((Edit on 1-81-2011 – The Trenta is no longer in test phase. Yesterday, Starbucks announced its official launch. If you are new to this site, and found your way here searching for info about Trenta, I’d ask that you consider “liking” the site’s Facebook page or subscribing with the icon in the right column of this blog. I know that a current hot interest in the Trenta cup has caused people to have an interest in this blog post and its images.))
It’s 31 ounces of Starbucks cold thirst-quenching goodness! But what a dorky name. I don’t like the name “Trenta” because it’s too trendy sounding. This is a test-size currently being tested by Starbucks in the Phoenix, Arizona area. This is definitely not the first time Starbucks has experimented with a size larger than the “Venti”. The last round of super-sized testing was in 2008 with the “Double Grande” size. (16 ounces x 2 = 32ounces). I have previously blogged about it here:
I’ll take a “double grande” Starbucks passion tea lemonade.
So who here wants to see the Trenta size come to a Starbucks near you? In all honesty, I think it is terrible for the brand image because it associates Starbucks too closely to the idea of “Super Size Me” or “Super Big Gulp”. In fact, I’m sure on a hot summer day, I could really drink 31 ounces of a Tea Lemonade, but the idea of a 32 ounce Frappuccino makes my skin crawl. As it stands right now, I never order a size larger than a tall for a Frappuccino because that is all I can drink. Nor can I imagine what the price point is for this beverage. Exactly how much does a Trenta Passion Tea Lemonade cost? That’s a lot of beverage.
So let’s work together and come up with a fine name to tame this beastly size. Here are a few of my wild ideas – Tell me if you like any of them:
- Double Grande (previous test size name)
- Triginta (Latin for 30)
- Sirenta (The Siren’s size)
- Trente (sounds only slightly better – French for 30)
- Pequod (hahahah – Moby Dick’s ship)
- Welle (pronounced Vella – It’s the German word for “wave”. Doesn’t really fit with the Italian themed sizing but sounds intriguing).
- Onda (Latin for “wave” – I actually kind of like this a little)
- Wave (well, one can kind of drown in that big of a drink).
- Corsa (Italian, run, race)
- Corso (flow, stream, tide in Italian)
- Sonata (I like this one, but too bad it’s already taken for a car. Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas, and the number 32 comes up oddly in music often. I think that Beethoven wrote 32 variations in C Minor, and I think Bach wrote 32 Goldberg Variations. I don’t know why but it seems like the number 32 comes up often in music.)
- Forte (Another music inspired idea – Meaning robust, or strong. I love this idea too but think this is also a car already. Though it still sounds good. I’ll order a “forte” Passion Tea Lemonade.)
Those are all the ideas I can come up with! Maybe trendy Trenta isn’t so bad after all.
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I could definitely drink a huge thing of black tea during our Texas summer… but… all I can think about is where we’d put it in our backroom, or even out front. Now that we have Vivanno cups, oatmeal cups, etc. I couldn’t figure out how to cram one more thing! LOL!
I don’t know that they should spend any $$$ on another sz cup, but…..it it’s warranted? As for the name: I say stick with Italian > “trenta”. or I do like “forte” but since these are cold drinks….. seems less appropriate. (I need more ‘forte’ in all my tall drinks 🙂 so, since we’re talking about this…why didn’t they call a ‘tall’ ‘alto’? (= tall in Ital.) too weird I guess.
And, then there’s the inaccuracy, actually……of trenta = 30, and the cups will be 32.5oz??? As I think more of this whole idea, I vote NO. no trenta, no 30oz no 32.5oz. (but of course no one is asking me, except you Melody!) It’s just too big, too costly….all the way around. If anything, I think they should make more people aware that there is actually a “short” = ‘basso’. (for hot drinks) I think probably 80% of Sbux customers are unaware of a “short”……kind of like b.o.d. (another smiley face)
I dunno, “tall, grande, and venti” are already incredibly pretentious names for small, medium, and large; what’s one more?
I doubt this will come to pass. Starbucks will need to install new cup holders, get larger iced tea shakers that can handle the 32-oz. size, and possibly new ice scoops and blenders for the trenta-size frappuccinos that people will inevitably order…all for a drink size that I don’t think a tremendous number of people will order.
However, I don’t have any particular philosophical problem with Starbucks selling a 32-oz. drink, as though it somehow cheapens the brand and turns us into 7-11 or something.
At the risk of going off into a little tangent, a lot of the things that people worry are taking away from “the Starbucks experience” – the CDs, the barista bears, the fruit-and-nut bars and multigrain chips, that overpriced crap like the $7 chocolate bars and Italian wafers and such that we stick on the shelves near the mugs and no one ever buys – that’s not the problem. I don’t have to make them, or really even know anything about them. All I gotta do is scan them when they’re brought to me. Those things do nothing to take away from my job of making people drinks and sending them away happy.
What’s been taking away from the Starbucks experience is insufficient labor and a lack of communication and training.
Do you know how I find out about upcoming promotions? Either I read it here or a customer asks me if we’ve heard anything about it. Why aren’t I hearing these things from Starbucks?
