Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew is cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen as it pours from the tap. The nitrogen creates tiny bubbles, a cascading look, and the velvety texture people associate with Nitro.
If you landed here because you were trying to figure out what Nitro Cold Brew actually is before ordering one: that is the whole trick. It is not regular iced coffee with a mysterious ingredient dumped into it.
What is Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew?
Starbucks says its signature Cold Brew is slow-steeped for 20 hours. Nitro Cold Brew takes that coffee and infuses it with nitrogen as it pours from the tap.
That nitrogen creates microbubbles, which give the drink its cascading appearance and frothy texture.
What does Nitro Cold Brew taste like?
Starbucks describes Nitro Cold Brew as velvety smooth with a subtly sweet flavor and a rich, creamy head of foam.
That texture is the whole reason Nitro feels different from standard cold brew even before you start adding anything to it.
So what was the “Upside Down Nitro”?
This page originally ran in 2021 as a TTB Starbucks customization called the Upside Down Nitro.
In that version, “upside down” meant putting the creamy layer in the bottom of the cup and pouring Nitro over it so the cascading coffee moved through the cream instead of simply sitting under a topping.
It was a custom order, not an official Starbucks menu drink.
Can you still order an Upside Down Nitro at Starbucks?
Starbucks still serves Nitro Cold Brew on tap at participating stores.
The exact 2021 TTB customization below used syrup and cold-foam choices available when the recipe was written. Starbucks customization options change, so treat this as an archive of how we ordered it then rather than a promise that every ingredient is available at every store now.
If you want the same basic idea today, start with Nitro Cold Brew and ask your barista what current creamy or flavored customizations are available. Much easier than reading them an ancient internet spell at the register.
What does “upside down” mean in this recipe?
On this specific TTB drink, it meant reversing where the creamy component went: cream first, Nitro poured over it.
It did not turn Nitro into a different kind of coffee. It changed the build and the way the coffee cascaded through the creamy layer.
The original TTB Upside Down Nitro recipe
This is the original 2021 recipe card preserved for readers who came here for it. Check current Starbucks customization options before assuming every older ingredient is still available.
Ingredients
Method
- Order a Grande Nitro Cold Brew
- Add 1 pump of Toffee Nut Syrup
- Ask to add Vanilla Sweet Cream Foam on the bottom of the cup before the Nitro is poured in.
The short version
Nitro Cold Brew is cold brew infused with nitrogen from the tap. The microbubbles create the cascading appearance and velvety texture that make Nitro look and feel different from regular cold brew.
The “Upside Down Nitro” on this page was a TTB customization that reversed the usual creamy layer so the Nitro poured over it.
For more weirdly specific coffee orders, browse our Starbucks Secret Menu.
