BBC - h2g2 - Starbucks Coffee Company

A Basic Overview

Starbucks brews and serves premier coffee products to the caffiene crazed populace of urban America. Common in the United States, Starbucks has become the McDonalds of the coffee world; if you are in most major American airports or cities, rest assured, you are never more than 15 minutes from the nearest Starbucks. Starting as an obscure coffee shop in Seattle in the early seventies, Starbucks has grown so much that they now own significant portions of New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and almost all of Seattle.

Your First "Starbucks Experience"

Generally, when walking into a Starbucks establishment, the first thing you notice is the smell...it smells very very strongly of coffee, which is perfectly understandable; as if the very air is caffeinated around you. People who hang out long enough in a Starbucks will get a caffeine buzz, whether or not they get a coffee beverage.

Clientel

Walking to the counter, you will notice patrons playing chess, discussing philosophy, or arguing the finer points of the Jazz alblum that is playing over the shop's sound system. Occasionally, there will even be live music, which will drown out the philosophy discussions. From yuppies, to teen "rebels", to local students; the interior of a Starbucks can usually show a broad spectrum of the coffee drinking steriotypes. If you go to either of the Starbucks in Annapolis, Maryland, USA, you will also see a good number of Navy Midshipmen, if the Naval Academy is in session.

Basic Drinkology

Approaching the counter, you will notice two things, the rabid, smiling barrista behind the counter, and the unintelligible menu. These people behind the counter are really quite hyper; as you would expect from someone who spends eight hours a day drinking coffee. Some of these barristas may also exibit a superiority complex; do not worry about this though, as most of them are finishing up their masters degree in art history (or some such) they very well may be as superior as they think.

Understanding the Starbucks menu may take a little work, but if you'll stick with it for a moment, this entry will give you a brief bit on each of the drinks that you are likely to find in the average Starbucks. First, one thing that you need to know is that there is a bit of an existential crisis regarding the naming of coffee drinks, things listed here as a Starbucks drink could be named something completely different somewhere else.

Espresso Shots

A brief break down of the number of espresso shots per size: "Tall"=1, "Grande"=2, "Venti"=3.

Latte

The latte (ponounced Lah-tay) is the beginner's espresso drink. If this is your first time in a Starbucks, this would be a good place to start. The latte consists of espresso, steamed milk, and a dollop of foam on top.

Cappuccino

Close cousin to the latte, the cappuccino is a drink that bridges the international gap, it's pretty much the same every where you go, even in Europe. The "cap" is basically the same thing as a latte, the only difference being that the cappuccino has more foam. It is the same amount of espresso, then half milk and half foam.

Americano

This drink is sort of like a cup of coffee, only it has an espresso flavor to it. It consists of an extra espresso shot per drink, the rest of the cup is then filled with "steamed" water; this is just water taken from the espresso bar.

Cafe Au Lait

This drink consists of half regular brewed coffee, and half steamed milk, usually comes with the dollop of foam to top it off.

Advanced Drinkology

Cafe Mocha

This drink is a variation on the latte. Chocolate is added into the mix, and whipped cream is substituted for the dollop of foam.

Cafe Breve

This is another variation of latte (pronounced Breh-vay). Instead of steamed milk, it is made with half and half.

Mocha Valencia

Don't ask me how they thought up this name. This is a variation of the basic Cafe Mocha, the difference being that this has some orange flavor added to it, additionally, the whipped cream on top is likely to be sprinkled with orange peel.

Caramel Macchiato

This is one of Starbucks most popular drinks, and if you are in the mood for something really sweet and dessertish, then this is the drink for you. Some barristas refer to this as the "cafe tooth decay", with good reason. This is a basic latte, except they add a sort of caramel sauce. It's incredibly sweet, and pretty evil, but worth it once in a while.

Frap-puccino

This is basically a coffee milkshake, the difference here being that it is way more than just "coffee flavored" it is made with a very, very dark Italian Roast coffee. This is a great way to get a buzz in the summer heat, and comes in about half a dozen different ways.

Chai

Chai means "tea" in some east Asian languages, so you can have a little chuckle all to yourself when you hear a smarty-pants Starbucks barrista yell out "tall chai tea latte!", as they are in effect saying "tall tea tea latte!". Anyway, this is a tea drink of sorts, it has vanilla, honey and some spice action going on inside, it sort of reminds me of pumkin pie.

Tea

Believe it or not, Starbucks does serve tea, and some of it is even worth drinking. The company that puts it out is pretty descent, but its a far cry from plain English tea. They serve mostly herbals and flavored teas, and all of them have somewhat ecclectic names. If you are looking for just plain tea, go with "awake" its the closest you'll probably find.

Espresso Macchiato

This is just a basic espresso, which has been "marked" by a tad of milk froth on the top.

Red Eye

Someone who can "drink" (ie:choke down) a red eye deserves your respect. This drink is basically a cup of coffee (already pretty darn caffeinated) with either one, two, or three espresso shots added for good measure. People that drink these either are clinically dead and need resurrection, or are writing a doctoral thesis or something. You may want to think twice before ordering this drink.

And Finally

No matter how well you study this entry, or how much of a verteran Starbucks customer you are, you may be sure of one thing when ordering your drink; you will order it incorrectly. Some way, somehow,you will say something that is out of line, and the counter person will look down on you. Some ways to avoid this are as follows:

1. Always order the "tall" size, this saves you from having to pronounce "Grande" (Grand-ay) and "Venti" (no matter which way you pronounce this - Ven-tay, or Ven-tee, the barrista will correct you with the form that you did not use, tread very carefully when ordering this size).
2. Make your drink as simple as possible, if you dont have to list all this stuff after your order, the barrista cannot correct you on the order you put it in. For example, if you were to order a "tall, skim, mocha with no whipped cream" invariably, the barrista would tell his collegue behind the bar to make a "tall, no whip, skim, mocha". However, if you order a "tall latte" you can rob them of this satisfaction.
3. Give up on all espresso drinks and order the Coffe Of the Day. This is whatever coffee they are brewing the regular Christian way for that day. If you want to sound really cool, order a "C.O.D."