Starbucks Baristas Wish You Would Stop Ordering Iced Drinks This Way - Tasting Table

"From a flat white made with half skim milk and half non-dairy milk for a customer who was "only a little lactose intolerant" to a lemon ginger tea with Tabasco sauce, the orders baristas share in the r/barista subreddit only get weirder and weirder. But, while it's true they see their fair share of unusual orders, and that most make for harmless after-shift stories, Starbucks baristas wish people would stop ordering shaken iced drinks without the ice."

"We don't have training in how to measure for strained drinks. We don't have training on what tools to use to ensure a strained drink has been fully strained with no ice in the cup. There is no policy anywhere that indicates I should strain a drink... and when a customer asks for something outside of our standards, we are allowed and expected to say no," explains u/OneRoseDark."

"There is an entire list of tips for ordering iced coffee at Starbucks - and removing the ice isn't typically one of them. Beyond the practical challenges of preparing a shaken drink without ice, there's another reason why baristas find customers who order even regular iced coffee drinks without the ice annoying: Most of the time, it's just a clever hack for them to get more coffee for less money."

Baristas encounter many unusual custom orders, from mixed-milk flat whites to lemon ginger tea with Tabasco, but shaken iced drinks ordered without ice cause significant problems. Ice stabilizes pressure in the shaker, and removing it can make shakers explode when mixed with hot espresso, risking burns. Requests to shake with ice and then serve without ice create measurement and straining challenges that staff are not trained or authorized to perform. Simple accommodations like ice-free lattes are usually manageable, but deviating from preparation standards can violate safety protocols and enable customers to get more coffee for less money.

Read at Tasting Table