Last verified 17 September 2026
Copycat Blondie Recipe
How to build the 7 Brew Blondie at home — 4 ingredients, 9 minutes, 273 calories a serving, and roughly $3.15 cheaper per drink than the $5.38 you would pay at the window. This is the recipe I keep coming back to when I am not standing in line.
What you are aiming for — a Blondie off the board. The stand's Medium is 273 calories; this version comes in at 273.
A Blondie is a latte build. The Blondie is the drink 7 Brew is known for and it is genuinely easy to copy — two syrups over a normal latte. What home versions get wrong is the ratio: it should read caramel-first with vanilla as the roundness behind it, not the other way round.
At a glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 4 minutes |
| Total time | 9 minutes |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Yield | 1 drink (16 oz) |
| Calories (per serving) | 273 kcal |
| Sugar | 25 g |
| Caffeine | 156 mg |
| Home cost | $2.23 |
| Stand price (Medium) | $5.38 |
| You save | $3.15 (59%) |
Ingredients
- 2 shots espresso (60 ml)
- 240 ml whole milk
- 2 tbsp caramel syrup and 1 tbsp vanilla syrup
- whipped cream and a caramel drizzle
Equipment
- Espresso machine, moka pot or double-strength coffee
- Milk steamer, frother or saucepan + whisk
- 16 oz mug
How to make it
- Pull 2 shots of espresso (60 ml). Without a machine, brew 60 ml at double strength — 30 g of grounds to 120 g of water.
- Measure 240 ml of whole milk into a pitcher while the shot pulls.
- Stir 2 tbsp caramel syrup and 1 tbsp vanilla syrup into the hot espresso and give it 5 seconds. Syrup dissolves properly in coffee, not in cold milk.
- Steam the whole milk to 60 °C. No steamer? Heat it until it just steams, then whisk hard for 20 seconds.
- Pour from a height into the centre of the espresso in one steady stream, then drop the spout close to the surface to set a foam cap.
- Finish with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle. Taste before adding anything else — 2 tbsp caramel syrup and 1 tbsp vanilla syrup already carries a lot of sweetness.
Tips that actually matter
- Use 2:1 caramel to vanilla. Equal pumps just tastes like a vanilla latte with caramel in the background.
- Salted caramel instead of plain gets you noticeably closer to the stand version.
- If your syrup brand runs sweet, drop to 1 tbsp caramel plus 2 tsp vanilla.
Variations
- Iced Blondie: espresso and syrup over ice, then cold milk floated on top — do not shake it.
- Blondie Breve: swap the whole milk for half-and-half warmed to 60 °C.
- Blondie cold brew: replace the espresso with 120 ml of cold brew concentrate.
What it costs to make at home
| Component | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| 2 shots espresso (60 ml) | $0.55 |
| 240 ml whole milk | $0.48 |
| 2 tbsp caramel syrup and 1 tbsp vanilla syrup | $0.35 |
| whipped cream and a caramel drizzle | $0.35 |
| Total per serving | $2.23 |
| Stand price (Medium 24 oz) | $5.38 |
| Saving per drink | $3.15 |
Costs assume supermarket prices and a syrup bottle amortised over roughly 25 drinks. The first drink is more expensive than $2.23 because you are buying the bottle; by the fifth drink you are clearly ahead.
How this recipe compares
Across all 46 copycat recipes on this site, this one is the 28th fastest at 9 minutes and the 18th lightest at 273 calories — 29 calories below the 302-calorie average.
Same technique (latte)
More Coffee Classics recipes
Verified · prices & nutrition are estimates — confirm at your stand