Starbucks Drink ID Codes
February 5, 2010 at 1:43 am Chad Upton 102 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 |
| DB|2xB | Double Blended |
| 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 |
| CB | Caramel Brule Latte |
| CH | Tazo Chai Tea Latte |
| CHEG | Tazo Chai Eggnog Tea Latte |
| CM | Caramel Macchiato |
| E | Espresso |
| ECP | Espresso Con Panna |
| EGTL | Earl Grey Tea Latte (aka “London Fog”) |
| EM | Espresso Macchiato |
| EL | Eggnog Latte |
| GL | Gingerbread Latte |
| HC | Hot Chocolate |
| L | Caffe Latte |
| LM | Latte Macchiato |
| M | Caffe Mocha |
| MIS | Caffe Misto |
| MV | Mocha Valencia |
| PM | Peppermint Mocha |
| PSL | Pumpkin Spice Latte |
| PWM | Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha |
| SCID | Steamed Cider |
| SCR | Syrup Creme |
| SKM | Skinny Mocha |
| 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 |
| CBF | Caramel Brule Frappuccino |
| CF | Coffee |
| CVF | Caffe Vanilla |
| CRF | Caramel |
| E | Espresso |
| EF | Eggnog Frappuccino |
| GF | Gingerbread Frappuccino |
| JCF | Java Chip |
| MF | Mocha |
| PMF | Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino |
| PSF | Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino |
| PWMF | Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino |
| WMF | White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino |
| 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
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Source: Starbucks Employee Training Manual
Entry filed under: Demystified, Food and Drink. Tags: at, code, coffee, decoded, drink, how, id, latte, mocha, order, ordering, other, secret, starbucks.
102 Comments Add your own
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Broken Secrets 
1.
AiselAlcedo | February 9, 2016 at 8:07 am
Reblogged this on Aisel Alcedo and commented:
discovering the cod just made my day ❤️
2.
Jen | March 16, 2016 at 9:07 pm
PGTL = Peach Green Tea Lemonade
3. Starbucks Irish Creme Syrup – Starbucks International | July 16, 2016 at 10:48 am
[…] Starbucks Drink ID Codes | Broken Secrets – Starbucks Drink ID Codes. February 5, 2010 at 1:43 am Chad Upton 77 comments. By Chad Upton | Editor. If you’re a Starbucks customer, you’ve probably noticed the … […]
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[…] Starbucks Drink ID Codes | Broken Secrets – Starbucks Drink ID Codes. February 5, 2010 at 1:43 am Chad Upton 77 comments. By Chad Upton | Editor. If you’re a Starbucks customer, you’ve probably noticed the … […]
5.
Leilani | August 12, 2016 at 6:47 am
I do not know who you are, but I luv ya! Most of their training tools are not in ABC order. It really adds a level of confusion for no reason. Thanks for taking the time to do this!
6.
Desiree Paahana | September 27, 2016 at 8:41 am
Syrup section’s description is actually part 2 if the shot section. No syrup section description given.
7.
Nova | January 24, 2017 at 9:22 pm
What about W on the milk frame ？i don’t understand.
8.
Chad Upton | January 25, 2017 at 7:37 am
Whole Milk
9.
Nicole | March 1, 2017 at 12:55 pm
Why is there no id codes for fruit inclusions as far as excluding them on drink
10.
GiveMeGorgeous | March 2, 2017 at 9:37 am
I need to rant – I’m not sure why Baristas at SBUX have all started calling cream breve! They mark cups with a B if you want cream in your coffee or iced coffee. Breve in itself DOES NOT mean cream. Its like calling latte – milk!!! Breve is a specific drink with espresso and cream, but the word itself does not mean cream. This is the worst bastardization I’ve seen at Starbucks and they just don’t get how incorrect it is. (btw – I still do drink Starbucks but the company should go back to trying to emulate the Italian coffee experience, not make things up as they go)
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12.
JAKE FROM STATEFARM | June 18, 2018 at 3:24 am
wHAT IS CRMFR?!
13.
FLMXIRCDTGIUN | September 3, 2018 at 7:07 pm
Thank you for another informative blog. The place else may I am getting that kind of information written in such an ideal means? I have a mission that I am simply now working on, and I have been at the look out for such information.
14. Team IaqVelo | Race to Alaska | May 1, 2019 at 7:32 am
[…] we understood what was going on (and served him his EGTL), it all started to fall into place. While his boat has been on the hard as long as we’ve known […]
15.
Koffee | September 10, 2019 at 12:16 am
Can you please tell me what does MORF Drink of Starbucks stands for? what is it’s full form
16.
smith | November 12, 2019 at 9:22 am
my coffee today said “CPL”. does anyone know what that means??
17.
Sunny Smith | August 12, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Iced Quad Espresso
Blonde
Quad
Iced
In A Grande Cup
2 Pumps Sf Vanilla Van Sc Cld Fm Cinnamon Pwdr
18.
Sunny Smith | August 12, 2021 at 12:55 pm
What is this order?
19.
Toni | November 5, 2021 at 9:13 am
HC heavy cream
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