Unlike all coffee lovers, I was once lucky enough to get paid for my obsession with my three daily cups of joe. I was a Starbucks barista for four years, and although it was nice, free coffee wasn’t the only perk. I got definitive answers to burning, behind-the-scenes questions that keep us regulars up at night.
For those who haven't donned the green apron before, I've rounded up my wisdom below.
No, you shouldn’t mix your iced caramel macchiato.
Guaranteed, Starbucks Gold members can pinpoint the memory of the first time they laid eyes on a beautifully layered, two-toned iced caramel macchiato. Most people’s first inclination upon receiving the cup is to swirl their straw in circles, mixing the two layers of espresso and milk to create a uniform creamy brown-colored coffee drink.
If you didn’t already know, most of the drink options displayed on a cafe menu are made with the same or similar ingredients, meaning construction is key. A caramel macchiato is made with vanilla syrup to start, then milk, then espresso, and is finished with a special crosshatched pattern of caramel drizzle. Its components are meant to be sipped in order, so mixing them defeats its entire purpose. If you prefer mixing them, next time, order an iced vanilla latte with caramel drizzle. It’ll save you a buck.
It’s not just your taste buds; the espresso in your drink could be bad.
An espresso shot is made up of three parts: the heart (the dark brown base), the body (the middle layer), and the crema (the creamy, beautiful foam topper that provides a bit of sweetness). Once a shot is pulled, or extracted from an espresso machine, it has 10 seconds before it expires. What does that mean? It means it takes around 10 seconds for the crema to sink into the body and heart, making the espresso taste insanely bitter. In the construction of espresso drinks, that’s avoided by immediately combining it with other ingredients, be it milk, water, or syrup, before it mixes.
So if you’ve ever taken a sip of your regular latte and felt like the taste was a bit off, there’s a chance you weren’t wrong.
A Venti-sized hot drink contains the same amount of espresso as a Grande.
I don’t know about you, but when I order Starbucks, I’m most concerned about its caffeine capabilities. Sure, the extra whipped cream and flavor upon request is nice, but I want to know, coffee-wise, if I’m getting the bang for my buck. One of the biggest things I learned as a barista is that size isn’t always reflective of that.
A Grande-sized (16 oz.) hot drink, for example, a latte or a Caffè Mocha, normally includes two shots of espresso. The rest is syrup and milk. It only makes sense that the next size up, Venti (20 oz.), would call for three, right? Wrong. A Venti hot vanilla latte has the exact same amount of espresso as a Grande. However, a Venti iced drink (24 oz.) gets three shots. So next time, if you're most concerned about a necessary java buzz, either order your Venti iced or ask for an extra shot.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider