Which Has The Better Fancy Caramel Coffee Drink Now: Dutch Bros Or Starbucks?

When I was a barista at Starbucks, an iced Caramel Macchiato was easily one of my favorite drinks to make. I loved the layer effect, and the process was just very satisfying to watch come together. So, I've always had a special place in my heart for an iced Caramel Macchiato, at least when it comes to preparation. Knowing the flavors of the iced Caramel Macchiato are pretty basic with vanilla and caramel, it's still what I would call a fancy caramel drink.

Dutch Bros, a brand I'm a little newer to, has been very impressive each time I've visited. Everyone at Dutch Bros is so happy, and the vibes are much younger and feel just a little brighter. It's hard not to love a menu that's always innovating and trying new flavors, like Dutch Bros' breakfast-inspired drinks. I knew it would have something similar in flavor composition to a Caramel Macchiato, but it would surely have its own Dutch Bros spin. That drink is certainly the Golden Eagle. Tasting them side by side, I wondered if the standby classic Caramel Macchiato could be overtaken by a Golden Eagle.

To decide whether Dutch Bros or Starbucks had the better fancy caramel drink right now, I went to each coffee chain and ordered a similar caramel drink off the menu with no customizations or alterations. Since I am more familiar with Starbucks, I knew that the chain's iconic Caramel Macchiato should be the fancy drink I would choose from that chain. After all, it's got a nice layered effect, caramel drizzle, and a nice base with the vanilla. To choose the one from Dutch Bros that would be best to compare, I searched for a drink that felt iconic to the chain, but also had similar flavors. In this case, the Golden Eagle seemed like the perfect comparison. Like the Caramel Macchiato, the Golden Eagle has flavors of caramel and vanilla, as well as espresso, of course, but it is also made breve, only adding to the fancy level.

Ultimately, my decision on which drink won out for the fancy caramel competition would come down to taste. I knew the texture of the drinks would be pretty similar since I was getting two iced caramel drinks, so flavor would be the biggest comparison. A drink that was enjoyable to sip from start to finish would be the winner. This meant I wanted something smooth that was easy to sip without being overly sweet or bitter. The taste should be caramel-forward, but not over the top. The chain also needed to find a balance with the bite of espresso, milk, and syrups, and I knew this would be the biggest difference between the two drinks.

An Iced Caramel Macchiato is quite the sight to behold. It has a layer of vanilla syrup at the bottom with milk and ice over top of it. For that layered effect, signature espresso goes on last with a hefty layer of caramel drizzle, often in a crosshatch pattern.

Initially, it was easy to see the breakdown of the layers in my drink, but when I gave a few good swirls, everything mixed together. Combined this way, it had a slightly sweet taste to it, but before that, it was a very heavily coffee-flavored drink. There's plenty I typically do to dress up an Iced Caramel Macchiato, but for the purposes of this test, I got it exactly as it appears on the menu. I'm not a big fan of Starbucks' basic signature espresso roast, and that's the primary flavor you get with the Caramel Macchiato, so the default flavor of the drink wasn't one of my favorites. It was a lot more bitter than it should be for a drink with both caramel drizzle and vanilla syrup inside of it, but it was also the perfect building ground for making something much better. The best way to improve this drink is to request that it be made upside down (even if it is one of those Starbucks customizations that annoy baristas), but, alas, for the purposes of this tasting, I didn't do that here.

Once upon a time, the caramel and vanilla of a Golden Eagle were added separately, but the method has changed. Today, to make an Iced Golden Eagle, broistas combine Golden Eagle syrup (which features vanilla and caramel), half-and-half, espresso, and ice. Then, they "tom tom " it to mix the drink. On top, your barista adds a glorious drizzle of caramel to crown the drink, just like the Caramel Macchiato.

The Iced Golden Eagle is a very creamy looking drink. I was surprised just how beige it actually was in person, and figured it would have a little bit more of a coffee hue to it. It looked like slightly off-color milk, something like a latte that has way too much creamer added to it. With this in mind, I expected there to be a fair amount of sweetness to it, but the Golden Eagle had a very mellow flavor. The espresso was detectable, but only barely, and the sweetness of caramel and vanilla that came through wasn't especially sweet or strong. More than anything, this drink aimed to be exceptionally creamy. With all the heavy whipping cream, it was a very filling drink. Still, the flavor was tasty.

For two drinks with similar components, the nutritional information is substantially different between the these. The medium Golden Eagle drink I ordered had 460 calories, 27 grams of fat, 39 grams of sugar, 95 milligrams of caffeine, and 10 grams of protein. My grande Caramel Macchiato had 250 calories, 7 grams of fat, 34 grams of sugar, 150 milligrams of caffeine, and 10 grams of protein.

The culprit for such vastly different calorie and fat counts was no doubt the difference in milk. Since the Golden Eagle used half-and-half as its base milk, it's going to be substantially richer than the 2% base of the Caramel Macchiato. It's also interesting that the caffeine load is so much higher in the Caramel Macchiato. The difference in espresso certainly comes through in flavor as much as it does in the nutritional information breakdown.

When it comes down to flavor, it's really difficult to get past the bite of espresso in an iced Caramel Macchiato. All of that espresso simply sits on top of the drink, and it takes a very long time for it to mix. What's more, with the layered vanilla at the bottom, a lot of that flavor of the milk simply tastes like basic cow milk, unless you swap it with another milk, of course. In the old days when you would be handed a straw for your lid, you would get a lot more of that vanilla and milk taste at the bottom, but you would wait for the espresso to fall. Today, with the strawless lids, your initial sips are a blast of espresso. It's like being hit in the face with an alcohol floater in a drink in desperate need of mixing.

On the other hand, the Dutch Bros drink is pre-mixed and ready to go, and sip one tastes exactly the same as sip 30, with an additional bit of ice melt. While the Dutch Bros coffee was a little too creamy for my taste, I have to admit that it tasted better than the Caramel Macchiato. Dutch Bros did a much better job balancing out that bite of espresso with its sweet syrups, and the Golden Eagle shows that nicely. In the end, without tweaks to either drink, I would say that Dutch Bros, one of Gen Z's favorite quick-service restaurants, wins out in the competition of fancy caramel coffee drinks. Honestly, Dutch Bros may be gaining on Starbucks for a good reason.