So if you read my introductory post, I work at Starbucks, and one pet peeve of mine is making a drink wrong simply because the customer didn't know what the drink was really called (and they thought it was right), and it turns out to be something else. Some customers aggravate me because they're mean about it, but that certainly doesn't represent all customers. I feel bad because a lot of people, especially the younger crowd, love how Starbucks tastes but are intimidated by all it's technical terms. Well, you guys caught a prize today, because I'm going to help you out find out the difference between all your favorites! (FRAPPUCCINOS will come another day..sorry guys!) Let's start with the basic drinks:
1-2-3 Basics
[Caffe] Latte: Espresso shots, steamed milk, and a dollop of foam. (Can come Iced)
Cappuccino: Espresso shots, half steamed milk, and half foam. You can get a little more foam or more milk, in which that case you would get a dry cappuccino (more foam) or wet cappuccino (more milk).
Mocha [Latte]: Pumps of Mocha syrup, espresso shots, steamed milk, and whipped cream (optional).
*When customers and baristas talk about Mochas, they say either "mocha syrup" or "chocolate syrup" when in fact, they're one in the same. It can also be made with White Chocolate Mocha instead of regular Mocha (I happen to love White Mocha a latte more..haha, get it? A latte?)
* (Can come Iced)
Espresso: If you want just individual shots of espresso, we can do that! Just tell us how many shots you'd like and if you want it hot or over ice! Espresso shots are just 1 oz. caffeine concentrated coffees. It's really nutty and definitely gives you a kick in the head, especially if you're not used to coffee black.
Solo: One espresso shot
Doppio: Two espresso shots
Triple: Three espresso shots
Quad: Four espresso shots
Espresso Macchiato: The amount of desired espresso shots with a scoop of milk foam.
[Caffe] Americano: Espresso and hot water. Diluted, it's the same strength--if not slightly stronger--of caffeine in a regular cup of coffee. However, since it's espresso, the taste is a lot bolder. (Can come Iced)
*Keep in mind that any recipe that requires milk can come with whole milk, 2%, nonfat/skim, or soy (with an additional charge.) If there's not stated milk preference, the default milk for espresso based drinks is is 2%, NOT whole milk. Otherwise all our customers would get fat!
All right guys, now for the complicated drinks, but also the most popular ones:
Complicated, but Popular Drinks
Caramel Macchiato: Ahh, this is where it gets confusing. It's not at all like the Espresso Macchiato. It's sweetened with pumps of syrup and the caramel that makes the drink is the caramel drizzle that goes on top. Some customers ask for a "no caramel Caramel Macchiato" without understanding that it wouldn't be a caramel macchiato anymore. So let me clarify some stuff for you lovely folks out there: a Caramel Macchiato consists of (in this order): Vanilla syrup, steamed milk, a little foam, espresso shots, and then caramel drizzle. (Can come Iced)
REMEMBER: Without caramel drizzle on top, it will NOT be a Caramel Machiatto. If you ask for a "no caramel Caramel Machiatto, we'll probably end up making you a Caramel Latte (pumps of Caramel Syrup espresso, steamed milk with a little foam). A good barista will clarify for you.
Chai Tea Latte: Starbucks' Chai Tea Latte is made with a chai tea concentrate. It DOES have sugar and it DOES have a little caffeine..so beware. It seems innocent because it's so delicious, but with a price. In New Jersey, we dilute the concentrate with a little hot water to tone down the spicy flavor, but apparently most other states don't (a regular customer from my store told me about a barista in Florida said they don't put water in their Chai's). So along with Chai concentrate and a little water, it comes with steamed milk and a scoop of foam.
*NOTE: A lot of usual go-ers get their Chai Tea Latte without water. Try it! Maybe you'll like it too!
*TIP: Many of our other customers (including myself) add Vanilla syrup to our Chai's. It makes it a little sweeter and tones down the spiciness of the tea.
Green Tea Latte: It's an unusual drink, but healthy nonetheless. *NOTE: By default, our Green Tea Latte comes with our Classic syrup as a sweetener, unless requested otherwise. The recipe entails green tea matcha powder, steamed milk, and the Classic syrup sweetener. (Can come Iced.)
Syrups and Sizes
There are lots of ways your drink can be customized! The kind of milk, size, types of syrups, the works. Let's explain the sizes and syrups for you.
Pretty much anything can come with syrup. Some syrups can even come sugar-free! (SF) We currently have:
Vanilla (SF optional)
Hazelnut (SF optional)
Caramel (SF optional)
Cinnamon Dolce (SF optional)
ToffeeNut
Peppermint
Raspberry (*NOTE: Raspberry is good, but smells like medicine when there's too much. Most likely, one or two pumps is fine to sweeten up your drink.)
