Starbucks may have built its global reputation around coffee, but younger customers in the US are increasingly visiting the chain for something different: cold, highly customisable drinks.

Elaine Ling, 21, who divides her time between New York and California, is among those who prefer local cafes when she wants what she considers “real coffee”. At Starbucks, she instead chooses cold refreshments.

Ling said she finds Starbucks coffee too sweet and considers herself more interested in the company’s refresher drinks than its traditional coffee options.

Her preferences reflect a wider shift among younger consumers. Starbucks says that three out of every four drinks it now sells are cold, despite the company starting as a coffee shop more than five decades ago.

The growing selection includes iced fruit-based beverages, protein shakes and so-called dirty sodas, which can combine ingredients such as foam, syrups and juices.

Gen Z consumers, generally defined as people born between 1997 and 2012, are increasingly attracted to drinks that can be personalised according to their tastes.

The trend suggests younger customers are changing what they expect from traditional coffee chains, with customisation, variety and cold beverages becoming increasingly important parts of the experience.

For Starbucks, the shift means its future growth may depend not only on coffee but also on keeping up with younger consumers’ appetite for creative and highly personalised cold drinks.