Starbucks Drink ID Codes
February 5, 2010
If you’re a Starbucks customer, you’ve probably noticed the column of check boxes down the side of your cup. The boxes are labeled: Decaf, Shots, Syrup, Milk, Custom and Drink.
It’s pretty obvious these boxes are used to record your drink order. Sometimes I look at the writing in these boxes and try to match the secret codes with the options I requested. Most are pretty self explanatory, but some of the codes are not.
In fact, I didn’t even know what the entire “custom” box was for.
Today I found out. You see, I got a special delivery today. It started last week during my regular search for secrets, I had an idea. I wanted to know how easily I could get a Starbucks employee training manual. About ten minutes later I had purchased one from the used book section of Amazon. There was only one copy available.
I got it, and I’m going to share its secrets with you.
Just from flipping through it today, I think I could do a whole year worth of secrets from this book alone. For now, I’m just going to break down what all the drink id codes mean. Even if you don’t care what the codes mean, you’ll probably discover some options you didn’t know you had.
| Decaf Box | |
| Code | Meaning |
| X | Decaf |
| 1/2 | Half Decaf |
If it’s empty, then your drink is probably caffeinated (unless it’s naturally decaffeinated like some of the Tea options).
| Shots Box | |
| Code | Meaning |
| 1 | 1 Shot |
| 2 | 2 Shots |
| etc… | etc… |
A Starbucks grande coffee has 330mg of caffeine. If you want to spike it, each additional shot of espresso adds 75mg of caffeine. Yes, espresso has less caffeine than coffee beans.
| Syrup Box | |
| Code | Meaning |
| A | Almond |
| C | Caramel Syrup |
| CH | Chai |
| CL | Classic Syrup |
| CN | Cinnamon |
| H | Hazelnut |
| I | Irish Cream |
| MO | Mocha Syrup |
| P | Peppermint |
| R | Raspberry |
| SFH | Sugar Free Hazelnut |
| SFV | Sugar Free Vanilla |
| V | Vanilla |
| VA | Valencia |
| WM | White Chocolate Mocha Syrup |
If it’s empty then you don’t get any shots (or you get the default shot for you drink).
| Milk Box | |
| Code | Meaning |
| B | Breve (half-and-half) |
| E | Eggnog (seasonal) |
| % | 50% whole, 50% non-fat |
| N | Nonfat |
| S | Soy |
| O | Organic Milk |
If it’s empty, you get 2% milk. The only exception is a Frappucino, in which case you get whole milk by default.
| Custom Box | |
| Code | Meaning |
| CHIP | Add chips |
| CR | Caramel Sauce |
| D | Dry |
| F | Foamy |
| H | Hot |
| HANDOFF | Deliver to customer’s table |
| K | Kid’s Beverage (tiny size, cooler temperature) |
| LT | Light (used before another code) |
| NW | No Water |
| SL | Sweet’n Low |
| SP | Splenda |
| STRAB | Strawberry Fruit Sauce |
| SR | Sugar in the raw |
| VBEAN | Vanilla Bean Powder |
| W | Wet |
| WC | Whipped Cream |
| X | Extra |
| = | Equal |
| / | Placed over a code to indicate deletion |
Empty box means no custom selection.
| Drink Box – Hot and Cold Beverages | |
| Code | Meaning |
| A | Caffe Americano |
| AL | Cafe au Lait |
| BC | Brewed Coffee |
| C | Cappuccino |
| CAC | Caramel Apple Cider |
| CH | Tazo Chai Tea Latte |
| CM | Caramel Macchiato |
| E | Espresso |
| ECP | Espresso Con Panna |
| EGTL | Earl Grey Tea Latte (aka “London Fog”) |
| EM | Espresso Macchiato |
| HC | Hot Chocolate |
| L | Caffe Latte |
| LM | Latte Macchiato |
| M | Caffe Mocha |
| MIS | Caffe Misto |
| MV | Mocha Valencia |
| PSL | Pumpkin Spice Latte |
| SCID | Steamed Cider |
| SCR | Syrup Creme |
| SM | Steamed Milk |
| T | Tazo Tea |
| VCR | Vanilla Cream |
| WHC | White Hot Chocolate |
| WM | White Chocolate Mocha |
| CHA | Chantico |
If this is empty then they probably didn’t bother filling out any of the boxes.
