14 Mistakes You Might Be Making When Ordering At Starbucks

Starbucks is a complicated place. Ordering from its baristas might seem a simple enough task, but it's easy to get confused with the sheer number of options and combinations on the menu — Bloomberg estimates that there are around 383 billion different ways of ordering a coffee there, thanks to its endless array of syrups, sizes, and shots. This means that Starbucks employees are dealing with dozens, if not hundreds of honest mistakes every time they're on shift, made by customers who simply don't know any better. It's pretty likely you're making some too. 

Simple things like asking for syrup and sweetener or requesting a straw with a cold foam drink may not feel like the end of the world, but they can easily make your barista roll their eyes — and will ruin your otherwise-indulgent drink. Other things, like forgetting to use your app when ordering or opting to wait in line instead of placing a pick-up order, may not get on the employees' nerves but will stop you from getting the best out of the coffee shop's services. There are also ways to order your drink which will make your barista's life way easier, and let's be honest, that makes things easier for everyone involved.

There are a lot of reasons people ask for less ice in their Starbucks drinks. Some folks think that doing so will give them more drink for their money, with the ice baristas put in seen as just filling up the cup unnecessarily. Others just don't like how cold it makes their beverages, or how much melting ice dilutes things. Well, it's perfectly fine to ask for less ice in your drink — but just don't expect it to have the same flavor. 

When you ask for less ice, your barista will generally add more milk to top things up. However, this throws off the ratio of dairy to coffee, which can alter the balance irreparably. As former barista Michelle Plett explains to Delish, "Starbucks already has a low coffee-to-dairy ratio, and so adding more dairy just makes the drink taste less good." Try to bulk things out with more syrup or sweetener, and you'll just throw off the flavor of your drink even more. Instead of doing this, we'd recommend asking if your barista can add less ice but make your drink with the standard ratios.

It's no surprise that people who love sweet drinks are huge fans of Starbucks: The coffee chain provides a baffling amount of syrups to choose from, as well as sweeteners that can perk your beverage up. However, if you're opting for both in your drink — which is something that way too many people do — you're probably going to be leaving with toothache. This can frequently happen when folks ask for a pump or two of syrup in a drink that's already sweetened, but it can also occur when people assume that the syrups aren't as sweet as they seem and need a little something extra. It's easy to underestimate how sweet they are!

It's wise to remember that Starbucks' syrups are very sweet, and so if you're ordering a drink with one of them inside, you likely won't need anything else. It's also worth keeping in mind that some surprising drink orders, like a plain iced coffee, come sweetened as part of their standard recipe. If you're in any doubt, ask your barista whether your drink is pre-sweetened, or if they think your custom order will be too sugary. Plus, you can always ask for your drink "half-sweet" to prevent it from being too overwhelming.

We know, we know: It's annoying that every single store has an app these days, and every single one wants you to use it each time you buy something. However, when it comes to Starbucks, ignoring the app will cost you big savings in the future. Starbucks may be offering fewer discounts going forward, but the Starbucks app allows you to earn stars when you buy products at its stores and scan its app, with one star per dollar. You can get extra stars by preloading cash to your digital Starbucks Card.

These stars add up over time, and you can then use them to purchase food, drinks, and merchandise. Some of these purchases can be pretty great, too. 300 stars can be used to buy a big bag of Starbucks coffee beans, while just 25 will allow you to customize your drink. If you're going to Starbucks every day, these stars will add up surprisingly quickly. Even better, Starbucks Rewards offers further bonuses like the ability to rack up air miles or further stars when you shop through other parties. If you're savvy and consistent with your app usage, you can end up with a lot of free stuff.

Starbucks sizes are slightly odd. Not only are the cup sizes subject to myths, but their names — tall, grande, venti, and trenta — can be confusing for first-timers. It's worth remembering, though, that once you get your head around what each of these terms mean, you can then start to use them to your advantage. When ordering in-store, through the app, or online, you can request to have your standard drink in a larger cup. If you like a tall black coffee, for instance, you can ask for it in a grande cup instead of its standard receptacle.

This might seem like a pointless thing to do, but it's actually a pretty smart move. If you opt for a bigger cup, you leave yourself way more room for any potential spillages. This is a lifesaver when you're on the go or driving, as anyone who's ever handled a Starbucks drink will know how full they can be (and how scorching hot they are if you spill any). As well as this, you also give yourself a little space to make any other additions you want. If you like to add your milk yourself, you can do so without having to pour out any of your coffee.

