Iced Churro Latte

Churro and cinnamon-sugar drinks are a real, growing chain signal right now — Tim Hortons’ Caramel Churro Iced Latte/Cold Brew/Capp and Golden Cinnamon Cold Foam, Caribou’s Cinnamon Sugar Nitro High Rise and Cinnamon Sugar Cold Foam, Scooter’s Cinnalicious — and every one of them runs cold. That’s why this recipe is written iced-only, no hot toggle: it’s not a Fall latte with ice added after the fact, it’s a cold-first drink from the ground up.

This isn’t the same flavor as our existing Fall cinnamon families. Gingerbread, Chestnut Praline, Maple Pecan, and Apple Crisp all carry cinnamon notes, but none of them lead with cinnamon the way this does, and none of them are built iced-first. It’s also not a renamed version of Cinnamon Toast, Cinnamon Vanilla, or Snickerdoodle — see the Churro Syrup page for the full side-by-side on how this syrup’s cinnamon ratio and brown-sugar base differ from all three.

Make the Syrup First (Just Once)

This recipe assumes you already have a jar of Churro Syrup in the fridge — a 10-minute batch (mostly simmering and cooling) that makes about 12 drinks’ worth and keeps for 2 weeks. If you haven’t made a batch yet, go do that first, then come back here.

Building the Latte

1. If you want the cinnamon-sugar rim (the actual churro signature, not just a dusting — see the syrup recipe for the mix), wet the glass rim and roll it in the mix before you add ice or liquid.
2. Pull a double shot of espresso (about 2oz) into a separate cup, or brew a strong coffee/moka pot equivalent.
3. Stir in 2 tbsp of the churro syrup while the espresso is still hot — it dissolves faster and blends better than adding it after the milk.
4. Fill your rimmed glass with ice, then pour the hot espresso-syrup mixture over it to flash-chill without watering it down as much as a slow pour would.
5. Pour 4oz cold milk over the ice and stir gently.
6. Top with whipped cream or a spoonful of Churro Cold Foam if you want the full café look.

Chain café iced churro/cinnamon-sugar latte~$6.50

Home iced churro latte (espresso, milk, syrup)~$0.58

Savings per drink$5.92

The syrup batch itself is a one-time ~$0.67 and makes about 12 drinks — see the full syrup recipe for the batch method and cost breakdown. Assumptions: dairy milk, grocery-bean espresso pricing, and a representative chain-café price point, since Tim Hortons, Caribou, and Scooter’s each run their own version of this drink at prices that vary by market — $6.50 is the same representative chain-latte figure this site uses elsewhere, and the savings gap holds regardless of the exact number. At 5 of these a week over the site’s standard 48-week year (240 drinks), that’s roughly $1,421/year saved versus buying it out.

Swaps & Notes

• No espresso machine? A moka pot or strong AeroPress shot works fine.
• Skip the rim if you want less sugar or less mess — the drink still tastes like churro from the syrup alone; the rim is a garnish, not a requirement, and it isn’t counted in the cost or calorie math above.
• Watching sugar? See the Sugar-Free Iced Churro Latte (same method, swapped sweetener) or the Ingredient-Honest Iced Churro Latte (real maple syrup, no refined sugar).
• Want it blended into cold brew or nitro-style instead? See the Churro Cold Brew.
• This drink has no hot version on purpose. Our other cinnamon families already cover hot lattes — see the Fall lineup linked above if that’s what you’re after.

Recipe Card Summary

Iced Churro Latte

• 2oz espresso + 4oz cold milk + 2 tbsp Churro Syrup (made ahead), over ice, optional cinnamon-sugar rim
• Prep time: 5 minutes (after the syrup is made) · Total: 5 minutes
• Cost: ~$0.58/drink vs. ~$6.50 chain café equivalent

FAQ

Do I need to make the syrup every time I want this drink?

No — that’s the whole reason the syrup lives in its own recipe. One batch keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge and covers roughly 12 drinks, so this page is just the 5-minute assembly step.

Why is there no hot version of this latte?

Because the actual chain drinks this copies — Tim Hortons, Caribou, Scooter’s — all run their churro/cinnamon-sugar flavor cold: iced latte, cold brew, or a cold foam topper. This site’s four Fall families (Gingerbread, Chestnut Praline, Maple Pecan, Apple Crisp) already cover hot cinnamon-forward lattes, so this one is deliberately iced-only rather than a fifth hot entry.

Is the cinnamon-sugar rim required?

No — it’s a garnish, like the candy cane on our Peppermint Mocha. The syrup itself carries the churro flavor; the rim just adds the coated-dough texture and extra aroma an actual churro has. Skip it for less sugar or mess.

How is this different from your Snickerdoodle or Cinnamon Toast Latte?

Both of those use less cinnamon and a white-sugar or vanilla-forward base. This syrup uses a full tablespoon of cinnamon against brown sugar, and the rim garnish here is a much heavier cinnamon-sugar coating than Cinnamon Toast’s light graham-crumb dusting. See the Churro Syrup page for the full comparison.