Friday, June 10, 2005

Annush Sawyer presents...

*Mission Impossible theme song*

If you go to Starbucks and order a drink, say a Grande drink, the cup for a hot beverage and the cup for a cold beverage are not the same size. The one for the hot beverage is bigger (though it requires no ice) and is cheaper.

Pretty weird, huh?

I needed to know if this was just an optical thing so in search for answers, I went to the website.

I went to the nutritional information, where I chose a Grande skim latte as my sample drink.

According to the site, both cups hold 16oz. of a cafe latte; however, the hot cup gets filled to the top with coffee (160 calories w/skim milk). The cold cup gets filled a little more than half (100 calories w/skim milk). Meanwhile, as per my debit card records, a Grande Skim Latte comes out (after tax) to $3.96 whereas the same coffee but iced comes out to $4.28.

Exhibit A: My debit authorizations for today.

06-10 -----> AFTERNOON COFFEE (Iced Grande Skim Latte)
*DEBIT AUTHORIZATION
SBUX New York #0 New York NY }
$ 4.28

06-10 -----> MORNING COFFEE (Grande Skim Latte)
*DEBIT AUTHORIZATION
SBUX New York #0 New York NY }
$ 3.96

**Update-

It's not like it even takes more effort or requires different resources to make an iced coffee.

I am not a coffee expert, nor have I ever worked at Starbucks; however, I do go everyday, sometimes twice a day, and unless they do something funny to the coffee or the milk beforehand, all you need to make an iced latte is coffee, cold milk and ice. It's not even stirred so it looks pretty. For a hot latte you need coffee, hot frothy milk, then foam and you have to put the little insulating glove thingie on the hot one so customers don't get burnt. Hmmmmmmm

Why is that? Ideas anyone?

11 comments:

Robert_M said...

They make nice margins on ice?

Bracuta said...

It takes more money and effort to produce the expensive one?
Or is it maybe the do that to see who notices it and then when you tell them they give you a lifetime supply of coffee...
You should ask them personally...

F-ftOS said...

Heat expands, cold contracts.

That one can perhaps take care of your smaller and bigger cups.


Cost, they could be taking out the cost of refrigeration but then there are pretty many more weird things in this world really!!!!

Anonymous said...

* I'm stunned that anyone can afford two cups of starbucks in one day.*


lovely.

Anonymous said...

Over here at the Starbucks, they don;t even put the little paper tab over the hole in the take out cups! They don;t know what that is! I like the Chai lattes though I rarely go to a starbucks anymore. Is it true that the wireless Internet is free?

JaG said...

We don't even have starbucks here :-(

Gabemaster said...

Annush My Love I really hope I don't pist you off with this comment, I know you are a Starbucks regular so please do not take it personal is not against you.
Last month I walked into a starbucks for the first time in my life. And I hope I never have to go back EVER AGAIN. Now, I'm not a cofee drinker at all (that's one of the reasons I've never walked into starbucks before the other one is that I find it ridiculous to pay so much money just for coffee) I did it because I didn't sleep at all the night before and I had to take care of a few things downtown so I needed caffeine. All I wanted was a strong black and sweet coffee. I had no idea what I got myself into. I come up to the line and I tell the guy that I wanted a "medium black coffee with tons of sugar". The guy looked at me as if I had to heads. I don't get it, what is the deal with creating a new language just to order some over priced coffee? The guy actually told me "well sir, we dont have medium we have grande" I told him that I didn't want grande that I wanted a MEDIUM black coffee with lots of sugar. Then he goes with an attitude as if I was "supposed to know" as if it was common sense to know that at freaking starbucks grande is medium, and starts showing me the cups and telling me how Grande is actually medium. His attitude more than anything was what pisted me off so I told him he was being a prick and an idiot and in case he didn't know Grande is not an English word and in Spanish it means BIG!! To cut the story short I still made the guy get me the coffee,( I really needed that coffee)I watched him in order to make sure he didnt spit in the cup or anything like that. I left and I vowed to never again spend my money in a starbucks unless I reaaally need to.

Weary Hag said...

I tend to agree with Gabemaster here. Developing a whole new language to make people order a freaking cup of coffee is just a little too lofty for my liking. Medium is medium and there isn't anyone on god's good earth that doesn't know that. So why make people look stupid? It's stupid enough already that people are paying those prices!

F-ftOS said...

Well, I am not sure how would I look at it. When one goes to buy something, it is an agreement between oneself and the service provider. They have terms and they have to stick to it. Its the part of one's job. If I were to buy a car, the car guy has to tell me the specifications which is given by his company, not some "on the fly" words. Whats the big deal on looking up the menu and ordering what they offer?

I remember this one time, I was to catch a flight from White Plains, Westchester county airport in NY and I had no baggage. ABSOLUTELY NO BAGGAGE. And when the guy at the United Airlines counter asked me "Sir have you taken anything from anyone....", I replied, " I am carrying nothing". He repeated himself, and I repeated myself. Then he told me, "Sir, I need to ask that as it is part of my job." And I had to say "Yes". "YES" when I told him I am carrying nothing at all? Well I thought this is plain crazy, back then. Now, after 9/11, I look at it differently. I think he was doing his bit. And someone f***** up big time while doing his/her job, on the morning of 9/11. But of one thing I am certain. That someone, can not be the guy who had asked me that "stupid" question.

Matt said...

Its all in the ice! They have special ice.

GoGo said...

This might be outdated information but...

If you order a isce grande americano with room, it is cheaper than a ice grande latte.

You secretely add the milk at the condiment bar and then dash out the door holding the drink above your head like a marathon runner imatating Rocky.