| Drink Box – Blended Beverages | |
| Code | Meaning |
| CF | Coffee |
| CVF | Caffe Vanilla |
| CRF | Caramel |
| E | Espresso |
| JCF | Java Chip |
| MF | Mocha |
| PSFBB | Pumpkin Spice Frappucino |
| WMF | White Chocolate Mocha |
| CHCF | Tazo Chai Creme |
| DCCF | Double Chocolate Chip |
| STCF | Strawberries & Creme |
| SF | Syrup Creme |
| VBF | Vanilla Bean |
If this is empty then they probably didn’t bother filling out any of the boxes.
| Drink Box – Iced Shaken Beverages | |
| Code | Meaning |
| IC | Iced Coffee |
| BT/PT | Iced Black Tea / Iced Passion Tea |
| BTL | Iced Black Tea Lemonade |
| PTL | Iced Passion Tea Lemonade |
If this is empty then they probably didn’t bother filling out any of the boxes.
If you have any to add, let me know. If you don’t know what some of these terms mean, then you should checkout my other entry, How to Order at Starbucks.
Thanks to all the commenters for updates and additions.
Broken Secrets | Chad Upton
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Source: Starbucks Employee Training Manual
Entry Filed under: Demystified,Food. Tags: at, code, coffee, decoded, drink, how, id, latte, mocha, order, ordering, other, secret, starbucks.
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1.
Fezz | February 5, 2010 at 6:16 am
Err,
Pumpkin Spice Lattes – PSL
Pumpkin Spice Frap – ???
=]
I enjoy the website
2.
sycamoregrad | June 16, 2010 at 6:15 am
Pumpkin Spice Creme frappucino would be pscf. PSFBB would be pumpkin spice frappucino blended beverage.
3.
Jessica | February 5, 2010 at 11:38 am
NW = no water (in the chai lattes, they add water…if you want it to taste stronger, ask for no water)
4.
Gillian | February 5, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I think Starbuck’s uses 2% milk by default now
5.
Alistair | April 12, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Mostly right but what you have as “Shots Box” will be the number of espresso shots and the Syrup Box will contain codes as you have identified. The new Frapaccino recipes will mean more use of the boxes for the vatious (unlimited) combinations
6.
Maya | April 19, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Custom box: “Wet”… Huh??
Could someone please enlighten me as to what this means? I’m intrigued…
7.
Chad Upton | April 20, 2010 at 6:25 am
Maya, “wet” means there is less foam and more beverage. There are other Starbucks secrets at the following link, including the meaning of Venti…
http://brokensecrets.com/2010/01/27/how-to-order-at-starbucks/
8.
Maya | April 20, 2010 at 12:18 am
Nevermind… I got it now
9.
Kya | April 29, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Aww, they have no code for extra ice or extra thick, which is how I always get my fraps =P Gonna have to see what they write on those in the future!
10.
Starbucks Worker | June 22, 2010 at 8:14 pm
i work at starbucks and you have just a couple things wrong on your list….
the first is the shots box just gets numbers (1,2,3, etc.) and they are added on shots if you order more.
the second is what you do have listed under shots is actually the syrups and should go in the syrup box.
and last for milk the default for hot and cold beverages is 2%, but for frappucinos is whole milk.
otherwise great job, this is really helpful!
11.
Starbucks Worker | June 22, 2010 at 8:15 pm
i work at starbucks and you have just a couple things wrong on your list….the first is the shots box just gets numbers (1,2,3, etc.) and they are added on shots if you order more. the second is what you do have listed under shots is actually the syrups and should go in the syrup box. and last for milk the default for hot and cold beverages is 2%, but for frappucinos is whole milk.
otherwise great job, this is really helpful!
12.
Meghan | July 12, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Actually, if milk is blank you get 2% milk by default, not whole milk. UNLESS its a frappucino, in which case its whole milk.