How To Order Coffee At Starbucks

Starbucks is probably one of the most recognizable coffee shops on the planet and for good reason.

They have high-quality products, amazing flavors, tons of creativity on their menu, and you can customize your drinks however you like them.

However, with so many options on the menu, it can definitely feel overwhelming to order at Starbucks if you’ve never been before.

That’s why I’ve broken it down for you below. There are a couple of basics to understand, like what you want to order and the size. The rest are all extras!

So, how do you order coffee at Starbucks? First, you’ll want to decide what you’re in the mood for, then you need to choose a size, and finally you need to pick any add-ons or adjustments you’d like to make to the standard order.

Read on to learn more about the different sized available at Starbucks, a thorough breakdown of their menu, and different add-ons you can make to your order!

What Kinds Of Drinks Do They Sell At Starbucks?

The first thing you’ll want to figure out before placing your order is what you’re in the mood for. Hot or cold? Caffeinated or un-caffeinated? Coffee or tea? Specialty or regular style?

While it would be impossible to list out every single drink on the menu, especially because they have so many seasonal offerings, I’ve included a list of their staple menu items.

Because there are so many types of drinks, I’ve broken them down into categories like “Coffees & Specialty Coffees”, “Non-Caffeinated Drinks & Teas”, and “Iced Drinks”.

I’ll try to be as thorough as possible, but remember that Starbucks changes its menu often!

Coffees & Specialty Coffee Drinks

This section will likely be the biggest section by far on this list, for good reason. I’ve tried to break it down further based on how you would see it on the Starbucks menu so it’s easy to reference.

Brewed Coffees

• Caffè Misto: This drink is made from a 1:1 ratio of freshly brewed coffee and steamed milk. You can get it with different types of milk and add sweetener.
• True North Blend™ Blonde Roast: According to the Starbucks site this coffee is lightly roasted and soft, mellow and flavourful. It’s perfect for easy drinking and tastes delicious with milk, sugar, or yummy flavors like vanilla, caramel, or hazelnut.
• Decaf Pike Place® Roast: If you’re looking for a decaf fix throughout the day, then this is the roast for you. This smooth, well-rounded blend is made with Latin American coffees and has subtly rich flavors of chocolate and toasted nuts.
• Pike Place® Roast: This blend is the same as the Pike Place Decaf, just fully caffeinated!
• Featured Dark Roast: This coffee changes frequently, so you’ll have to ask what’s being featured at your local Starbucks.

Americanos

• Caffè Americano: This classic drink is made with 3 shots of espresso topped with hot water to create a light layer of crema. It’s rich and flavorful and perfect for folks who love the depth of flavor in espresso.
• Caffè Americano Misto: Basically a caffè Americano with some steamed milk added for extra flavor.
• Starbucks Blonde® Americano Misto: This americano misto uses steamed milk, hot water, and blonde espresso for a subtly sweet flavor.
• Brown Sugar Oat Americano: Another drink made with blonde espresso and made with brown-sugar syrup and water, topped with a steamed oat beverage (perfect for dairy-free folks) and sprinkles of cinnamon.
• Cappuccino: 2 shots of dark, rich espresso topped with a smoothed and stretched layer of thick milk foam for that perfect blend.

Espresso Shots

• Regular Espresso Shot: 2 shots of Starbucks’s signature Espresso Roast with rich flavor and caramelly sweetness.
• Espresso Con Panna: 2 shots of espresso taken to another level with a whipped cream topping.

Flat Whites

• Flat White: 3 shots of smooth ristretto espresso topped with the perfect amount of steamed whole milk for a real treat.
• Honey Almond Flat White: Made with Blonde espresso and topped with almond beverage and honey.

Lattes

A latte is a popular beverage made with an espresso base, steamed milk, and foam to create a subtle espresso flavored drink that is creamy and rich.

They are incredibly popular in North America thanks to their comforting taste and creamy texture.

