me. It does not, however, fully remove the milk powder taste. I guess I just have to live with it.
As for the sweetness, I emptied a stick of brown sugar into half a shot of hot water and stirred to dissolve the sugar. Then, I added the syrup.
The RTD Frappuccino now tastes much closer to the hand-made version, although you can still tell the difference.
Should You Drink RTD Starbucks Frappuccino?
After tasting the flavors of the RTD Starbucks Frappuccino flavors, I have to conclude that it is far from the standards set by the Barista-made Frappuccino. Not even close.
I would expect Starbucks to do a better job with this since their Starbucks Via instant coffee is so good. I would say it’s probably 80% of the original.
By selling the RTD drink, Starbucks is not doing justice to the hard work their Baristas put in to make these drinks by hand.
If you care about having a great, satisfying Frappuccino, just line up and order yours at your local Starbucks. You may also pay more than buying the RTD, but you get the full satisfaction when sipping into the hand-made Frappuccino.
I would only recommend getting the RTD drink if you simply do not have the time to order one from your local Starbucks, or if you are in a location with no Starbucks nearby.
You can also settle for the RTD drink if you know what you are getting – a cheaper, easier-to-get drink, but at the cost of lower-quality taste.
If you have the time and prefer to save up some money, you can always purchase the RTD version of the Frappuccino and improve it at home. This will take a bit more work and preparation, but you will save some money here.