I just got certified as a Coffee Master. Know how? It sure as hell wasn’t from the Starbucks Coffee Master training, that’s for sure! All that was, was a bunch of pretentious jerking off about how totally awesome they are for helping Latin American farmers. No one who comes in asking about Guatemala Antigua is asking about how our Fair Trade practices are helping the Guatemalan farming community; they wanna know how it tastes. To actually find out how to properly describe all of that, I had to hunt down the Coffee and Tea Resource Manual – not part of my Coffee Master training! Isn’t that pathetic?
I didn’t even know that such things as “coffee cuppings” existed until I read this blog. Why not? Why was that not part of the training?
How are baristas supposed to be knowledgeable about the coffee we serve if no one teaches us about it, and the teaching we do get is half-assed? How are we supposed to be excited about upcoming promotions when we never know about them until they happen?
And then there’s the labor issue, which I’ve mentioned elsewhere and won’t really cover again here because this is already a long post. Suffice to say that it’s hard to connect when there’s 10,000 things to do and a line of customers that’s getting increasingly upset because it’s taking so long to get their drinks.
If Starbucks decides to take the time to genuinely educate its partners and to invest in additional labor so we can spend extra time on each customer, then we can sell Big Gulp Slurpees and bags of corn chips all day and still give the Starbucks Experience. If they continue to undertrain and short-staff us, all the pretentious wankery in the world won’t save them as the company continues its downward slide.
WAY TOO BIG!!!
Not only would the calories in a Trenta frappuccino be ridiculous, it would indeed associate Starbucks with other big corporations – like McDonalds – that are seen as the ‘Super Size Me’ problem that is consistent with the obesity epidemic. And the cost? I cannot even fathom how much one of those drinks would cost.
If given a chance to vote, I would go with no as many times as I possibly could. I think this is a bad move; not only for the corporation, but for customers who often fail to see the caloric downfall of gulping through one of these babies every day. It’s too risky and too unhealthy for both sides.
so, mel and i and another friend were discussing the trenta cups yesterday due to a merry incident involving girl scout cookies, and man, is that thing HUGE.
we brought up a couple of things while hanging out with our 15th ave coffee friends.
1. the cup might only be available for a limited number of drinks (like possibly only for the iced teas and lemonades, for example).
2. baristas no longer get the amazingly intensive training we were given back in the 90s/early 00s. it’s very bizarre to hear that baristas now are not as connected with the tea and coffee manual, and that they don’t really get the intensive week-long training that we used to get. this makes me very sad, but i am glad to hear that some of the baristas out there get into the background knowledge anyway!
Not loving either the name Trenta, or the idea of a quart- to-go. Super sizing drinks cheapens the Starbucks image.
Well, I can understand large cold drinks in the summer (or in warmer climates). It does bring up the image of 7-11 super-sizers, tho.
Mostly the vibe I hear in person, on twitter, and on this site is that it is a bad idea for brand image. Everyone agrees it’s too 7-11-ish. Of course, I don’t think having an aisle of snacks in plastic is good for Starbucks either. Here’s the gas station snack aisle!
It looks as though the tweet above that I added about the test ending is mistaken. I was contacted by someone who told me that this Trenta test runs until the end of March.
Thanks to everyone above! I love to hear what others think of the super size Starbucks beverage. The more comments, and name thoughts too, the better.
I vote no to a extra large size too – whatever they call it. I doubly vote no to “double grande” since that will cause confusion between size and shots i.e. “iced double grande americano” is it a 32 oz americano? or a grande americano with 2 shots? I’m not as worried about the specific oz count relative to size, since iced venti isn’t 20 oz.
Here’s my concerns / thoughts:
1 – there’s no room in my back room to put another case of cups. (this is probably true for most stores)
2. Iced venti cups barely fit in my car cup holder. there’s no way anything bigger is going to fit. if it does – it will likely be operating the radio for me. 😉
3. don’t forget about 55 cent refills (free with reg. sbux cards!) on iced tea!
4. As a company, don’t we want people coming back? Won’t the product be better if we’re providing fresh tea when folks stop in again later that afternoon? I have at several customers who are repeat tea refills, and I love the fact that they come back several times a day. It gives us a chance to chat about life over the course of the day.
How about “Troppo Grande” – Italian for “Too Big.”
(@LatteRose & Clover) – LatteRose, I love your name suggestion! LOL! @Clover – Those are all very good points. I cringe at storage space issues for many Starbucks.
This cup size takes us back to the maxim that “Just because you can sell it doesn’t mean you should!“
How about “humongous”, “bodacious”, or “colossal”? How does that compare to venti size Melody? I sort of agree with Suzanne in terms of the name. Even though venti isn’t too discriptive it is sort of classy and a bit sexy sounding but trenda leaves me cold. I don’t think it is too 7-11ish or gas station snack isle like and really do not see anything wrong with plastic but it should be made to resenble the other sizes or it will look different and a little out of place and definately do not call it big gulp or it will for sure be 7-11ish and cheapen Starbucks’ image.
