The Best Iced Secret Menu Coffee Drinks to Order This Summer

It is ninety degrees out, the line at your coffee shop is long, and a plain iced coffee feels like it is not going to cut it today. You want something cold, a little fun, maybe the drink you saw someone order right before you and wished you had asked about too.

Here is the direct answer: the best iced secret menu drinks all follow the same pattern. Take a cold base you already like, a refresher, an iced tea, or a cold brew, and change one or two things about it, the milk, a flavor pairing, the amount of ice. None of them ask more of the espresso machine, which is exactly why they are the ones worth ordering when summer hits. Every drink below is written out by its real build, so you can order it at any shop that carries the ingredients.

These are the iced off menu orders that spread widely enough to become part of coffee culture. Order by the build, since the name alone will not always register at the counter. For the fuller list of chain drinks that made this kind of jump, see the wider roundup of secret menu drinks.

Pink Drink (Starbucks). A Strawberry Acai Refresher made with coconutmilk instead of water, over ice. It started as a customer favorite built from two things already on the menu, and it became popular enough that Starbucks eventually added it as an official drink.
Purple Drink (Starbucks). A Passion Tango iced tea made with a splash of coconut or soy milk and vanilla in place of some of the water. Light, fruity, and one of the easiest iced orders to ask for by build. More on how Starbucks off menu drinks work here.

Chain drinks show up here because they are the most documented, not because independent shops lack good iced orders. Ask your own regular coffee shop what their iced regulars order that never made the board. It is often just as good, and nobody outside that shop has written it down.

By what you are craving

Something fruity and refreshing

Order a refresher or iced tea base with a fruit or citrus modification and light ice. These are the drinks that photograph well and taste like summer, and they tend to be the easiest for a shop to build quickly even during a rush.

Something creamy without going hot

Ask for a cold brew or iced coffee with a splash of cream or a flavored milk instead of a full pour, plus a light drizzle if the shop offers one. You get the richness of a dessert drink without asking the espresso machine to do anything unusual.

Something that still hits like real coffee

Order an iced shot or two over a small amount of milk rather than a large cup diluted with ice. Ask for less ice specifically, since that is often the difference between a drink that tastes strong and one that tastes watered down by the time you are halfway through it.

How to order any of these

Know the build, the base plus each modification, and ask for that rather than a nickname the barista may not recognize.
Ask for the ice level you actually want. Iced drinks vary a lot more by ice amount than people expect.
Confirm the shop carries the flavor or fruit base a drink calls for. An independent shop may pour its own refresher base rather than a branded one, and that is worth asking about.
If a shop does not have the exact modification a viral drink calls for, ask what they do carry in the same flavor family. A good barista can usually get you close.

For the full etiquette on getting any custom order right without slowing down the line, this guide covers it in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to name the drink exactly right for the barista to know what I mean? Not really. Naming the actual build, the base and every modification, works far more reliably than a viral nickname, especially outside of the chain that made a drink famous.

Are iced secret menu drinks more expensive than a regular iced coffee? Sometimes, since you are paying for whatever modifications you ask for, a different milk, extra flavor, or a refresher base instead of tea. It is priced the same as any other custom order.

What if my shop does not have refreshers or fruit bases at all? Ask what cold, fruity, or iced options they do carry. Independent shops often have their own iced specials that never made a national list, and those are usually worth asking about directly.

Find the real iced secret menu orders people are loving at shops near you on Aloc.