Starbucks Drink ID Codes
February 5, 2010 at 1:43 am Chad Upton 31 comments
By Chad Upton | Editor
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.
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Source: Starbucks Employee Training Manual
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Entry filed under: Demystified, Food and Drink. Tags: at, code, coffee, decoded, drink, how, id, latte, mocha, order, ordering, other, secret, starbucks.
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 :D
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.
13.
Starbucks n00b | August 12, 2010 at 9:19 am
Just for the record, there is a code for extra ice. Frankly, there’s a code for pretty much anything additionally asked for.
I believe the code is as simple as XICE or XI. I could be wrong though; I’ve only been working for about 3 days now haha.
14.
another starbucks worker | September 14, 2010 at 3:36 am
i found this searching for what the code is across stores as Double Blended? At one starbucks we wrote XX for double blend, another was just 2 blend
15.
SBUX Employee | October 4, 2010 at 7:52 pm
@another Starbucks Worker…. At my store we use 2xBL in the custom box.
Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino=PSF
Pumpkin Spice Creme Frappuccino-PSCF
For no water in Arizona, we use H20 with a slash through it.
@Kya… For extra ice we add XICE in the custom box.
Little known tibit.. Most Starbucks stores are different. It honestly changes from city to city with different practices, cup markings, and atmospheres. :)
Good Job with most of the secrets though!
16.
Katelyn | December 5, 2010 at 6:42 pm
What does it mean if it says “room” on the side of a cup that is an iced coffee?
17.
Barista | February 21, 2011 at 9:34 pm
means room for creme and sugar
18.
Another Starbucks Employee | December 18, 2010 at 11:18 am
Actually, you’re kind of wrong about the espresso having more caffeine. There’s 16oz of coffee in a grande cup and an espresso shot is 1oz. By volume, the espresso has about 54mg more of caffeine. :)
@Katelyn Some people like room left in their iced coffee so they can add their own half-and-half.
19.
Chad Upton | January 18, 2011 at 1:08 am
You’re right that espresso has more caffeine by volume. But, I was comparing by serving because I don’t think many people order more than 2 or 3 ounces of espresso.
20.
Starbucks Worker | January 18, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Syrup come in pumps not shots. We use Cinnamon Dolce instead of cinnamon and that is CD. We also have Sugar free Cinnamon Dolce and Sugar Free Caramel. (SFCD and SFC). Double blended at my store was DB. Also, extra ice is XICE. Pumpkin Spice Frappucino is PSF. No water is H20 with a line through it. Alot of those syrups have been discontinued. % is 2 percent milk not half whole and half nonfat. I’m guessing you have a really old book.
21.
SBux Intl. | August 7, 2011 at 7:23 am
The codes does seem to differ a little because here in the Bahamas our Cream based drinks are CRM in the drink box. Example a Vanilla Cream Frappuccino would be V in the syrup box and CRM in the drink box.
22.
SBux Intl. | August 7, 2011 at 7:29 am
Oh I forgot to use the Streawberries & Cream as my example as I noticed you used STB or something like that to mark the drink when here we use SB in the syrup box and CRM in the drink box. I guess starbucks language while being basically the same, there are some accents and slangs etc based on location. lolol
23.
JP | August 16, 2011 at 6:41 pm
“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.”
NOT the truth…. a Grande cup has 16oz of brewed coffee and 330mg of caffeine, while a shot of espresso has 1oz and 75mg of caffeine. Therefore a grande cup of espresso would have 450mg of caffeine which is considerably more.
By the way,
- Espresso can be just a name of the blend and roast, it is a coffee bean and could be brewed in many different ways.
- Espresso is also the name of the brew process. So, you can virtually use any type of coffee beans to pull a shot of espresso.
24.
Jack | September 25, 2011 at 6:41 pm
In drinks BTL = Black Tea Lemonade
25.
Nick | October 6, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Im an employee at starbucks and the codes vary form store to store and staff make their own codes up between eachother
26.
Rylan | November 17, 2011 at 12:26 am
PSL = Pumpkin Spice Latte
PSF = Pumkin Spice Frappuccino
PSCF = Pumkin Spice Créme Frappuccino
PSFL = Pumkin Spice Frappuccino Lite
CBL = Caramel Brulé Latte
CBF = Caramel Brulé Frappuccino
CBCF = Caramel Brulé Créme Frappuccino
CBFL = Caramel Brulé Frappuccino Lite
GL = Gingerbread Latte
GF = Gingerbread Frappuccino
GCF = Gingerbread Créme Frappuccino
GFL = Gingerbread Frappuccino Lite
PM = Peppermint Mocha
PMF = Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino
PMCF = Peppermint Mocha Créme Frappuccino
PMFL = Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Lite
SKM = Skinny Mocha
SKPM = Skinny Peppermint Mocha
(skinny means the drink is prepared with nonfat milk, no whipped topping, and is also sugar free)
PWM = Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha
PWMF = Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino
PWMCF = Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Créme Frappuccino
PWMFL = Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino Lite
EL = Eggnog Latte
EF = Eggnog Frappuccino
ECF = Eggnog Créme Frappuccino
EFL = Eggnog Frappuccino Lite
CHEG = Chai Eggnog Tea Latte ( My Personal Favourite <3 )
Hope this helps :P
27.
estee | November 18, 2011 at 11:12 pm
i just started working at Barnes & Noble in the cafe, we sell starbucks drinks. it’s totally kicking my ass, and i can’t remember or catch on to any of the codes and what drinks get whipped cream. i’m stressing over it. someone help me
28.
chrisalexr | December 21, 2011 at 5:27 am
lol estee by now you’ve probably caught on. I’ve been working at a Starbucks in an Albertsons for many months now and at first it was hard remembering the drinks. Basically for most hot drinks (excluding Cafe Americanos) the number or expresso shots stay the same. A tall gets one shot and grande and venti recieve two shots. It’s the same for iced lates, except the venti gets three shots of expresso. Now for syrup (moca, vanilla, carmel, etc.) tall gets 3 pumps, grande 4, venti 6. Fraps are totally different…for the coffee roast, a tall gets 2 pumps, grande 3, and venti 4. Then tall gets 2 pumps of syrup and 2 pumps of base. if cream based, then skip the coffee roast.
29.
chrisalexr | December 21, 2011 at 5:28 am
ooops sorry, my mistake. venti hot drink gets 5 pumps of syrup not 6
30.
chris | December 26, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Lol that book is soooo outdated. We don’t have half those drinks or ingredients anymore
31.
eanowakattack | January 4, 2012 at 1:28 am
I agree the book you have is out dated. At my store we used a lot of our own codes or varying codes. no foam could be “-F” or and F crossed out, or “- foam”, “no foam” or ‘foam’ crossed out. It just depends.
Ask your Barista, they’ll tell you what the codes are.