Debunking the myth of the Starbucks secret menu.
It has been in the news that there is a Starbucks “secret” menu. An example such a story is here. My position is that there is no such thing as a “secret menu,” and I’m trying to debunk that myth.
Starbucks has built its business on the idea that a customer can customize beverages to an extreme degree. Because beverage customization is encouraged, there is nothing to stop highly creative baristas and customers from coming up with beverage combinations that are well-liked by many.
The problem with a “secret menu” is that it implies that there is some standardization to customized drink recipes which simply does not exist! In other words, if I walk up to the register and order a “tall peppermint hot chocolate,” I will receive the same beverage whether I am in Seattle, Anaheim, or Boston. Baristas will follow a standardized official Starbucks recipe for a “peppermint hot chocolate,” and it is going to be the same everywhere I go. There are only so many official, standard drink recipes.
This doesn’t mean that a customer cannot order something unique. For example, partners have said to me, “Melody, you should try toffeenut syrup in a Strawberry smoothie!“ This would create something close to the “Captain Crunch” recipe described in “Starbucks “secret” menu“. However, and this is important, if I walked up to the register and said, “I’d like a Captain Crunch Smoothie” the only thing I would do is create confusion. Different stores will have different ideas about what this will mean: Some stores may think this means just a single added pump or two of toffeenut. Other stores may think this means some combination of toffeenut and hazelnut. Other baristas will look at you blankly and say, “I’ve never heard of a Captain Crunch smoothie.”
The real moral of the story is that if you, the customer, want to try a customized drink you should be prepared to learn how to order it to be able to get the same thing twice. In other words, it behooves you to learn to say, “I’d like a tall Strawberry Frappuccino with 2 pumps of toffee nut.”
I’m not very creative at coming up with unique drinks. Some baristas are gifted at this. One barista highly recommended that I try a “Chocolate Smoothie with White Mocha instead of Mocha, add Java Chips, and substitute Soy Milk.” That is a delicious drink! It tastes a bit like an Oreo Cookie. However, if I tried ordering “an Oreo Cookie smoothie,” I’d be met with blank stares.
I saw this “idea” on MyStarbucksIdea.com and I was reminded of the problems with the secret menu:
The author of the above MyStarbucksIdea.com thread writes:
- I heard of a cake batter frappuccino on the secret menu but every time I have tried to order this the barista looks at me like I’m crazy! Is there really a secret menu? And why would barista in at least five locations not know about it? From what I have seen almond syrup should be used, not toffee nut syrup. If this drink was tried as a promotion frap it would be a hit!
Try this one out Starbucks!
That above thread inspired this blog post. It is such a perfect example of the problems created by a “secret” menu that does not really exist!
In summary, customers please know your drink! Ask your baristas for their suggestions for new drink combinations. But if you simply order a drink by a “secret” name, you’ll run the risk of any or all of the following:
1. The drink will be very inconsistent from store to store.
2. Many baristas will have no idea what you mean.
3. You may be trying to order a drink that is not possible to make: The syrup and sauce offerings change frequently. For example, Almond hasn’t been available on the menu since 2008.
4. You may find that your Starbucks experience feels frustrating and confusing, and you don’t know why.
By the way, it is super obvious that the Starbucks “secret” menu in this news article is not real. Starbucks would not put out an official menu with “Frappuccino“ incorrectly spelled, or incorrectly referred to as a “Frappe.” Notice that on the official Starbucks Frappuccino page, Starbucks is careful to remember to put the registered-trademark symbol after the word Frappuccino.
I don’t mean to disappoint many customers who wanted to try something new. By all means, experiment away! Just learn how to order it. And when in doubt, talk to your barista about the kind of flavor you’re looking for, but don’t expect that your barista has some magical recipe for a “secret” drink.
This is an open thread. Feel free to talk about anything Starbucks-related.
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Melody will followup with the email and yes I know exactly where the store is and frankly it is sort of odd that they could not find it. Will keep you up to date.