There are way too many lattes on the menu to describe each one, especially since Starbucks is always offering seasonal or specialty lattes, but some of the most common you’ll see are:

• Pistachio Latte
• Starbucks Blonde Hazelnut Latte
• Starbucks Bonde Vanilla Latte
• Caffè Latte
• Cinnamon Dolce Latte
• Starbucks Reserve Latte
• Starbucks Hazelnut Latte

Macchiatos

• Espresso Macchiato: A basic macchiato is a shot of espresso with just a dollop of steamed milk and foam.
• Caramel Macchiato: Made with 2 shots of espresso, freshly steamed milk, vanilla-flavored syrup, and topped with a caramel drizzle

Mochas

This popular drink is made from mocha coffee beans (Arabica beans) originally harvested from Mocha in Yemen. These beans are mildly sweet and have chocolatey undertones.

To bring out the chocolate flavors in a mocha, it is made from espresso, hot chocolate, steamed milk, and foam.

• Caffè Mocha: 2 shots of espresso mixed with bittersweet mocha sauce and steamed milk, then topped with sweetened whipped cream.
• White Chocolate Mocha: Made with 2 shots of espresso, white chocolate sauce, steamed milk, and finished with sweetened whipped cream.
• Starbucks Reserve® Dark Chocolate Mocha: Made with small-batch Starbucks reserve espresso mixed with cocoa, ground chocolate, and topped with steamed milk.

Frappucinos

These drinks are typically made of a combination of espresso mixed with some kind of flavored syrup (the options are pretty extensive), cold milk, crushed ice, and whipped cream.

You can also see frappés topped with chocolate syrup, pieces of cookies or candy bars, or other treats.

• Vanilla Bean Creme Frappuccino
• Java Chip Frappuccino
• Mocha Frappuccino
• Caramel Frappuccino
• Chai Creme Frappuccino
• White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino
• Strawberry Funnel Cake
• Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino
• Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino
• Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino
• Matcha Creme Frappuccino
• Strawberries N’ Creme Frappuccino

Hot Chocolates

• Regular Hot Chocolate
• White Hot Chocolate

Steamed Juices

• Steamed Apple Juice
• Caramel Apple Spice

Steamers

• Pistachio Crème: Made with flavors of sweet pistachio and rich brown butter paired with steamed milk (and it’s caffeine-free)!
• Vanilla Steamer: Vanilla flavor mixed with steamed milk (also caffeine-free)!

Non-Caffeinated Drinks & Teas

I’m going to break this down into sections as well to keep things simple. Some of the teas are self-explanatory so I won’t include a description.

Black Teas

• Earl Grey Tea: Strong black tea with the essence of floral/citrus bergamot.
• London Fog Latte: Bright, citrusy spark of Italian bergamot blends with subtle hints of lavender, vanilla syrup, and steamed milk.
• Royal English Breakfast Tea: Classic, high-quality black tea.
• Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte: Combined with steamed milk.

Herbal Teas

These teas are caffeine-free.

• Mint Majesty: A mix of mint with a pinch of lemon verbena.
• Peach Tranquility: A fusion of peach, candied pineapple, chamomile blossoms, lemon verbena, and rose hips

Green Teas

• Matcha Tea Latte: matcha tea powder with steamed milk.
• Emperor’s Clouds & Mist®: Slightly smoky and sweet green tea grown at a high elevation.
• Jade Citrus Mint® Brewed Tea: A blend of green tea, lemon verbena, lemongrass, and a hint of spearmint
• Honey Citrus Mint Tea: This drink was actually created by customers. It’s made from Jade Citrus Mint® green tea, Peach Tranquility® herbal tea, hot water, steamed lemonade, and a touch of honey.
• Chai Tea: Black tea infused with warm clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger
• Chai Tea Latte: Combined with steamed milk for a delicious latte.

Iced Drinks

There are lots of house-made iced and cold drinks. I’ll include the most popular below.

Cold Coffees

• Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee: This coffee is handcrafted in small batches daily, slow-steeped in cool water for 20 hours, without touching heat
• Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew
• Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew
• Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
• Iced Americano
• Starbucks Reserve Nitro Cold Brew
• Nitro Cold Brew: Regular cold brew taken to the next level by infusing it with nitrogen for a sweet taste and velvety crema.
• Vanilla Sweet Cream With Nitro Cold Brew
• Iced Coffee
• Iced Coffee With Milk
• Iced Espresso
• Iced Shaken Espresso
• Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso
• Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Shaken Espresso
• Iced Honey Almond Flat White
• Iced Flat White
• Iced Caramel Macchiato
• Iced Lattes: So many to choose from! Basically, any latte can be iced.
• Iced Caffè Mocha
• Iced White Chocolate Mocha
• Iced Starbucks Reserve Dark Chocolate Mocha

