The (Not so Secret) Secret Menu at Starbucks, Revealed!

Psst.  I’ve got a secret to tell you.

All this talk about “secret” menu items excites me.  What better than finding a new food item or drink which is hopefully healthy and that no one else knows about.  I came across the “secret” Starbucks menu as it was trending on Twitter and after much research I have outlined the main portion of the secret menu which you or I might just order.  The ones which are super high-fat, like 3/4’s of the drink is 28% whipping cream, I left as being secret.  no one needs to consume 200% of their daily allocation for calories, fat and sugar in one drink.

I also confirmed with some Starbucks baristas – past and present – that this list does exist and they also gave me the nicknames they know these drinks as. 

There are also some other non-food related things you should know about Starbucks which are not widely known… Until now!

Charge up your Starbucks card and get ready to run to your local Starbucks and impress or confuse the local barista be inspired…

Here are the goods;

Biscotti Frapuccino

Buy a biscotti and ask the barista to blend it up with any flavor of frapuccino. It blends into tiny cookie chunks that add a delicious little crunch to your frozen coffee.  This can be done with any pastry you buy, actually, although some locations won’t do it due to nut allergies.  They don’ t want that stuff in their blenders. 

Short Drinks

The sizes the “mainstream menu” gives you are “Tall,” “Grande” and “Venti,” but if you say you want the “short” size to any Starbucks drink you can receive a less expensive and smaller sized drink. The size is in their cash register – I checked – because of espresso shots.  It’s on the menu in the Philippines, and is the same price as a tall in Indonesia.  We call it the “kids size” here in Canada, eh?

Short cappuccino

A “Short” cappuccino is a more Italian style cappuccino because there is less room for milk which somehow got mixed in with this drink and waters it down. 

Red Eye

A Red Eye is a shot of espresso in regular cup of Starbucks coffee.

Black Eye

A Black Eye is two shots of espresso in regular Starbucks coffee.

Green Eye / Purple Eye (depending on what part of the country you are in) / JFK (for the 3 shots to the head which killed him) / Shot in the Dark

Whatever you call this drink it is a whopping three shots of espresso in a regular Starbucks coffee.  Be carefull with this one!  Do not drink at night unless you want to be up all night, shaking, in caffeine withdrawal.

Poor Man’s Latte

An Iced Americano with no water and half ice, then head over to the condiments station, fill the rest up with half and half cream (certainly not the 18% coffee cream) and viola, you have a Breve Latte at less than you would pay for the actual drink. 

Poor Man’s Chai Latte

Order a Chai Tea Misto with extra foam, two tea bags, and half cinnamon-half vanilla syrup. This is essentially the same drink but at half the cost.  

Chocolate Dalmatian – also know as a Michael Jackson:

A White Chocolate Mocha with java chips and chocolate chips sprinkled in.

Cafe au Lait

Order the Misto without foam for a classic French coffee drink.

French pressed coffee

You can choose any coffee they sell by the bag and have it served in a French press. For coffee snobs, this is one of the best way to appreciate all of the flavors of the coffee you chose – it takes about 5 minutes for this to be done and don’t be surprised if you get a dirty look if you are doing this during their morning rush.

Chocolate Cream Frapuccino

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.  Chocolate syrup and chocolate flavoring in this frozen blended coffee.

Cake Batter Frappuccino

Originally, this drink contained vanilla and almond syrup added to a Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino. However, since the almond syrup is largely no longer available, some recommend that you try subbing in hazelnut syrup and white mocha for a similar flavour.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Order a White Chocolate Mocha and have them add a few pumps of raspberry  – if you use your Starbucks card to pay, you get one free pump of any flavour. 

The Nutella

Cafe Misto with pumps of chocolate and hazelnut and a caramel drizzle.

Zebra or Tuxedo Mocha

Sometimes also called a “Penguin Mocha,” a “Marble Mocha,” or simply a “Black and White Mocha,”, or (also known as the) “MIchael Jackson” this drink combines the White Chocolate mocha with the regular mocha.  If you want to take it one step further have the barista add a shot (or two) of raspberry flavoring and viola, you have what is called a “Red Tux” Mocha.

Dirty Chai / Filthy Chai

Chai latte with a shot of espresso.  2 shots of espresso gets you a double dirty!  You bad boy…

Triple C’s

Order a Cinnamon Dolce Latte with caramel syrup and chocolate mocha syrup.

Captain Crunch (Yes, like the breakfast cereal)

To make this one, order a Strawberries and Creme frappe with a pump of caramel, add two pumps of toffee, one pump of hazelnut and two scoops of chocolate chips. Tastes just like Captain Crunch cereal. Yum!

Affogato-style Frappuccino

If you order any Frappuccino “affogato-style” and you’ll get a shot of hot espresso added on top of your drink as opposed to having it blended in.

Snickers Frappuccino

Order a Java chip frappuccino with two pumps of toffee nut syrup and drizzle it all over with caramel and you get a drink that tastes just like a snickers bar!

Apple Pie Tea

Black tea with apple juice and light chai

Cinnamon Roll

Combine a White mocha latte with a Cinnamon Dolce latte

Thin Mint Frappuccino

I am all over this drink next time I get to my local Starbucks!  Order a Tazo Green Tea Crème frappuccino and mix in an extra pump of chocolate syrup and java chips.

Let me know if you try (tried) any!

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