More Bucks for Your Buck.

So Starbucks might hate me for writing something like this, but I thought it was an idea worth sharing. 

When I go to Starbucks, I almost always get a drink that is one size larger but without paying for the larger size.  I do this without cheating or stealing from Starbucks, and without ingratiating myself to the baristas (as I have known some people to do in scandalous, shameless ways!  You know who you are people!!!). 

Before I explain how I do it, let me first lay out all the elements needed for this little enterprise:

1. Doctoring Station: Starbucks has a little station where you can “doctor” your drinks up.  There you’ll find the half and half, skim and whole milk, the sugar/splenda/saccharine stuff and napkins.

2. Free Pumps: When you order a Starbucks drink, you can add extra pumps of flavor for free, so long as it’s the flavor that comes with the drink.  For example, when you order a Chai Tea Latte, you can add as many pumps of chai as you want for free.  If you add a pump of vanilla, you’re paying more, but so long as you stick to chai, it’s free. 

3. Space or Room: Some people, when they get their cup of joe, they like to have some space in their cup.  This is for adding cream and sugar and still being able to stir your drink vigorously without spilling the precious contents.  You get this space by asking for a cup size larger than the drink you are ordering.  The dialogue goes something like this, “I’d like a tall chai tea latte in a grande cup please.” 

4. Temperature: Finally, you can order your drinks extra hot at Starbucks.  If there’s milk in a beverage, the limit is 180 degrees because after that you scald the milk and it tastes exactly like canned awful after that.  But if it’s coffee that you like, you can tell them to go even beyond 180 and name your specific temperature. 

Now that we’ve got the elements, I’ll explain how I get more Bucks for my buck.  I always order the beverage that I want extra concentrated and extra hot (up to 180 degrees for me because I always like milk in my drinks and I have a wussy tongue.)  When I do this, I order it in a cup size that is one size too big (so for a tall I get a grande cup, for a grande I get a venti cup).  After I get my drink I head over to the “doctoring station” and add milk to my drink.  Viola!  The milk dilutes the extra concentrated drink to a normal flavor while simultaneously cooling it down to a drinkable temperature.  By the time I’m done with this, I have a drink that is about one size up at the perfect flavor and temperature, but at the lesser price. 

Warnings and Tips: this isn’t fool proof, and it won’t work for every drink you get.  Sometimes, you can’t get the perfect flavor by diluting it. However, don’t give it up if at first you don’t succeed.  I had to try a couple of times before I got the precise measurements down for the perfect drink. 

Also, I don’t always do this because I can’t add the perfect amount of other syrups to my drink for free if for some reason I want them that day (caramel is good in hot chocolate you know, and vanilla is great in chai tea lattes!). The technique I’m sharing today is just usually the way to go.  

Don’t go overboard with concentrated syrups.  I typically add only one pump extra.  If I’m feeling crazy or needing caffeine, I’ll go for two.  More than that and the stuff becomes undrinkable sludge.

Sometimes, you’ll want to put your hand to the metal part of the milk container at the doctoring station to check the temperature.  If the baristas have freshly refilled it, it’ll be extra cold and you won’t be able to add as much to your drink that day because it will cool it down too much. 

Likewise, if you’re one of those people that was born with insulation in your mouth (“asbestos mouth” we used to call them in my family) and you basically like your coffee as soon as it comes off the roiling boil, this trick isn’t for you.  You’ll despise the chilly milk reducing the heat of your lava java.