Starbucks believes the Venti size isn't quite big enough for some customers

The 31-ounce Trenta has gotten buzz on Twitter and Facebook, and a Starbucks Gossip reader says a friend just got back from Phoenix, where they were demoing a Trenta iced cup. What's the word on this? A national roll-out coming soon? What are the chances of a Trenta-sized Frappuccino? || Jump to the second page of comments. || UPDATE: This post has now caught the attention of the national press.

Comments

[buckaroo]

Dear god please no

[Anonymous]

Starbucks is stupid if they do this. If they go with the Trenta size, imagine the waste of milk being use to steam. Think about it.

A line of customers asking for Trenta sized drinks and baristas have to use the smaller pitchers. Starbucks ditched the big pitchers last year and now they go with Trenta?

They sure did a nice job on making long term plans (sarcastic tone)

[Corvex Corvidae]

I can only hope this doesn't get the green light.

[waltie]

Most baristas probably steam too much milk anyway, so this is probably a smart way for Starbucks to recoup some of those losses.

[smalltownsm]

Isn't the idea that this size is only going to be for iced coffee or iced tea? No fraps or lattes right? Someone who's testing this needs to chime in.

[soydork]

This fits well with Starbucks' rhetoric about health and wellness.

[waltie]

Starbucks has no "rhetoric about health and wellness" at the expense of all else. They tout their healthier options, of course, but they've never made the claim that every item on the menu is healthy. Offering fatty, sugary drinks doesn't make the oatmeal any less healhy, or the fat free lattes any less fat free.

[Maisy]

Ridiculous. The venti is already too much!

[Munchkin]

The trenta size is for iced coffee and iced tea ONLY.

It will not be available for iced lattes or frappuccinos.

[Jim Romenesko]

Munchkin -- Not NOW. Wait until customers "demand" it for other drinks.

[me myself and I]

Jim, I agree, who are we to say no to a trenta sized frappucino. But there is no way to build a hot drink in a cold cup. So there are limitations after all.

And on top of it. No one has to order it. If no one orders it, it will go away again. And if people order it, who are we to judge them? Even though it might not be healthy in my point of view, I'm in no position to tell people to not order a venti (or bigger) frappucino, or a super sized Big Mac combo, or the 60oz super slurpee.

[Manuel]

What the hell is going on in Florida? It appears leadership is different. Does any florida employee see this?

[Hobo Joseph]

Exactly.

"I'd like 2 Grande Caramel Frappuccinos in a Trenta cup please."

"Of course, no problem! -- :)"

:\

[pstlm]

does it come with a shoulder strap?

[greg]

Mom always said never to eat or drink anything bigger than your head.

[nom de guerre]

I have seen the future. http://tinyurl.com/y8sjpj9

[K.Latte]

We have customers who slurp down multiple venti drinks a day. If they see the trenta cup, they will demand a trenta drink whether it's on the menu or not. And we'll give it to them because that's what's expected of us. I personally find it disgusting.

[gross]

MMMMMMMMMM BIG GULPS!!!! CLASSY!

[Marcus]

on the other hand, a lot of those drinks (iced coffee, tea, and lattes) are just ice . . . i believe, for example, an iced grande latte has much less milk than a hot grande latte, right?

[Argentius]

Really, all?

This isn't that big of a deal.

30 oz is a lot, sure -- but remember that while a hot venti is 20 ounces, yes, an iced venti cup is 24 ounces, so this is 6 ounces, or 25% bigger.

PLENTY of times I've gotten an iced tea on a hot day, and when you get enough ice in there, I certainly have wanted a little more.

Yes, a "trenta" frap or smoothie would be gargantuan, and a million calories -- but people will still do it. SBUX is fooling themselves if they think that customers won't be asking for those the day they come out!

It's not a big deal, either, though, for the baristas -- just use the "2 grandes" line.

Yep, the texture will suck! Oh, well.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

I bet people will order a Trenta and then request an extra cup so they can share it with their friend.

[Foam]

People already share Ventis with their friends...

[me myself and I]

iced venti drinks (not the blended ones) only have 12 oz of liquid in it. So as long as it stays within those drinks, no one will burst with calories. The rest of the drink is water/ice!!!

[javagirl666]

Who cares?? They are doing away with the vivanno iced cup, so, we can stock these in their place.

[espresso]

I agree with Argentius in that I wouldn't mind a trenta iced tea on a hot day. It's six ounces bigger than the venti iced tea - where's the harm?

[soydork]

@ waltie:
Who said "at the expense of all else"? I never meant to imply they "made the claim that every item on the menu is healthy."
I just found it somewhat funny.

[Barista G]

Trenta size is ONLY for Iced Teas, Iced Tea Lemonades, and Iced Coffee. People are ridiculous, and there will be the idiots. Honestly, I don't think Starbucks needs a Big Gulp Iced Tea, but people are consumers.

[C to the B]

I'll gladly serve them a trente whatever-the-hell. I already make venti 10 pump vanilla, breve, extra-extra caramel sauce caramel machiatos for morbidly obese customers. Like I give a crap? Is their money green? Am I still getting my $10 an hour? Then have at it, dummies. I could care less.

[Green Cup Number One Fan]

Feed the pigs their slop.

[beany]

We've been testing this for awhile, I haven't had one customer ask me for a latte, or frappuccino in trenta size. The iced teas sell really well, lots of customers say iced coffee with milk is just too much..and stick with the venti.

As usual you guys start with the doom and gloom before you even know what you're talking about.