The last time you ordered at Starbucks, you may well have noticed that there's a "blonde" espresso option advertised alongside the regular dark roast. You may have even been asked if you want it by a barista who's eager to impress (or keen to shift stock). Well, if you've always passed over this option for Starbucks' standard espresso, you're really missing out. The Starbucks Blonde Espresso is, for many people, a far more palatable option than its traditional dark roast, which can taste a little burnt and heavy. By contrast, the blonde espresso is light, bright, and smooth, providing a way more easygoing drink.

Blonde roast coffee is roasted for less time than is usual for coffee beans, which stops it from becoming so heavy and dense-tasting. This shorter roasting time makes it especially suited to certain drinks in the Starbucks roster. The blonde espresso works particularly well in iced coffees, which benefit from its perkier flavor notes. It may also be the better option for a standard shot of espresso, especially if you don't like that acrid note that darker espressos can provide. Plus, it won't cost you any more to order it.

The vanilla sweet cream foam at Starbucks is kinda heaven, y'all. This addition gives your drink a sweet, frothy topping that's light as air, and which adds a lot of liveliness to your beverage. Imitating the froth that you get on top of a cappuccino, it's something that a lot of people order with their Starbucks drink — and then they top things off by asking for a straw.

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Well, we're sorry to be the bearers of bad news, but this is a mistake that your Starbucks barista really can't get on board with. The thing about sweet cream foam is that it's, well ... foam. That foam does not move through your straw easily, and instead just turns to air halfway through you sucking it up. As such, it's a total waste of money, and stops you being able to enjoy the foam in the first place. Instead, you should enjoy a drink like this by sipping it from the top. This will give the foam the intended effect of making your drink perkier and more flavorful. Alternatively, just get vanilla sweet cream, which will give you the flavor of the foam without the consistency.

Anyone who's ever ordered a Starbucks drink will know how many steps there are to it. You have to specify the drink, the size, the temperature, the type of milk you want, and any additions that you'd like to add. Oh, and on top of that, you also have to specify whether you want it in or as a takeout item. Pretty confusing, right? Well, imagine how confusing it is for the barista taking your order, who's trying to get every single drink right while wading through the mass of words you've just uttered. No wonder the wrong drinks are made every now and again.

While your barista is likely a seasoned pro at figuring out what you want, you can seriously help matters by using the right order of words. "If you want something iced, say that part first," explains a Starbucks barista to The Takeout. "Then whether or not it's decaf, then the size (Not saying the size drives me crazy!), and the syrup, the milk, the type of drink, then any other changes." By following this order, you'll help the barista punch it into the till correctly, and make sure you walk away with exactly what you've asked for.

The Starbucks secret menu is the stuff of legend, and the items you can create by using it are pretty special. From a secret menu iced coffee that reminds you of Andes Mints to a Cinnamon Toast Crunch-tasting coffee, there's something for everyone — as long as you know how to ask for it. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't. Instead, they march up to the barista behind the counter, and ask for the secret menu drink by its name, asking for the coffee that tastes like their favorite candy or chocolate rather than detailing the specific items in the order. But this won't get you the drink you want.

It's worth remembering that there are dozens of secret menu drinks, and the chances are that your barista won't know how to make each one by heart. They'll instead rely on you to tell them the specific formulation of the drink, by size, temperature, and syrups. It's also worth bearing in mind that certain Starbucks locations may use different names for the secret menu items, so if you're lucky enough for your server to know which one you mean, you may still end up with entirely the wrong drink. Therefore, if you're going to go off-piste with the secret menu, make sure you know how to detail it to the person working there.

Too many of us have been scalded by the lava-hot coffee at Starbucks. Well, it's coffee, right? It kinda has to be hot, and there isn't really a way around it — we just accept that risk as part of the ordering process. Except you really don't have to. There's a way to order coffee at Starbucks that gives you a more manageable temperature, and it's one that people rarely take advantage of: The kids' temperature.

