This refreshing twist on cold brew blends honey with a hint of salt, creating a delicious, sweet, salty, creamy coffee experience. A salted honey cold foam iced coffee is smooth and perfect for sipping. It’s a simple yet sophisticated take on cold brew that coffee lovers won’t want to miss.

Plus, this drink is so easy to make, and you can use it with common ingredients any home will have. So grab your milk, honey, salt, and coffee, and make this delicious drink yourself!

Here’s how to make a salted honey cold foam iced coffee at home!

What is Cold Foam?

Keeping track of what can be confusing with all the different cafe drinks. A cold foam is simply a frothed cold milk that creates a soft and fluffy foam layer, perfect for topping lattes, coffees, teas, etc.

Cold foam itself is often used interchangeably with sweet cream and sweet cream cold foam. Traditionally, it’s made with 2% milk, but these days, you can use any milk you’d like, from oat milk to half and half.

Cold foams are usually vanilla or sweet cream flavored, but it’s the perfect palette to add different flavors, too. Especially around the holidays, you’ll see all sorts of festive flavors like pumpkin, peppermint, lavender, maple, etc.

What is the Difference Between Cold Foam and Sweet Cream Cold Foam?

Sweet cream and cold foam might sound like the same thing, but they’re actually two different types of creamy coffee toppings that add unique textures to your drink.

Sweet cream cold foam is a blend of heavy cream and milk, giving it a thick, fluffy texture and a richer taste. Made from heavy whipping cream, milk, sugar, and sometimes a hint of vanilla or other flavor, it’s perfect for bold coffees like cold brew or black coffee, adding a creamy sweetness without overpowering the coffee’s flavor.

On the other hand, cold foam is frothed milk whipped into a light, airy foam that sits on top of your coffee like a little cloud. It’s fluffier and lighter than sweet cream, with a texture similar to bubbly microfoam.

What is Salted Honey Cold Foam Made Of?

This salted honey cold foam is actually a sweet cream cold foam, but you can make it a cold foam as well. For salted honey sweet cream cold foam, there’s heavy cream, milk, salt, and honey, while salted honey cold foam is milk, salt, and honey.

The two versions taste the same but have a different tasting experience and texture. The sweet cream cold foam version is creamier, softer, and fluffier, while the cold foam is airier and has more bubbles.

What Does Salted Honey Cold Foam Taste Like?

Salted honey itself is delicious. It’s sweet and salty, and you get a pleasant floral aftertaste from the honey. Anything savory and sweet is a fantastic combo since the salt enhances the sweetness (as mentioned earlier).

Honey and milk is a classic combination and a great drink for kids since there’s no caffeine. But a dash of salt changes the entire flavor, similar to how salted caramel tastes so good with the extra salt.

It’s also great in a matcha latte! It brings out the umami and sweetness.

Salt in Coffee

Ever wonder why anyone would add salt to coffee? I used to feel the same way—until I discovered that it actually makes coffee smoother and less bitter, enhancing the overall flavor!

Salt’s magic lies in how it interacts with our taste receptors.

Food Science Break: When salt’s sodium ions bind to salt receptors on your tongue, they block some of the bitter taste receptors, allowing other flavors, like sweetness, to shine through. This scientific phenomenon, cross-modal perception, is why we often add a pinch of salt to sweet desserts and drinks.

This isn’t a new trick, either. Coffee enthusiasts in Sweden add a dash of salt to soften the bitterness of dark roasts, and in Turkey, people have salted their coffee for centuries to create a richer, fuller flavor. Vietnamese salted coffee uses salt to balance out the sweetness of condensed milk, resulting in an irresistibly sweet-savory experience.

If you try it yourself, you’ll see how it rounds out coffee’s flavor, especially in bold, dark roasts, letting subtler notes like chocolate and natural sweetness shine without any harsh edges.

Is Honey Good With Iced Coffee?

Honey, in my opinion, is an underrated sweetener that pairs beautifully with coffee! While it’s not the go-to choice for most, honey complements coffee’s natural flavors with its floral, fruity, and slightly bright notes, which often mirror coffee’s own profiles.

Since honey is a viscous syrup, it dissolves easily in liquids, especially when they’re warm, so you get a smooth sweetness in each sip. Plus, honey is an all-natural option, making it a healthier alternative to processed syrups.

Another bonus? You can also find a variety of flavored honey, like cinnamon or ginger honey, which adds another flavor to your drink.

How to Make a Salted Honey Cold Foam Iced Coffee

To make a salted honey cold foam iced coffee, you’ll need:

• Heavy cream
• Milk
• Brewed coffee
• Ice
• Salt
• Honey

Salted Honey Cold Foam Iced Coffee Recipe

1. Brew coffee. Brew a cup of your favorite coffee using your favorite method. I love pour-over coffee, but if you have it, cold brew coffee is the best for this drink.
2. Make sweet cream cold foam. Whip heavy cream, milk, honey, and salt using a handheld frother or electric whisk until soft and fluffy. It should still be pourable and not stiff like whipped cream.
3. Assemble drink. Add ice and coffee into a separate cup, then top with the salted honey cold foam.
4. Mix and enjoy!

Other Sweeteners to Use

Want to try a different sweetener other than honey? You can use any sweetener you’d like; they’ll taste delicious with a little salt. Some recommendations:

• Salted maple syrup
• Condensed milk (for a Vietnamese salted coffee vibe)
• Salted vanilla
• Salted pistachio and honey
• Agave
• Brown sugar
• Salted caramel syrup
• Molasses (salted gingerbread vibe?)
• Cane sugar

I think maple syrup is the closest substitute to honey, plus salted maple syrup is also delicious and has a nice caramel-like flavor to it.

Tips

Here are some tips for making a delicious salted honey cold foam iced coffee at home!

• You can use oat milk as a dairy replacement for your cold foam and use coconut or vegan heavy cream to make sweet cream cold foam vegan. They both froth very well and give you a soft and fluffy foam.
• Dissolve your honey in a little bit of warm water if it’s thick. It will dissolve much better into milk that way! You can also make honey syrup for easy use.