[Beantown Bearista]

The large iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts is 32 ounces, so it just make sense in the northeast to offer a similar size to compete. The company claims that Dunkin isn't our competition here, but if you live in New England you just know better.

[C to the B]

Might depend on the kind of market you serve. Where u from, beany?

[the truth]

Why di you think they got rid of Vivano cups??? To create space in both the back room and on the counter for this new cup. The writing is on the wall and it is big!!!

[Frapbucket]

I am waiting for them to come out with a bucket sized frappuchino.

[Nacho]

Dunkin has had this size for quite a while.

Starbucks is simply reaching out to a larger customer base.

Wow. Thats quite punny now that I read it.

[James]

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=banish

[Done]

I am drinking a Trenta ice coffee right now, and love it. The only issue I have observed so far is that the stores are still adjusting their par levels of ice coffee, and have run out a few times. For one less trip out of the office a day, I think that it is a great idea.

[javajohn]

When I order a vente ice tea, it's seemingly gone in minutes and I have to actually tell the staff not to put in too much ice. I already get a vente and grande coffee everyday; so why a trenta? I can drink 32oz of coffee - no problem.

[cheapredapron]

can't wait for all the trenta ice water request.

[iced grande vanilla latte]

I would love these, but only when I'm getting my iced black tea (3 splenda, no classic thankyouverymuch). I can't even begin to imagine getting my coffee in this size. If only for the iced tea, this excites me.

[Ben Farden]

Can the fries be far behind?

[MYRLE]

are we not making our customers fat enough!!!we are a coffee house, then why do we only serve 1 kind of coffee (no decaf) either Corp needs to get out of the office and talk to the barista's that are on the front lines- they know what the customers want duh that's their job so use it!!!!! and cut the sandwiches and other crappy food!!!!! WE THROW HUDREDS OF DOLLARS A DAY AWAY!!!!SAVE THAT AND GIVE A RAISE
TO THE HARD WORKING bARISTA'S MY LAST RAISE WAS 17CENTS!!!AFTER 2.5 YEARS OMG
WHAT part of WE ARE A COFFEE HOUSE do you NOT understand??????????

[Andy, Shift Supervisor, Maryland]

>> I have seen the future. http://tinyurl.com/y8sjpj9

That's funny. Yeah maybe fries too one day.

[Enlightened Coffee Sage]

I agree with the folks who say this isn't really a big deal, especially if it's just for iced tea and iced coffee.

I really don't think having a 32-oz. size that's the same as a "Big Gulp" cheapens the brand. I don't even think it's the things like the snack chips and breakfast sandwiches and CDs and Barista Bears.

Starbucks brand strength comes from the quality of the product and our customer service. The reason we're losing quality is because Starbucks has decided on performing assorted cost-cutting measures with immediately measurable dollar results, rather than investing in long-term quality and customer satisfaction, which cannot be immediately and accurately measured.

There's no way to measure how much money Starbucks makes in the long term because they hired an extra person to ensure that the lobby is always clean and drinks can be made a few seconds faster so we have a few extra seconds to talk to that customer, so that customers are just a little happier and more willing to come back. They can measure how much it costs to pay that person, though, and how much they "save" by not having them.

Understaffing stores to save money, not investing in ongoing coffee education for baristas in order to save money, and poor communication are the biggest things detracting from our immediate ability to provide the legendary service we're supposed to and turning us into just another fast-food chain; not 32-oz. drinks, breakfast sandwiches, or the corn chips we have for sale.

And to bring this back more to the subject at hand, I live down south, and it gets hot as all hell down here in the summer. Sometimes I can gulp down an entire venti green tea lemonade and still want a little more. The Trenta size would be perfect on those really hot days when I'm completely parched.

And there does have to be a level of personal responsibility for the customers. I'll admit to feeling a little bad when I hand a Venti Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate drizzle out the drive-thru window to some fatass whose stomach is pressed against their steering wheel even though their seat's as far back as they can push it, and I'll probably feel even worse if they can start getting Trentas. But, at the same time, it's not like I'm forcing them to order it and drink it. That's their choice. We live in a free society, and that means that people are at liberty to live unhealthy lifestyles.

We're not the customer's doctors, nutritionists, life coaches, or personal trainers; we're baristas. We make drinks. If our lardass customers wanna gulp down our fattening drinks and avoid exercise like vampires avoid the sun, that's their own personal problem.

[Transatlantic]

Will we get new tea shakers then?

Exactly how many no-water light-ice Trentas will it take to empty an entire pitcher of tea?

Yay. Another way for me to cost the company money? I can "accidently" drop a sleeve of these on the floor three times a week :]. Thank you, *$

[Former CBTL Barista]

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has served 32oz. cold drinks for almost a year now. I'm surprised it took this long for Starbucks to catch up.

And yes, customers will order blended drinks in them. I used to sell more 32oz caramel ice blendeds than I did 32oz iced tea.

[flbarista]

Wow, I didn't even think about the 'no water, light ice' trenta completely OBLITERATING our stock of tea all at once.

I still feel the 'no water' tea should be ended, they're getting twice the amount of product!!!

[me myself and I]

"I have seen the future. http://tinyurl.com/y8sjpj9"

That's funny, I frequently offer customers that ask for "the biggest size you have" a "venti, next size up would be this bucket" referring to our big buckets with the sanitizing cloths in. Most people think it's funny and opt for the venti. I'm still waiting for someone to take me up on the bucket offer though...

[Dawn K. Shanks]

Wouldn't the PRICE of a trenta caramel frappuccino be prohibitive? I feel like Sbux tries to keep all its menu drinks under $5. There's no way a Trenta could be less than that...