@Sbux_Rich: thanx for your comments. I became aware of the return of the doubleshot button on the pos a few weeks ago, and I’m glad too. The only thing that I still run into (once in a while!) when ordering it is: it’s rung up at one end, and they know there’s now a button for it once again but then if the barista doesn’t know the exact order of making it (ie: plz don’t shake it AFTER you add the milk, etc) then..they’re still lacking. But, I agree…it’s a step in the right direction of the ‘doubleshot’!
I realize I’m kind of going back in time here, but “Just Say Yes” does not apply to cross contamination of allergens. There is absolutely no way that a Vanilla Almond or Cherry Walnut Biscotti should be put in the blender – it is a recipe for disaster, particularly with nut allergies.
Melody – thanks for this post. I had a regular walk in to my store and order a “Red Tuxedo” once. I laughed and asked if he had been on Yahoo recently, and told him how to actually order it so that he gets what he wants.
Kitenarie – Wait till you hear this one – So I was in California for about four days and I was at the Starbucks near my mom’s house, on the corner of Meats Avenue and Tustin Avenue in Orange. Actually, the SM and ASM in this store both know me and recognize me when I come in this store. I told the bar barista that I am a “Starbucks blogger” and some other customer behind me calls out, “I am too!! I have a Starbucks blog!”
Now this caught my attention! It is amazing to me that this blog has any readers because there are a number of other Starbucks bloggers out there. This guy, “Chris” tells me that he goes around and is trying to write reviews of all the Orange County Starbucks. And I kid you not, he said to me, “I quiz the baristas on the coffee and the secret menu.”
Holy sh*t. I nearly fainted. And then I went and looked at his blog, and he does kind of expect to be able to quiz register baristas about what is in secret menu drinks. One of the Meats and Tustin Avenue partners told me that he got quizzed about the Captain Crunch Frappuccino.
Seriously??????? Here’s his blog, if you want to look. http://musdeo.tumblr.com/
Melody… that makes me want to cry…
Melody went to this link for that person’s blog and OMG what a shame there is a blog out there like this. I can only say you should be very proud of your blog when you see something like this blog. How can anyone reasonably put this out? I guess there is no real answer to that question. Anyway, again thanks Melody for the blog you write.
Thank you for debunking this! I’ve worked at Starbucks for 5 years and have seen this article repeated in many different iterations in many different newspapers, and online news sources such as Huffington Post, Fox News and The Consumerist!
Despite my best efforts to tell my friends on Facebook and Twitter there is no “secret meu” and some items are just customized drinks, while others are very old promotional drinks that are no longer on the menu, and the “short” size is not a secret, they don’t believe me! Even though I have worked there 5 years… It’s amazing what people will believe if it comes from a “credible” news source, regardless of what people you personally know and trust tell you.
I’m experiencing a lot of inconsistancies in drinks, especially Mocha Frappes. These vary all over the map, even from the same store. I’ve been given many cookie cutter responses about drink recipes. Regardless, many of the Mocha Frappes I get are insipid, watery, and some taste more like a mild vanilla drink. Honestly, training, or even quality standards, are not what they could be.
Starbucks drinks are quite costly, and customers deserve good value for their money, which in my book means a lot of flavor, even from a stock drink. But the main ingredient in all their drinks is water, and the flavors very easily get “watered down”, especially if the drink is executed poorly.
I expect no change from Starbucks production level quality. I’ve already boycotted one store, because they just don’t get it right often enough. Very disappointing. I my start making my own…
thank you for posting something about this! i dont mind if people order a custom drink but it really does get on my nerves when they come in and act like there is some sort of menu that we are keeping hidden from them! people need to know that we have a basic everyday menu that they can choose from and they can customize drinks from there.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting this! There is NO SECRET MENU! Yes, we do know how to make drinks taste like certain things that you may ask for, but half the time we have no idea what you speak of. It is best to just know what goes into it so you can tell us what you want without needing a “secret” or most of the time ridiculous name to call it…
Sincerely, a Starbucks barista. (:
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