Starbucks unveiled a new cup size on Monday the 17th that has been tested in select markets. I heard about this larger cup size late last year and it didn’t really interest me but I saw a few advantages to this.
Of course, in a time when our nation is getting fatter and many food companies are reducing the sizes of their cups & french fry boxes, this comes as a shock. Many people will blame Starbucks for making America fat. I recognize that a Trenta cup is sending the wrong message but Starbucks has padded this enough so that the initial shock of a larger size isn’t too bad and I see this as a good thing despite the fact I’ll never be buying a trenta sized Starbucks beverage.
This image certainly paints a scary picture:
Yes, I completely understand that the new trenta size is larger than a human stomach can hold. Scary, sure and Starbucks is wooing us by only charging a 50 cent premium over the price of a venti.
Here’s a shot of the cups side by side. Tall – Grande – Venti – Trenta
Moving on, Starbucks is doing something unique.
“The new size will be available only for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks in the United States.”
Iced tea, iced coffee & diet lemonade are all low calorie, non-fat drinks. A trenta just dumps more caffeine into your system which, yes, will cause you to retain more water but that’s not the point. The high-fat, high-sugar argument is nearly null & void when Americans complain that Starbucks is making us fat. Let’s focus on “iced coffee”. Will this mean you can dump a load of creamer, sugar and syrups in there? Hell yes! Starbucks will serve an iced black coffee if you ask for it so it’s not their fault if you take that cup and fill it with sugar & cream.
You’ll notice though that trenta cups aren’t being used for the premium drinks like lattes (white chocolate mocha, caramel & even regular lattes). You’ll also notice that their high calorie / high sugar frappuccino iced beverages won’t get a trenta size. Starbucks is intentionally leaving out espresso based drinks that are known for 300-700 calorie counts and up to 90 grams of sugar (which is what was in the latest Venti Peppermint Mocha). Starbucks knows that offering those in a trenta size would make them the first national coffee chain to offer a 1,000+ calorie coffee drink and they’d be subject to enormous scrutiny from the public.
…this doesn’t mean Starbucks will never offer those drinks in the new 31 ounce size. Starbucks points out their calorie counts in the current offerings for customers who opt for trenta sized
But their big plans will start with a big cup, which some fear will lead to an even bigger waistline.
However, the company was quick to point out that unsweetened versions of their drinks will still have fewer than 90 calories, with sweetened versions under 230 calories.
That awesome 90 calorie count for current trenta drinks will explode once you’re able to get a Vanilla Latte or Mocha Frappuccino but, at that point, the buzz will be gone and people will order whatever size they want. I’ll stick with my Grande size for iced drinks & venti size for black coffee and vanilla soy lattes.
There is ONE situation where you’d see this guy ordering a trenta Starbucks beverage. That’s the time when I’m about to go on a drive with my girlfriend. See, a trenta sized green tea or lemonade or iced coffee is perfect for two. You each get just over 15 ounces and it makes more economical sense that you buy one drink instead of two. You’re saving paper by only having one cup and money. Assuming you’ve kissed the person before or they’re a family member, the act of sharing a straw won’t be an issue.
For couples, the trenta is great but for the commuter who drives to work every day (doesn’t walk or bike) and adds loads of cream & sugar to that iced coffee, this could potentially be a waistline stretcher drink.
Starbucks is offering us choice and we all know from experience that Americans always take the easiest route. I doubt the Starbucks supersize offering proves me wrong.
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In other news, I also got this in my inbox. Here’s to a happy 2011!