Coconut [Released in Jersey (and I think most other states except Hawaii, which has had it a while) as a seasonal syrup in the beginning of summer 2011 when we premiered our MochaCoconut Frappuccino, which is becoming a best-seller. In my opinion, it's actually pretty delicious and adds a good twist to your usual Mocha Latte. If it becomes popular enough, it will most likely stop becoming seasonal and become an everyday available syrup.]
Small, Medium, Large? Seriously, don't feel bad if you don't know the names of the sizes. I love helping people out with that because they like the feeling of learning something new that will mostly likely impact (even a small change) in their everyday visit. Honestly, at least you know the size you want instead of asking for a "Tall" and expecting the largest size. We can't tell if you don't really know or are trying to scam us. Let me help you out with this, and a few tricks to remember.
Short: 8 oz. The average customer doesn't really know about this, but all the hardcore Starbuckians do. It's only available hot, and is used for Espresso shots, Espresso Macchiatos, kids sized drinks, and of course if you ask for "Short." Starbucks stores never really offer short unless customers ask for smaller than a Tall.
*Gets 2 pumps of desired syrup if requested, except Caramel Macchiato, which gets 1 pump of Vanilla.
Tall: 12 oz. A lot of people get confused with this, so don't feel bad! It's the smallest size we really mention. A good way to remember is that "tall" rhymes with "small." It's a good size if you want to try out a drink for the first time.
*Gets 3 pumps of desired syrup if requested, except Caramel Macchiato, which gets 2 pumps of Vanilla. (Do you start to see the pattern?)
Grande: 16 oz. Probably the most popular size. This also confuses people since "Grande" means big. In fact, way back when, it used to be the largest size Starbucks offered until customers wanted bigger sizes. So at one point in time, it really was big.
*Gets 4 pumps of desired syrup if requested, except Caramel Macchiato, which gets (..you guessed it..!) 3 pumps of Vanilla
Venti: 20 oz. HOT, 26 oz. ICED Why the crazy difference? Good question..a question I don't really know the answer to myself. 60% of all Iced drinks are sold in Venti size, which is what lead the higher ups to create Trenta.
*Gets 6 pumps of desired syrup if requested, except Caramel Macchiato, which gets 5 pumps of Vanilla.
Trenta: A whopping 31 oz. It only comes Iced and is probably bigger than your stomach. Why 31 oz. instead of 32? I have no idea. The Starbucks site they will have the Trenta size available to all U.S. stores May 3, 2011. However it's only been available in mostly central and western states. Unfortunately, it's not available in Jersey. :(
*Probably gets 7 pumps of desired syrup, and except Caramel Macchiato, which probably gets 6 pumps of Vanilla. Sigh. I wish I knew..
Other Starbucks Vocab:
Skinny Latte: It comes with nonfat/skim milk and sugar-free syrup, so it is restricted to Vanilla, Hazelnut, Caramel, and Cinnamon Dolce. (And don't worry, we know it's nonfat/skim milk so you don't have to keep repeating it a million times. I can't count how many times people ask for a "Skinny Vanilla Latte with skim milk" and get almost mad we didn't mention it when we tell the barista the order. Don't worry we know. We work there.) Less than 130 calories in a Grande size. (Can come Iced.)
Skinny Caramel Macchiato: It's tricky because like a skinny syrup latte, it comes with skim/nonfat milk and sugar-free syrup (in this case, SF Vanilla). However, the caramel drizzle that goes on top still has sugar, so beware of that if you're watching out for your health. Like a regular Caramel Macchiato, you'd have SF Vanilla, steamed skim/nonfat milk, espresso shots on top, and caramel drizzle. (Can come Iced.)
Mocha Latte/White Chocolate Mocha Latte CANNOT come skinny. There is plenty sugar in the Mocha and White chocolate mocha. The most we can do is skim/nonfat milk and no whip cream.
*NOTE: Skinny syrup Latte/ Skinny Caramel Macchiato with soy milk makes it no longer skinny. Skinny implies there's skim/nonfat milk. So now, it would just be a sugar-free syrup, soy, Latte/Caramel Macchiatto.
I know it's complicated, but trust me. If I can learn all that for a job, the world is certainly capable of learning it too! Have a little faith and don't be afraid to try new things! This is only the HOT portion! You can personalize your drink by even just combining other ingredients we have. Trust me. Working there and drinking everything makes you sick of it all eventually that you make your own twisted, but delicious recipes. My co-worker even made a cookies-n-cream frappuccino! Also, if you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to comment!
Just wait 'til I show you our Iced selection.
That's all this GiRLsays for now!
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