By the Little Ox Coffee Team — Fullerton, CA
If you’ve scrolled past the Coconut Spice Latte on our menu and wondered whether it’s worth ordering, here’s the honest, detailed answer — what’s actually in it, how our baristas make it, what it costs, and what real customers say about it.
It’s one of our most-ordered Signature Creations during the fall and winter months, but it holds up year-round, and it’s become one of the drinks regulars specifically ask for by name instead of just pointing at the menu board.
Below, we break down exactly what goes into the cup, how to customize it, and how it stacks up against our other lattes so you can decide if it’s the right order for you.
Table of Contents
What’s In the Coconut Spice Latte
This isn’t a syrup-pump shortcut. Our Coconut Spice Latte is built on:
- Coconut oat milk blend — steamed for texture, not just added for flavor
- Housemade brown sugar syrup — mixed in-house, not a bottled syrup
- Cinnamon for warmth
- Espresso, our standard house shot
Price: $6.50 (matches our Salted Cream Vanilla and Honey Lavender Oat Latte pricing — it’s one of our mid-tier Signature Creations).
How Our Baristas Make It
The order of operations actually matters for this drink, which is part of why it’s harder to replicate at home than it looks:
- Syrup first. The housemade brown sugar syrup goes into the cup before anything else, so it dissolves fully instead of sitting at the bottom.
- Espresso pulled fresh. A standard double shot is pulled directly over the syrup — this lets the hot espresso start blending with the syrup immediately instead of the two staying separate.
- Cinnamon dusted. We add cinnamon at this stage rather than at the end, so it integrates into the espresso-syrup base instead of just floating on top of the foam.
- Coconut oat milk steamed and poured. The coconut oat milk blend is steamed separately, then poured in last. Steaming it (rather than just pouring it cold) is what gives the drink its rounder, less sharp coconut flavor — an unsteamed pour tends to taste flatter and more artificial.
- Iced version. For iced orders, the syrup and espresso are combined first, then poured over ice, with the coconut oat milk added on top and lightly stirred.
Skipping the steaming step is the most common mistake when people try to recreate this drink at home — it’s the difference between a coconut flavor that tastes rounded and one that tastes as if it came straight from a carton.
What It Actually Tastes Like
Cinnamon and coconut are both bold flavors, so the balance is what makes or breaks this drink.
Based on customer feedback we’ve gathered on Yelp and Google, the drink most often gets described as spiced without being sweet — the coconut rounds out the cinnamon rather than competing with it, and the espresso still comes through instead of getting buried.
One reviewer specifically noted that the espresso still came through nicely alongside the coconut, rather than getting lost under it.
That said, it’s not universally a favorite — a few reviewers who prefer lighter, less-spiced lattes have found it a bit much, so if you’re someone who orders a plain vanilla latte because you don’t like strong flavor notes, this probably isn’t your drink.
The flavor also shifts as the drink cools. In the first few sips, the espresso and cinnamon lead. By the halfway point, once the ice has diluted it slightly (or the hot version has cooled a bit), the coconut becomes more noticeable and the drink reads sweeter, even though nothing about the syrup ratio has changed.
This is worth knowing if you’re the type of person who nurses a coffee for an hour while working — the drink you finish won’t taste identical to the one you started.
Customizing Your Order
A few adjustments our regulars ask for most often:
- Extra shot: If you want the espresso to hold its own against the cinnamon and coconut more strongly, ask for an added shot — the base recipe is balanced for a standard double, so an extra shot shifts the drink noticeably toward “coffee-forward” rather than “dessert-forward.”
- Light syrup: For a less sweet version, ask for the brown sugar syrup on the light side. This keeps the cinnamon and coconut but pulls back the sweetness.
- Extra cinnamon: If you’re someone who wants the spice to be the star, a bit of extra cinnamon on top intensifies that without changing the sweetness level.
- Sub the milk: The coconut oat milk blend is part of what makes this drink what it is, so substituting a different milk changes the flavor significantly — we’d consider that closer to a different drink than a variation of this one.
Pairing Suggestions
Because the Coconut Spice Latte leans warm and slightly sweet, it pairs well with baked goods that aren’t already heavily spiced or sugary themselves — think a plain croissant or a simple butter pastry rather than something like a cinnamon roll, which would compete with the drink instead of complementing it.
If you want a lighter pairing, a plain scone works well since it won’t fight with the cinnamon-coconut combination.
How It Compares to Our Other Lattes
If you’re deciding between drinks on our menu, here’s where the Coconut Spice Latte fits:
| Drink | Flavor Style | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut Spice Latte | Bold, warm spice + coconut | Spice lovers, cooler days, dessert-style drinks |
| Brown Sugar Hojicha Latte | Toasty, low bitterness | People who want something cozy but low-caffeine |
| Pandan Latte | Soft, nutty, aromatic | First-time visitors who want something unique but mild |
| Salted Cream Vanilla Latte | Creamy, sweet-salty | Anyone who wants a safe, crowd-pleasing option |
If you liked the Sweater Weather Latte, the Coconut Spice Latte is a good next drink to try — both lean into warm spice, but this one trades pumpkin for coconut.
Hot or Iced — and When to Order It
It works both ways, and the season you’re visiting in genuinely changes which version we’d recommend.
Iced brings out the coconut more clearly (the flavor reads cleaner when it’s cold), while hot leans into the cinnamon and feels more like a dessert drink — closer to a spiced dessert than a straightforward coffee.
During Southern California’s warmer months, we’d point most first-timers toward the iced version, since the cinnamon can taste heavier when the drink is hot, and the temperature outside is already warm.
Once the weather cools down in late fall, the hot version becomes the more popular order at the counter, and it’s often what regulars switch to without us even asking.
Is It Actually Worth the $6.50?
Compared to our simpler drinks like the Americano or Cortado (both in the $4–$5 range), the Coconut Spice Latte costs more because of the housemade syrup and the coconut oat milk blend, both of which take more prep than a standard milk steam.
If you’re only looking for a caffeine fix, it’s not the most economical option on our menu. But if you’re specifically looking for something closer to a dessert-in-a-cup — the kind of drink you’d order as a treat rather than a daily grab-and-go — the price lines up with what you’re getting.
Where to Get It
Little Ox Coffee 217 N Euclid St, Fullerton, CA 92832 Open daily, 7 AM – 7 PM (Sunday from 8 AM)
We’re a short stop for anyone studying, working, or just passing through Fullerton — the café has full indoor seating and Wi-Fi if you want to stay a while. You can see the full lineup, including this drink, on our menu page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Coconut Spice Latte very sweet?
No — it’s built around housemade brown sugar syrup, not bottled sweetener, so it leans spiced rather than sugary.
Can I get it dairy-free?
Yes. It’s already made with a coconut oat milk blend as the base, so it’s naturally dairy-free as ordered.
What’s the difference between this and the Sweater Weather Latte?
Sweater Weather Latte uses pumpkin and a spice blend; Coconut Spice Latte swaps the pumpkin for coconut and keeps cinnamon as the dominant spice.
Does it have caffeine?
Yes — it’s built on a standard espresso shot, same as our other signature lattes.
Can I order it decaf?
Yes, just ask — we can swap in decaf espresso without changing anything else about the recipe.
Is it available seasonally or year-round?
It’s on our menu year-round, though we see it ordered most often from late fall through winter.
Curious about our other Signature Creations? Check out the Sweater Weather Latte or browse the full Little Ox Coffee menu.