Ordering your drink at kids' temperature will result in your barista preparing your coffee at 130 F, the temperature they use to make hot chocolate. This is a far cry from the 150-170 F that Starbucks normally serves its hot drinks at, and is a much more forgiving heat. Not only that, but it makes your coffee easy to drink straight away.

It's important to remember, though, that ordering your coffee at kids' temperature can affect its flavor. Using a lower temperature may affect the extraction process, and result in your coffee tasting less full-bodied and intense. This may not be an issue if you like to add syrups and sweeteners, but if you're a black coffee kinda person, you could notice the difference.

Walk into any Starbucks at peak time, and you'll be greeted with quite a scene: Stressed servers, steam erupting everywhere, and a queue snaking out of the door. Not exactly a relaxing environment to start your day in. The good news is that you can avoid all of this drama by placing an order in the app or online, and then walking in and simply picking up your coffee. The bad news is that not enough people do this, and forget that this is the easier option.

Although you may have to wait in a short queue to collect your drink, you'll be able to avoid the annoying order process. Plus, you can take all the time in the world to decide exactly what you want in your drink, without annoying the people waiting behind you. The only downside is that your coffee may be slightly cooler than you'd like if you're a little late to pick it up, but it's a small price to pay for convenience. Starbucks has also started rolling out a new store model called Starbucks Pickup, which focuses exclusively on pickup orders.

Somewhere down the line, people started asking for "hot frappuccino" at Starbucks during the winter months. We're not sure exactly where this came from, but we can see the logic behind it: People love the vibrant flavors of Starbucks Frappuccinos, and on a hot day they want to combine that with a burst of warmth. Plus, Starbucks has all the ingredients it needs — so surely it can rustle them up, right? Sadly, no, it can't.

Frappuccinos are cold, and they always will be, because they have ice in them. As such, Starbucks will never be able to make a "hot frappuccino," no matter how much you beg your barista. It simply can't be done. The good news is that many of the flavors of a frappuccino are transferable, so you can definitely order a drink that tastes similar to the one you normally like. However, it's unlikely that it'll ever quite capture the unique quality of Starbucks' favorite cold drink.

The amount of syrups Starbucks offers is a huge part of its appeal — and what's even more appealing is that you can customize the number of syrup pumps you get in your drink. If you want, you can add more pumps than your size would normally have, to sweeten up your beverage. However, restraint is key here, and it's something that a fair few people don't practice. Instead, they ask for a wild amount of pumps in their drink, and then they're surprised when it tastes totally disgusting.

As a rule of thumb, your syrup pumps should correspond to the size of your drink. For a tall, baristas use three pumps of syrup, with four for a grande and five for a venti. Iced coffees tend to have six pumps, while trenta sizes may have seven in total. These amounts of pumps are ideal for the amount of coffee in each cup, and while you can add more, Starbucks drinks are generally very sugary already. A tall nonfat frappuccino, for example, has 36 grams of sugar in it. Pouring in more pumps will significantly increase your sugar intake for your day.

Starbucks frappuccinos are second to none, and the overall selection it offers has something to please everyone. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Frappuccinos are one of the most customizable of Starbucks' drinks, and forgetting to customize your order will leave you missing out on some of the wildest, wackiest, and most delicious secret menu items out there.

If you like things nutty, chocolatey, and sweet, try ordering the Ferrero Rocher Frappuccino by asking for a Grande Java Chip and adding a pump each of hazelnut and toffee nut. Cap it all off with a caramel drizzle, and you're good to go. For a Skittles Frappuccino, grab a Strawberries and Cream and add two pumps of vanilla and one pump of raspberry. Finish it with some strawberry purée on the whipped cream. These are just a starting point, too: Next time you're in-store, ask the server what their favorite secret menu order is.

The food at Starbucks is pretty decent, and it's also designed to be ready fast. However, it's likely not as speedy to make as you think it is. Generally speaking, the food at Starbucks takes longer to prepare than the drinks do, and if you order your drink first and then your food, you're left waiting for the latter to be done. All the while, the drink in your hand is getting cold or melting.

To avoid this mistake, order your food first. This way, your server can start making it immediately, and then focus on making your drink while it heats up. This is especially important when you're ordering items like wraps or Starbucks egg bites, which take over a minute to prepare. This is a small tweak to the sequencing of your order, but it will make a huge difference to the quality of your meal.

Static Media owns and operates Daily Meal and The Takeout.