A Barista's Guide on What to Order at Starbucks
Blogmas Day 17
My friend Natalie is one of the sweetest and most creative people I know. She’s also my favorite Starbucks barista and I’ll tell that to anyone I meet. For a while, I’ve been wanting to share a guide for what to order at Starbucks because if you’re like me, you stick to your “usual” and don’t really branch out.
Enter: Natalie, my favorite barista and the true coffee expert.
I mentioned some categories I wanted to include and her recommendations make me want to order all of them right this second!
So if you’re looking for ideas on what to order at Starbucks, look no further. Natalie is here to help!
Here is a barista’s guide on what to order at Starbucks.
What to get if…you don’t like coffee
Starbucks has AWESOME non-coffee options. It can be hard to steer people in the right direction efficiently because “non coffee” is a bit vague. We need to know the goals to make stronger recommendations.
If your goal is heat, comfort, and the lower spectrum of caffeinated: I personally think some of the Tea Lattes are under-rated. The build is any type of tea, any type of steamed milk, and any syrup flavor. We have a few pre-built tea lattes, like the “London Fog” — Earl grey tea, 2% milk, and Vanilla flavor. It features a very warm natural tone.
If your goal is cold, fun, and something that includes all seasonal and regular flavor options: A creme frappuccino with a few pumps of whatever flavor you’re in the mood for. It will turn out like a milkshake and water ice hybrid. This could also work for someone who doesn’t want caffeine.
Don’t get trapped thinking you have to select a tea or a refresher base to build an awesome iced drink that is non-coffee at Starbucks. We can easily prepare a guava or peach flavored lemonade. It can be a game changer if you remember that we feature a Raspberry syrup that infuses so much flavor into any iced tea and lemonade that it can take the place of any other liquid sugar sweetener.
If your goal is thirst-quenching and loud flavor, I can’t ignore the Starbucks refresher platform. They are very customizable and complimentary to one another; many baristas mix and match to create the perfect refresher. Strawberry Acai + Kiwi Starfruit with a splash of lemonade, hold the inclusions, add green iced tea is an example of a way to get creative and incorporate flavors that are known to compliment one another. I promise, though, that ordering a refresher standard will not disappoint!
If your goal is a more earthy, naturally-sweetened beverage, try our matcha paired with your go to dairy or nondairy milk type to see if you like the flavor tones. Many people love Hot Matcha soymilk lattes, or Iced Coconut milk Matcha lattes.
If your goal is something a little spiced and spunky, a Chai Tea Latte made with our spiced black tea concentrate, or even a caramel apple cider that features our strong cinnamon dolce flavor.
Also: The blended Strawberry Lemonade! A staple. You can’t sleep on this drink if you’re looking for something delicious and perfectly tart!
WHAT TO GET IF…YOU DON’T WANT TONS OF CAFFEINE
Our passion tea is decaffeinated. You can dress it up with lemonade, apple juice, fruit inclusions, and sweetener.
Vanilla bean frappuccino: a classic, pure, blended drink that closely resembles everyone’s occasional vanilla milkshake indulgence.
Don’t forget about our decaf espresso as an option for substitution. With both the cold brew and cold foam platforms expanding drastically, ask your barista to prepare any featured cold foam cold brew beverage build with an iced decaf americano.
WHAT TO GET IF…YOU DON’T WANT TONS OF SUGAR
Try to stay away from things that are a pre-determined level of sweetness (refresher bases, Chai concentrate, Matcha powder, and Frappuccinos) because of the mixer ingredient necessary to not compromise the blended texture quality.
Options:
Ask for your favorite latte to be made with less pumps of the flavor
Order liquid cane sweetener as a lighter substitute for our classic liquid sugar
Ask for real honey packets for a more natural sweetener
Sweeten your beverage with an artificial sweetener: Splenda, Stevia, Raw Sugar, Equal, or Sweet and Low
Our sugar-free Vanilla and Cinnamon Dolce syrups
For regular coffee drinkers, try a Cafe Misto: half brewed coffee, half steamed milk. Steaming milk brings out a sweeter flavor in the milk that can tackle some of the acidity and boldness of the roast. You can ask for it “Breve” and the barista will use half& half instead of milk. This will give it a more velvety consistency.
Order a latte with Ristretto espresso shots and then pull back on sweetener. The machine pulls the espresso differently and it captures a sweeter shot that is still rich.
WHAT TO GET IF…YOU WANT TO INDULGE
Take your favorite iced latte, hold the whipped cream, and ask for a vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top. There’s a reason that this is so popular lately. It has a smooth, subtle vanilla flavor that is a perfect match anywhere it is paired. Two pumps of peppermint in the cold foam is like a fresh breath of winter air anywhere you put it.
Try the blended version of your go-to espresso latte. Eliminate the frappuccino roast altogether if you want more of a milkshake feel.
WHAT TO GET IF…YOU WANT BARISTA PICKS
(Keri Note: I asked Natalie to share her favorite Starbucks drinks!)
An iced green tea latte with coconut milk and peppermint syrup
A soy flat white. This incorporates both our organic soy milk with vanilla tones and our ristretto espresso.
Mango dragonfruit refresher with green tea
A caramel macchiato with toffee nut instead of vanilla syrup
WHAT TO GET IF…YOU WANT TO TRY OTHER COFFEE WITH KERI READER RECS
Coffee With Keri readers shared their go-to coffee and tea orders on Instagram so below are a few! View all the recommendations and go-to orders here.
Grande latte with 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla and 1 pump of cinnamon. Recommended: skim milk (~65 cals) or almond milk
Medicine Ball (Honey Citrus Mint Tea)
Cold brew with almond milk foam
Peppermint mocha
Iced caramel macchiato with extra extra sweet cream cold foam
Iced chai latte with extra chai
Toasted white chocolate mocha