Thursday 8 July 2010

Decisions Decisions...Tall, Grande, or Venti?

I remembered when the original Starbucks first came out, they offered nice, simple, easy-to-understand "Short" and "Tall" - 2 sizes - that was all.  

"Short" is actually much closer to the Italian understanding of the proper size of a Cappuccino.  The "Tall" to me, is really tailored for the Americanized too-much-is-never-enough version!


When Starbucks started to expand, the too-much version wasn’t quite enough.  That was when they introduced even bigger sizes.

"Even taller" doesn't sound cool at all, so they went with "Grande", drawing on the Italian roots of the drink.

"Venti" happens to be the best representation, since it is the only name that accurately informs you the amount of oz you order (Venti means 20 in Italian).

Have you ever wonder the amount of caffeine in those differing sizes of beverages?  It has remained a mystery to many of us hasn't it?  As if they have deliberately hidden that info.

So I went digging and I've inserted a list for your reference.  You will discover you ain't given more shots when you ordered a 4oz taller Cappuccino, Caffè Latte nor Caramel Macchiato!





If all you are looking for is a little caffeine kick in the morning, for those who don't know, even it's not shown on the menu, you can still get a "Short" nowadays - that's what I do.  



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Quiz for you:

What is the movie where the lead actor said "The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino. "

I'll buy you a cuppa if you get it right the first time. No googling pls.