The real reason Starbucks uses tall, grande, and venti sizes

The INSIDER Summary:

• Starbucks sizes aren't your regular small, medium large, but tall, grande, and venti.
• Turns out, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz had taken a trip to Italy in 1983, and was trying to make his chain more like the places he visited while abroad.

If there's one thing to know about Starbucks, it's the menu board lingo.

Forget small, medium, and large—it's tall, grande, and venti when you're ordering your drink at Starbucks. And there is a reason for this naming convention, and Thrillist recently uncovered the history.

In 1986, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz was working on another coffee chain called Il Giornale. It was at this first venture that the sizing names were introduced, starting with short, tall, and grande. Schultz had taken a trip to Italy in 1983, and he was trying to make his chain more like the places he visited while abroad.

And one extra bit of trivia: Once venti was added to the menu board, there wasn't enough room to include short. So short was cut and tall become the new small. You can still order a “small” eight-ounce drink, but you won't find it on the menu.

For more history behind the naming convention of Starbucks drinks, head on over to Thrillist.