What To Know About Starbucks Drink Sizes Before You Order

Whoever said size doesn't matter has never been to Starbucks. Before Starbucks, it was pretty easy to order coffee. There were usually two sizes, small and large, and occasionally, a third, medium. But then Howard Schultz, who eventually became Starbucks' long-time chief executive officer, went to Italy and changed how we order coffee altogether. Bringing back the lingo used by Italian baristas, Schultz eventually took over the Seattle coffee chain, and a small coffee became tall, a medium became a grande, a large became a venti, and a trenta became something reserved for only a few drinks. And we still haven't yet gotten to the doppio.

The fact that there are more than three cup sizes is one of those Starbucks secrets everyone should know. Exactly how many are there? Well, that's hard to say. It depends on the beverage you're ordering. For hot coffee and hot tea, there are four standard sizes: short (8 ounces), tall (12 ounces), grande (16 ounces), and venti, which means twenty in Italian, is 20 ounces (sometimes venti cold beverages are actually 24 ounces). Cold and iced beverages also come in four sizes: tall, grande, venti, and trenta, using the Italian word for third for these 30-ounce cups.

Espresso drinks make things even more complicated. Espressos and macchiatos also come in four smaller sizes –- solo, doppio, triple, and quad –- but these are more aligned with the number of coffee shots rather than the volume. If you order espresso-based hot drinks or a caramel macchiato, you're back to ordering regular coffee cup sizes. If you order Starbucks' new drink, the cortado – an espresso drink with equal parts steamed milk — it's a whole new ball game, since you need to decide between a ristretto and a long shot and select the number of shots you want.

Once you start adding milk and other ingredients into your iced beverages –- like with iced espresso drinks, iced tea lattes, and frappuccinos –- you are again limited to three sizes, since those drinks, according to Starbucks' website, do not come in trenta. Finally, there are also kids sizes for some beverages like hot chocolate and lemonade, but the kids' size is equivalent to a short or tall, depending on whether it's a hot or a cold drink.

Don't worry about memorizing all that. The available cup sizes can easily be found on the Starbucks app, the website, and on the menu board. But, before you order that venti, keep in mind you can get free refills if you're dining in. Why order a venti when you can get two grandes?