Why there are lines on a Starbucks cup and what is it for?
The lines printed on a Starbucks cup may vary depending on what size it is. For example, other cups may have 3 lines while others have only 2. The sizes of the cup are as follows: 8 fl. oz. is for Short, Tall is 12 fl. oz., Grande is 16, 24 fl. oz. for cold Venti while 20 fl. oz. for hot, and Trenta is 31 fl. oz.
And the lines are for measuring proportions purposes. It is printed there for the barista to be able to know how many ingredients to put in each cup. For example, a shot of espresso plus the milk should fill up the first line, and other additional ingredients should fill up the second or third, as well as the ice. They may seem lined on a random interval but, it’s for a purpose.
Starbucks Venti Cup
The Starbucks Venti cup is the one that could measure full the 8, 12, 16, and 20-ounce line measurements. This means that it can be used to build either of these drinks and properly measure the portions of espresso or coffee roasts, milk, ice, syrup, and other ingredients for each drink.
If you are making an iced coffee, for example, the cup is filled up with coffee up to the second line, and dairy product or cream is then added up to the third line. But if there shouldn’t be cream or dairy, then the cup should be filled up to the third line. For iced teas, on the other hand, tea is poured to the first line, then water or lemonade defending on the flavor is added up to the third line, and the rest of the cup space is filled with ice. For the much more complicated drink or frappucinos, based ingredients such as the coffee base or cream base plus the milk should fill the first line. Other ingredients such as pumps or extra shots are added before being blended on the machine and put back into the cup.
Starbucks drinks vary a lot and being a barista, you are expected to learn and memorize all of them, or what ingredients go on each drink. Each drink should be made as accurate as possible.
Starbucks Reusable Cup
Since you already know that the lines on the Starbucks cup are used for measurement, maybe you are wondering why there are lines on Starbucks reusable cup that is similar to the disposable ones. These lines are not intended for the same purpose, because the barista won’t be using your reusable cup to make the drink.
Instead, it is made behind the counter and then pour it to your cup, which is sat on the counter while making the drink. These lines are only for design purposes and to give the reusable cup an authentic look as the single-use one. And whenever you take your reusable cup to get your drink, you will get a 10 cents discount for every purchase.
The Trenta Cup
Starbucks recently rolled out their “secret size” drink Trenta. It is the biggest size of drink they offer which holds up 31 fl. oz. but is only available for iced drinks orders. You just add $0.50 to your Venti and you will get 7 to 11 ounces more. Specifically, the Trenta size is available for their iced coffee, cold brew, Teavana Iced Tea, and Starbucks signature refreshers.
Starbucks, for a short period of time, tried to use Trenta cup for frappucinos too but, sugar intake for every meal is regulated in different parts of the world, and having 31 ounces of sweet drinks is both irresponsible and apprehensible by the law. That’s the reason they only have 2 lines in their Trenta cup, for it not be used for other drinks aside from teas, refreshers, and iced coffee only. These drinks do not require many ingredients and only uses 2 lines for measurements.
Conclusion
In summary, Starbucks cold drinks cups have these lines for ingredients measurement purposes. The 3 black lines indicate how much of something should go on a certain drink. The top line also specifies up how much should go in the cup – it should be in the middle of the top line and the mouth of the cup.
