During the pandemic, TikTok users got creative with their Starbucks orders, testing the baristas by asking for a surprise drink or ordering a personalized one from outside of the menu. Anna Sitar, a content creator known for her Starbucks trips, spearheaded this trend. In one of her TikTok videos, Sitar makes a request from one of her fans and orders a Venti Mango Dragon Fruit Refresher, water substituted with peach juice, no inclusions, four pumps of pineapple and ginger, and three pumps of raspberry. Wow. What a mouthful. Baristas have been frustrated with the intricate orders and have expressed their complaints.
Don’t worry Anna and fans, Starbucks announced its new patent for a coffee machine able to make customer’s personalized drinks. It will also have the technology to customize layers, match a customer’s shoe color, holiday themes, or the weather outside — just kidding. But you get the idea. It’ll be able to handle almost any crazy customizations you can think of. Once you can order your drink to match the mood of your day, why just order from the original menu?
But Is It Worth It?
Personalized drinks make up 60% of Starbucks orders and have increased the chain's sales. They also mostly consist of added syrups or sauces within the drinks, which cost extra Also, baristas now won’t have to worry about memorizing these long complicated orders.The machine will make the drinks faster, so it’s more efficient on those busy days before work or class. Starbucks also shared that the machine will be programmed to clean itself as well. How much longer until the machine itself is taking our orders?
Although Starbucks hasn’t announced a reveal date for this new technology, we are all eagerly anticipating its release so we can try it out.