Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Ask the Barista (about Starbucks coffee)


coffee to go with a shot of vanilla please Posted by Hello

OK, I decide I need to get outside, take the laptop and work on some blogging at the local Bean Traders. Not being a coffee connoisseur or knowing enough to be a coffee snob other than French Vanilla creamer makes a good cup of coffee, I always get stumped as to what to order at the local coffee shop. All I know is I don't want to pay four dollars to get a caffeine headache...

D'oh! I need to ask the Barista!

Few things inspire as much confusion, doubt, and ire as coffee seems to. Combine this with the instinctive hatred for big companies, and you get a lot of people who have, shall we say, a less-than-satisfying experience at their local Starbucks.

That's where I come in. I worked at Starbucks for almost two years, made (and drank) zillions of drinks, and flipped through the various corporate manuals in my spare time. On this page you'll find answers, in mostly-plain English, to some of the more common questions.

Ask the Barista
Starbucks Homepage
Bean Traders QuickTime Video 1
Bean Traders QuickTime Video 2
Bean Traders Homepage

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you...it's so confusing to order anything at a Starbucks. That's why I prefer Tim Horton's! It's great to be a Canadian!!!!

Kerry Woo said...

Thanks for the comment - I plan to study the list and settle on a 1-2-3 list of coffees to order

Anonymous said...

I think this is under $4, but my usual order is a "Dopio Espresso", which is simply a double shot of espresso, and a "Venti Coffee Of The Day, Dark Roast, No Room For Cream", which is just a large cup of coffee.

I equate this order to a shot with a beer back, if I were in a bar. :)

There was a great Doonsbury comic about this very topic, I'll have to see if I can find it.

Anonymous said...

Well, if you're a registered member of Doonesbury, then this URL should be the comic I'm referring to:

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20030720

Unfortunately, I'm not, so I can't verify.