Starbucks Refreshers®

These fruity drinks are lightly caffeinated, iced, and made with green coffee extract, real fruit juice, and sometimes fruit pieces. Below are some of the most common flavors:

• Kiwi Starfruit
• Kiwi Starfruit Lemonade
• Star Drink
• Dragon Drink
• Mango Dragonfruit
• Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade
• Strawberry Coconut Drink
• Strawberry Açaí Lemonade
• Strawberry Açaí
• Lemonade
• Blended Strawberry Lemonade
• Iced Teas
• Iced Chai Tea Latte
• Iced Black Tea
• Iced Black Tea Lemonade
• Iced London Fog Latte
• Iced Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte
• Iced Matcha Tea Latte
• Iced Matcha Tea Lemonade
• Iced Peach Green Tea
• Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade
• Iced Green Tea
• Iced Green Tea Lemonade
• Iced Passion Tango Tea: A sweetened blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, and apple with hand-shaken with ice.
• Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade: A sweetened blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, and apple mixed with lemonade and hand-shaken with ice.

What Are The Different Sizes At Starbucks?

After you decide what kind of drink you want, it’s time to pick the size. There are several sizes to choose from and I will break them down for you below in terms of ounces.

Short

A short drink from Starbucks is 8 ounces and is typically regarded as the smallest size you can order. They’re basically only for espresso shots, not other hot drinks. Cold and iced drinks don’t generally come in this size.

Tall

The next drink size on the menu is a tall and it is 12 ounces. You can order both hot or iced drinks in this size.

Grande

This size is super popular because it’s not too big and not too small, clocking in at 16 ounces. You can order hot and iced drinks in this size.

Venti Hot

The venti drink is 20 ounces (because venti means 20 in Italian!). This option isn’t typically offered for cold drinks as you’ll see below.

Venti Cold

The venti cold size is 24 ounces. It’s slightly larger than the venti hot so that you have space for your ice!

Trenta

This coffee size isn’t offered all over the place, so it might not be available in your area. It is a massive size coming in at 30 ounces. It is definitely not for the faint of heart!

What Are Add-Ons You Can Make To Your Order?

Finally, once you’ve chosen the type of drink you want and the size, there are some customizations you can ask for to make your drink extra special. I’ve listed them out below so you can quickly see what options you might enjoy adding!

Another hack you can try is to go to the Starbucks website and check out their online ordering.

It will show you exactly what you can customize in different drinks! Then just write down (or memorize) your fave and bring it to the shop with you.

• Pick your milk: if you’re not a fan of regular 2% steamed milk you can try whole milk, no-fat milk, oat milk, almond beverage, soy milk, or coconut milk.
• Adjust the amount of syrup. Starbucks adds pumps of syrup to their drinks so you can ask for more or fewer pumps depending on your preference.
• Adjust the whipped cream. If your drink comes with whipped cream and you don’t want it just say “no whip.” You could also add whipped cream to any drink.
• Add an extra shot of espresso. This one is self-explanatory.
• Ask for a “skinny” version. These drinks will be made with nonfat milk, no whipped cream, and a sugar-free syrup if it’s available.
• Ask for a Tall in a Grande cup. This trick will give you space to add milk!
• Ask for no water in your iced tea. These cold drinks are slightly watered down, so asking for no water gives you more bang for your buck.
• Ask for light ice in your Frappucino. Again, this will prevent your drink from being watered down and give you more flavor.
• Adjust the temp. If you want your drink cooler ask for “kid temperature” and if you want it hotter ask for “extra hot.”

There might be other customizations you can make, but these are some of the most common ones and a good place to start if you’ve never ordered Starbucks before. As you get more confident in your order, feel free to get more creative!

Final Thoughts

There are virtually limitless combinations of drink orders you can create at Starbucks, but this guide should help give you an understanding of the basics so that you can start putting together your perfect order.

The main thing you’ll want to do is decide on whether you want coffee or tea, caffeinated or uncaffeinated, sweet or unsweetened, iced or hot.

Then you can choose the size that you want, and finally, make any changes or add-ons that you want to your order!

Up Next: Is There Salt In Beer?