Starbucks lingo – not just for rocket scientists

By
sarena
-
4
1960

When it comes to me ordering a drink from Starbucks, the menu might as well be written in Greek. Honestly, when people order, I always think to myself – “you want a tall, non-fat, no foam, whipped cream topped, caramel drizzled what?” – and the barista doesn’t even bat an eyelash. The other day, I walked in to place my order and simply asked for a “Vanilla Bean,” which prompted the lady to ask me if I wanted it as a “frappuccino or cappuccino.” Seeing my quizzical look, she helped me out with a “would you like it hot or cold?” Seriously, I’m that bad.

Half the time, I’m always complaining about the fact that Starbucks can’t name their drink sizes a normal “small, medium, large” but instead play the part of wannabe Italians, resulting in names like  “Tall, Grande and Venti.”  The other half of the time, my friends are complaining that I’m not embracing Starbucks culture properly.  In a way, I suppose they are right; if I like their drinks, I better “talk their talk.”

Guessing that I wasn’t the only one struggling with the complicated language of Starbucks, I searched the web for some help and found a wider variety of articles dedicated to helping people learn the lingo of America’s favourite coffee place. Here is just one of the many articles that might help you, if you are like me and often feel tongue tied at Starbucks: http://www.wikihow.com/Order-at-Starbucks

Sticking with the Starbucks theme, here are five facts you may not have known about them:

  1. There’s a secret size of coffee not listed on the menu dubbed “the short” and is what kid’s cocoa is served in
  2. An average of five new Starbucks stores open every day
  3. There are over 87,000 drink combinations to be made
  4. The average Starbucks customer visits the store six times per month while a loyal 20 per cent of customers visit the store 16 times a month
  5. The Starbucks Grande coffee has 320 mg of caffeine, over four times the amount found in a Red Bull energy drink

4 COMMENTS

  1. Did you know that Starbucks is coming out with a new size for their summer drinks? It's bigger than the Venti… and it's also bigger than the volume of your stomach.

  2. 5 new stores a day? That's actually a lot more than I expected.

    I kinda want to try the new size (trenta, I think?) just to see if I can finish it haha.

  3. You're right – the new Trenta size will be available soon but only for iced drinks. Topping up at a grand total of 7 ounces larger than the Venti cup, it is something I don't think I could ever finish!

  4. The Trenta sounds kind of disgusting. Who could drink that much coffee?! And people bash McDonalds for being oversized! I totally agree with all the confusion that comes with a trip to Starbucks. Why do they insist on being Italian? Starbucks is from Seattle.

    Anyway, I share your opinion. Ordering a frappuccino is such an ordeal that I usually just end up going to Tim Horton's and getting a good old fashioned iced capp.

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