#Largest size at starbucks how to

So, if you have no idea what a Grande or a Venti is, you will find this detailed explanation about Starbucks cup sizes useful! This article will have all Starbucks sizes explained and addresses why Starbucks employs Italian names to them!

#Largest size at starbucks how to

Yet, after a few trips to the Starbucks store, you will get what its Italian-sounding size terms mean and how to get the ideal drink there. The cup sizes of Starbucks coffee can be misleading as they do not adhere to the typical small-medium-large structure.

However, despite its reputation, many individuals face difficulties in understanding Starbucks’ offering sizes. So now you know the ‘why’ behind the special ordering system at Starbucks.Starbucks possesses worldwide popularity both in the United States and globally. It holds a whopping 31 ounces of any icy, refreshing beverage. These days, Starbucks has a fifth size called the trenta - mostly for its brewed iced teas and other cold drinks. They’re a great way to cut back your caffeine or your calories, while still getting to experience that morning coffee ritual. The short may have been taken off menus in favor of larger sizes, but almost any Starbucks will still have the 8 ounce cups available to order. Starbucks set this standard so consumers can enjoy the same amount of beverage without paying for the space the ice takes in the drink. Ordering a venti, which means “20” in Italian, will give you a 20-ounce hot beverage, but a 24-ounce cold beverage. Tall became a small, grande became a medium, and venti became the new large.Īnother cause for confusion is the fact that the ounces in a venti differ between hot and cold drinks. When venti was added to menus, the short was taken off to save space. In fact, “grande” is Italian for “large.”Īnd then the “venti” size came along and changed everything. Short was considered a small (8 ounces), tall was a medium (16 ounces), and grande was a large (16 ounces). Il Giornale eventually expanded into the Starbucks we know today and certain Italian aspects, like the names came along with it.įor many years, the Starbucks menu had only three sizes listed: short, tall, and grande. In her book, Grande Expectations, author Karen Blumenthal wrote that Schultz “wanted to convey a different image, something far more exotic than a simple cup of joe.” Since stores were inspired by the coffee scene in Italy, Schultz wanted to honor that heritage with “distinctive names” for the beverages, hence the Italian beverage names like macchiato, cappuccino, and latte, and Italian sizes terms like grande and venti. You may have never heard of Il Giornale, but it was a mini-coffee chain Schulz started in 1986 - a year before he purchased a tiny Seattle brand called Starbucks and turned it into the coffee behemoth we visit today.

So much so, in fact, he wanted to emulate that experience in the United States with his own coffee shop, Il Giornale. On a fateful trip to the coffee-loving country in 1983, Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, became “captivated with Italian coffee bars and the romance of the coffee experience,” the Starbucks website says. So what’s the story behind this unconventional naming convention?

When you’re ordering at Starbucks, you better know your tall, grande, or venti. If you frequent the coffee mega-chain Starbucks, you know these sizes aren’t a menu option.