Here’s a PSA from your local Starbucks Kiosk Barista: STOP BUYING TIKTOK DRINKS. Keep your local baristas sane.
I’m sure you’ve seen them on your ForYou Page, something like a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frap with white mocha, toffee nut, hazelnut, and caramel drizzle; a cold brew with one blonde shot, five brown sugar, one white mocha, a splash of heavy whipping cream, and caramel drizzle; a triple blended dragon drink (mango dragonfruit refresher with coconut milk instead of water) with extra berries, vanilla syrup, and cream base syrup; or an iced chai tea latte with apple brown sugar syrup, oat milk, pumpkin cream cold foam, and two blonde shots. These are a few of the most common drinks I’ve seen come through our location.
My job is dependent on speed and efficiency, and when I have to put 18 pumps of syrup into a frappuccino that’s only supposed to have around 6, it takes time from making yours and others drinks, and it doesn’t come out the correct consistency. Blending refreshers adds another step to a fairly simple drink recipe.
There’s also so many supply shortages due to the pandemic that we often don’t have every item a customer is asking for. My location is currently out of hazelnut, toffee nut, and raspberry syrups, the very berry hibiscus refresher, and other stores are out of oat milk, chai, and cinnamon dolce. This means the beautiful looking tiktok drink you ordered won’t come out looking like the picture, and it won’t taste as amazing as the tiktok says.
Sometimes, people have pretty good ideas when it comes to these drinks, but I assume it’s because they’ve worked in a coffee shop before. One of the better drinks that I’ve seen (and had) is a lemonade with raspberry syrup and strawberry acai refresher splashed on top, I think it tastes like raspberry sherbet. Another one I really like is an iced chai tea latte with brown sugar syrup and oat milk, but that may be because I am biased toward anything with the brown sugar syrup and oat milk. They’re also both simple and don’t involve the blender. If you’re looking for extra flavor, one pump can go a long way, especially in Frappucinos! I like to add a pump of vanilla to a Caramel Ribbon Crunch frap, or a Pumpkin Spice Frap with no whip and Apple Spice Drizzle (it’s the ultimate fall frap). I also think the blended refreshers with creme base are pretty tasty and refreshing, but not fun to make during a rush.
If you’re nice and your drink isn’t too complicated, I’ll be glad to make it for you. But please stop asking for a Frappucino with 10 extra pumps of syrup in it, your local barista will thank you.