Starbucks Aerocano Joins Core Menu: How It Differs From an Iced Americano

• The Aerocano reaches Starbucks coffeehouses across North America on Tuesday, Sept. 29, National Coffee Day, and joins the core menu with a Caramel Aerocano.
• It is Blonde Espresso steamed with ice to whip air into it, with no water and no milk. An Iced Americano is espresso shots topped with cold water.
• The drink debuted at Starbucks Korea in February, where the Iced Americano makes up more than 70% of Americano orders even in the coldest months.

Starbucks is adding the Aerocano, an air-whipped take on the Iced Americano, to its core menu across North America on Tuesday, Sept. 29, along with a Caramel Aerocano, the company announced on Sept. 28.

The launch date was already known: Starbucks first announced the drink on Aug. 31 as part of its fall lineup. What the Sept. 28 announcement adds is that the Aerocano stays on the permanent menu, and that it arrives in two versions.

What is the Starbucks Aerocano?

It is two ingredients, Starbucks Blonde Espresso and ice, plus a barista technique. The espresso is aerated, then poured over ice, where it settles into a light foam on top of darker coffee. Starbucks calls the texture “velvety” and built the drink around that settling, which it calls the cascading effect.

Aleksandra Orsolic, who oversees coffee product strategy for Starbucks Asia Pacific, summed it up: “You have espresso and ice, and then you steam it.” The steam wand, the nozzle that foams milk for a latte, pushes air into the coffee with the ice already in the pitcher, so the drink comes out cold.

No milk is needed for the foam. Espresso foams on its own, which is where the crema on a fresh shot comes from, and Starbucks says the aeration “creates a light layer of foam.” Chanda Beppu, senior vice president of Starbucks Asia Pacific, described the taste as “creamy with a slightly sweet [flavor].”

Making it the same way in thousands of stores took work. The team tested steaming times and how the drink is poured over ice. “If it can only be made by one or two partners, it’s not good enough,” said Vivian Luk, who leads research and development. Starbucks calls its employees partners.

How is the Aerocano different from an Iced Americano?

Two things change: the espresso and the water. Starbucks’ U.S. Iced Caffè Americano is Signature Espresso Roast shots topped with cold water, served over ice: two shots in a Tall, three in a Grande, four in a Venti. The Aerocano uses Blonde Espresso and no water at all.

Blonde is Starbucks’ lighter roast, a blend of Latin American and East African beans the company describes as sweet, with notes of candied apple and bittersweet chocolate. It also carries a little more caffeine: 85 mg per shot on the U.S. menu, against 75 mg for a Signature shot.

The last row comes from South Korea, where the Aerocano has been on the menu since February. Starbucks had not posted U.S. sizes, nutrition or prices for it on Sept. 28, or said how many shots go into each size. Prices vary by store, and the Starbucks app shows them once a store is chosen.

What is the Caramel Aerocano?

It is the sweetened version, and the only other one coming to North America. Starbucks named it in the Sept. 28 announcement without publishing its recipe or calorie count. The plain drink has no sugar to start from: the Korean Tall lists 0 grams.

Flavor adds up quickly. Starbucks Korea also sells a Grapefruit Honey Aerocano, which lists 105 calories and 22 grams of sugar in a Tall, against 10 calories for the plain drink. That version is not part of the North American launch.

Where did the Aerocano come from?

South Korea. Starbucks Korea put the Aerocano on its permanent menu on Feb. 26, 2026, the first market to sell it. The fit was the iced Americano: in Korea it accounts for more than 70% of Starbucks’ Americano orders, even in the coldest months, according to the company.

The habit isn’t only Korean. About 60% of the drinks Starbucks sells worldwide are cold, the company said. Beppu, who first spotted it, said the idea “isn’t necessarily new to the world,” but that Starbucks coffee, barista expertise and a growing iced coffee culture made it “the right moment” to build on the Americano.

Beppu said the look is part of the plan.

The visuals have show-stopping power. We want people to look across the street and say, ‘What’s that? How interesting! I need to cross the street to Starbucks.’

Chanda Beppu, senior vice president of Starbucks Asia Pacific

What else is new at Starbucks on Sept. 29?

Three Mini Pies arrive the same day, announced with the Aerocano on Aug. 31. The Apple Crumble Mini Pie has tender apples under a buttery streusel, the Pecan Mini Pie a buttery pecan filling, and the Pumpkin Mini Pie a creamy pumpkin filling with fall spices.

The Aerocano and the Caramel Aerocano are on the menu at Starbucks coffeehouses across North America starting Tuesday, Sept. 29.

More food: Disney World’s new Halloween treats, with prices, start rolling out Oct. 1, and Hostess has its Halloween snacks on shelves. In Arizona, Russo’s New York Pizzeria just opened near ASU. More in Food.

— Bruno Monteiro

Sources: Starbucks, “What is the Starbucks Aerocano? Meet the air-whipped twist on the Iced Americano,” by Yobel Mengistu, Sept. 28, 2026, with remarks by Chanda Beppu, Vivian Luk and Aleksandra Orsolic; Starbucks’ fall lineup announcement, Aug. 31, 2026; Starbucks Stories Asia, “Starbucks Korea Debuts the Aerocano,” Feb. 24, 2026; Starbucks’ U.S. menu (Iced Caffè Americano, Blonde espresso drinks and Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast), checked Sept. 28, 2026; Starbucks Korea’s menu (Starbucks Aerocano, Iced Caffe Americano and Starbucks Grapefruit Honey Aerocano), checked Sept. 28, 2026. Photos courtesy of Starbucks, cover by Joshua Trujillo; commercial by Starbucks Korea.