I remember it so clearly - my first Starbucks run. It was the summer of 2014, I was a young teenager, and all of my friends were baffled that I'd never ventured to Starbucks before. So my mom and I went to our local one, and when it was time to order, I remember my mouth got dry, my hands were dripping with sweat and my mind went blank.
I wasn't a coffee drinker, so what was I supposed to order? There wasn't any sort of guide, and the menu looked like it was in a different language (what the heck even is a Frappuccino?)
A few years later, I found out my experience wasn't out of the ordinary - in fact, most people I've talked to about their first Starbucks experience had the same feeling of panic about what to order.
"I'm a Dunkin' Donuts person, so when I went to Starbucks for the first time, I panicked and ordered a Dark Roast," - Anastacia Vargas, University of Florida Class of 2022
That's why I wanted to make this guide to help out any non-native Starbucks speakers to help them navigate the slightly intimidating menu.
The Basic Terminology
Tall = Small
Grande = Medium
Venti = Large
Skinny = Espresso-based drinks that use 2% milk, not whole milk
Frappuccino = A dessert-like blended drink that has the consistency of an icier milkshake
Refresher = Think of fruit flavored iced tea
Cold Brew = Fancy coffee that is steeped for twenty hours and has more caffeine than iced coffee
Nitro Cold Brew = The extreme coffee; it's smooth and strong
Protein Blended = Coffee with a Frappuccino consistency plus protein
Espresso = A strong coffee bean that's more popular in Europe than the US
Americano = Espresso and water
Mocha = Chocolate coffee (yum, am I right?!)
Cappuccino = Espresso with a thick layer of foam
Latte = Espresso with a semi-thick layer of foam
If You're a Coffee Drinker...
- Iced Coffee with/without Milk
- Nitro Cold Brew with/without Sweet Cream
- Cafe Mocha (Iced or not)
- Vanilla Latte (Iced or not)
- Any Frappuccino (you can add a shot of espresso to any of them)
If You're Not a Coffee Drinker...
- Any Frappuccino (you can ask for it without the coffee). I would recommend the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino if you just want a basic sweet treat, but the Triple Mocha Frappucino is bomb if you want something chocolatey - the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino is also a great seasonal drink during the winter.
- The Refreshers. These are good because they don't have coffee, but they're still tasty and, well, refreshing.
- Iced Tea. A classic that you can't go wrong with. They have a lot of different variations of it, so there's something for everyone.
- Creme Drinks. They have ones like Cinnamon Dulce Creme, Pumpkin Spice Creme, Gingerbread Creme, etc. It's a hot, sweet drink with steamed milk and flavored syrup with whipped cream on top - mmm!
- Hot Chocolate. The cool thing about this is that they offer lots of different kinds: Peppermint Hot Cocoa, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa, etc.
You're Ready to Order Now
Now you guys are hopefully better prepared with what to get when you go to Starbucks! And if you have any friends or family that were as equally terrified of a Venti as you were, share this article with them. Life is better when you're confident, and hopefully this survival guide is step in the right direction.