Starbucks and the case of the missing Short

I did a spot of research on Starbucks' mysterious 'Short' drink and discovered some interesting information. Way back when Starbucks was nothing more than a little known coffee shop in Seattle, they had just two commonly recognized sizes of drinks. They had their current Tall size, being the larger of their two drinks, and they had their shorter drink being, quite naturally, the Short.

Short and Tall. It makes perfect sense, and it explains why Starbucks' smallest drink is called a Tall, because once upon a time it wasn't their smallest drink, in fact it still isn't, because right now, at this very moment (hang on...) ok, right now I'm sipping a Short Cafe Latte from Starbucks, and typing one-handed, and burning my lip. Ow!

So originally you had a choice of Short and Tall.

Actually, originally you didn't have a choice of Short or Tall, because Starbucks originally just sold coffee beans and brewing equipment, then Howard Schultz came along and everything changed. Actually everything stayed the same because Starbucks' original owners ignored Schultz and his recommendation that they sell coffee drinks, so Schultz quit his job with Starbucks and founded his own coffee shop chain, Il Giornale.

Now Starbucks was still a successful chain in its own right, and in 1984 the owners bought out their original supplier, Peet's Coffee & Tea.

Meanwhile Schultz was also successful, and Il Giornale was growing, so much so that in 1987 Schultz made his move, approached his former employers, and bought them out. He then rebranded his Il Giornale stores as Starbucks and the coffee shop world changed overnight.

Accurately predicting the American consumer's desire for more, Schultz introduced a larger sized drink. Starbucks already had a Short and a Tall, so the larger drink was given the name Grande, which means Large in Italian. But the American consumer still wanted MORE!!! and so the Venti was born; Venti being Italian for Twenty. Seriously. You can check for yourself if you don't believe me.

In those days the price boards were the old style, with letters on pegs that you could move around to customize their appearance and change the wording, and Starbucks staff, or Partners as they prefer to be called, began getting tired of the clutter caused by four different sizes and their accompanying prices. With the American consumers' penchant for more, More, MORE, and one of the sizes needing to go, Short lost out and disappeared from the board, but it still exists. You can still order it. And with Starbucks policy of "Just say yes" you should not be denied your Short-sized drink.

You might get Partners telling you the Short is the Kids' drink, and so they aren't available for anyone over 12. They may tell you they don't have any Short-sized cups. Like Xinh said in her post on my previous thread, you may even be asked if you mean a Tall. But stick to your guns and insist on getting your 'Short' drink.

It's possible if you order your Short in one of the chains located inside a Barnes & Noble, or in my case my local Toyota dealer, that the staff really may not be aware of the Short drink, but it exists. If they try the "We have no Short-sized cups," smile at them nicely! and reply, "That's ok, I'll take a Short in a Tall-sized cup," but don't let them charge you for a Tall.

The Short does exist, it's $2.45 for a Short Latte, and it's a pretty good drink at that. You get the same amount of Espresso as with a Tall Latte (so the same amount of caffeine), but less milk so less fat & less calories. And because you have less milk you have a higher Espresso to Milk ratio, which means your Short Latte has a bolder flavor than the Tall. It really does. In fact I'd even go so far as to say that the Short Latte is one of Starbucks' better tasting drinks.

I wonder if Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf do an 8oz Latte...