The Best Iced Lattes to Enjoy in Austin This Summer
Beat the heat with these refreshing seasonal sips from some of Austin’s most creative and beloved coffee spots
It’s summer in Austin, and we all know what that means: skyrocketing temperatures, sweaty walks to and from the car, and a desperate need to cool off by any means necessary. While cranking up the AC and taking a dip in the pool are tried-and-true remedies, Austin coffee aficionados know that an expertly-prepared iced latte is a necessary part of any cooldown strategy.
Luckily, local coffee shops are always willing and ready to provide flavorful and enticing seasonal iced lattes to keep us refreshed and energized from Memorial Day through Labor Day and beyond. These six drinks count among our very favorite summery iced lattes available in Austin.
Horchata Cold Brew at Mercado Sin Nombre
A charming daytime-only cafe tucked off of North Pleasant Valley Road, Mercado Sin Nombre has become locally famous for its exquisitely roasted coffee grown in Mexico, its tasty and Instagrammable baked goods (the Masa Twinkie is especially popular), and its inventive lattes that feature Latin-inspired flavors and ingredients.
While I hate to play favorites with Mercado Sin Nombre’s excellent coffee creations, I’ll admit that the drink that’s become a regular part of my own coffee rotation is their Horchata Cold Brew. This thirst-quenching sipper combines housemade horchata with Mercado Sin Nombre’s cold brew, and the blend of the light and sweet horchata and the rich, earthy coffee is nothing short of magical.
Grapefruit Brown Sugar Latte at Terrible Love
There’s something undeniably summery about bright citrus flavors, but mixing these zingy tastes with coffee can be a controversial move. That’s why I like to leave this challenging blend to experts who really know what they’re doing, like the team at Terrible Love in Hyde Park. This small-but-mighty truck never shies away from transforming fruit and coffee into a winning combination; their signature “Trrbl Latte”, which stars banana and chocolate, is a certified cult favorite. But a more recent addition to their menu, the Grapefruit Brown Sugar Latte, lets Terrible Love play around with that most acidic and bitter of citrus fruits.
Terrible Love very smartly works grapefruit juice into a syrup made with brown sugar, so the caramel notes of the sugar counteract the more abrasive aspects of the grapefruit flavor. This syrup melts into Terrible Love’s espresso with total precision, and guests can add their choice of milk to further enrich the drink. The final touch of a brown sugar sprinkle on top ties all of the elements together.
Iced Rose Cardamom Latte at Freewheelin’ Coffee
East Austin is a prime destination for quality coffee, and Freewheelin’ Coffee, a coffee truck perched on East Cesar Chavez Street, lives up to that lofty reputation. Freewheelin’ offers what they call “adventurous coffee and bites,” and they pursue that goal by using locally-sourced ingredients, serving an ambitious selection of pastries, sandwiches and tacos, and experimenting with off-kilter coffee and tea beverages. It’s this willingness to take serious flavor risks that results in menu items like the Rose Cardamom Latte.
I know what you’re thinking: rose and cardamom sounds like perfume or air freshener, right? But in the hands of the talented Freewheelin’ barista team, these floral and herbaceous ingredients infuse the simple syrup in a way that’s noticeable but subtle. The top-notch espresso still holds down the latte’s flavor foundation, and the rose and cardamom are there to highlight the coffee, never to eclipse it. When poured over ice and sipped as you stroll down East Cesar Chavez on a weekend morning, the Rose Cardamom Latte feels like a perfect summer day-starter.
Iced Honey Lavender Latte at Cenizo
Coffee fiends in Southeast Austin consider themselves lucky to have Cenizo—a playful yet skilled coffee truck with locations on Colton-Bluff Springs Road and in Del Valle—in their area, and I can’t help but agree. Cenizo’s latte selections focus on seasonality in a really effective way, and because Austin seasons range from hot to hotter to hottest, clean-tasting and invigorating drinks are a big priority here. Case in point: the Honey Lavender Latte, a Cenizo favorite that’s best enjoyed over ice. Cenizo makes a syrup with local honey and fragrant lavender, and when it’s added to espresso and milk, it provides a botanical undercurrent of flavor that’s aromatic but never overpowering.
Earth Day Matcha at Desnudo
It’s hard to think of an Austin coffee purveyor with a better reputation than Desnudo. From their spectacular brews to their warm customer service, Desnudo knows exactly what the East Austin coffee scene needs, and they deliver on all fronts. But as gifted as these baristas are at pulling an espresso shot, the Desnudo team also knows their way around a cup of matcha. Recently, they introduced a new matcha latte in honor of Earth Day—but the Earth Day Matcha, made with uji matcha (the highest grade of Japanese matcha powder), vanilla bean, and raspberry purée, became such an instant hit that Desnudo decided to make it a permanent menu fixture. That means the delicate, nutty matcha paired with sweet vanilla and bright raspberry will be available as a summer refresher all season long.
Oat Milk Vietnamese Iced Coffee at Radio Coffee & Beer
For an unforgettable warm-weather drink that’s also vegan-friendly, Radio Coffee & Beer has you covered. At all three Radio locations (Radio South, Radio/East, and Radio Rosewood), you can find the Oat Milk Vietnamese Iced Coffee, which is made with NOLA-style iced coffee brewed with chicory and then blended with sweetened condensed oat milk. The condensed oat milk brings a strong strain of sweetness, but it’s tempered by the acidic notes of the cold brew and the nutty, smoky character of the chicory. These balanced flavors make the Oat Milk Vietnamese Iced Coffee a smart morning order for those who prefer their lattes on the sweet side.