(@Enlightened Coffee Sage – I hope you’ll come back & read this reply to you) – You’ve written a lot of wise words but you wrote one thing that nearly left me speechless, and that every coffee education person at the SSC should read. I quote you:
“I didn’t even know that such things as “coffee cuppings” existed until I read this blog. Why not? Why was that not part of the training?“
One other thing, well maybe two, that I forgot so I’ll jump back in here for a moment. I imagine this drink will be in the $5.00 or more range which is getting a little pricey for a drink (remember Coffeeis and his $10, $15. and $20. drinks), especially in this ever so crappy economy and I wonder how many calories will be in those drinks.
Bear in mind that the US Iced Venti cups are larger than the international iced Venti cups.. dang, how much handcrafted beverage do you really want!?
The Trenta is a monster. But I must say, I do like it. It is only available in “Refreshments”, so Iced Teas, Tea Lemonades, and Iced Coffees. Since teas & coffees can be made without any sweetner, I believe the caloric intake is ZIP, or very close to. I only wish it was going to be here in Phoenix for the SUMMER. We typically have 6+ months of 100+ degrees, and 30 days above 110. I can know have ONE drink, instead of two. Usually, with the standard Venti, I am left wanting just a little more. This is perfect, but only for those “refreshing” drinks.
The price? In the Phoenix test, it is only $0.35-0.50 more than a Venti.
The name is well…meh. I think “everlasting thistquentcher” is too long. Hey, does anybody know Italian for “horse trough”? 😉
…just my 2 beans
Oh, that too big…
Starbucks have to report that size to each car company. GM, Honda, Toyota, etc…
And then, they must design new size cup holder.
Does Starbucks sell the big size tumblers? It may be bucket. Haha.
@WO – “Cavallo di valle” (horse trough) – kinda catchy.
A quart of coffe or tea is just too much. Reminds me of something from 7-11 or McDonalds. I don’t believe this is in keeping with the Starbucks branding. Especially with all the buzz about obesity in America, do we really need to give people an excuse to drink a 1,000 calorie coffee confection? Has there been a big demand from customers for a larger size? Is that why they are doing it? There must be a reason. I personally hope they don’t add a 32 oz drink to their menu.
@WO & LatteRose & KellyLux – The last round of testing of a quart size beverage was ONLY for tea. You could not get a 32 ounce ice coffee. @LatteRose – Love your name suggestions! I laughed outloud!
@KellyLux- You’re definitely right. I mean I know that I can, during the hottest part of the summer, drink a 32 ounce tea lemonade, but I don’t even want to know how much sugar and empty calories that would be go into my body. Hey, and thank you for the comment and welcome to my website! 🙂
Oh my, I can only imagine the price tag attached to a “trenta” Caramel Brulee frappuccino. Would anyone actually spend that much on one beverage? Let alone have the ability to FINISH a beverage of that size? LOL! I’m all for endless cups of black coffee, but a 32oz flavored latte or frappuccino sounds sickening. Not to mention the phrases like “supersize fries” and “whopper” come to mind when hearing the word “trenta.” I think the amount of whip cream on top of a trenta would be the equivilent to a tall sized beverage.
I’ve gotta agree with you that Latte Rose’s name of “Cavallo di valle” is pretty funny and made me laugh as well but it also sounds classy and sort of sexy sounding while very descriptive of what that size of drink really is — a horse trough and is much better than my suggestions so “Cavallo di valle” gets my vote. Now all I have to do is learn how to pronouce it.
Congratulations Rose!
I agree with everyone it seems to super-sized and with all the new little snacks to gas station
i do hope it doesn’t make it, even if it is just for iced tea, lemonade and iced coffee.
I would be happier if they just fixed the Venti sized lids from falling off every once in a while.
My name suggestion: “Vat”. That’s how we always refer to giant drinks.
But I agree that for anything but unsweetened iced tea and water, it’s essentially a Big Gulp and isn’t really good for their reputation.
Definitely a move towards being like 7-11 and definitely bad for brand image. I really, really hope that they do not do this!
I have got to go with Nathan and others on this. While “Cavallo di valle” is a cute and very discriptive name adding it would just cheapen Starbucks’ name and reputation and lower their image to a 7-11 or a gas station mini mart.
From Merriam Webster Dictionary:
Main Entry: mon·stros·i·ty
Pronunciation: \män-ˈsträ-sə-tē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural mon·stros·i·ties
Date: 15th century
1 a : a malformation of a plant or animal b : something deviating from the normal : freak
2 : the quality or state of being monstrous
3 a : an object of great and often frightening size, force, or complexity b : an excessively bad or shocking example
Ouch. I mean, I always joked with customers about getting the oil drum from the back, but I really didn’t want someone to come along and prove me right.
There’s no infrastructure right now to handle ANOTHER drink size. Looking at my store right now, it’d require some facilities work to integrate these behemoths smoothly into out workflow. But I’m sure that’s the top of their concerns. X-/
This thing will hopefully not make it out of Phoenix. I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen nationwide. Knowing my store, we’d be filling frappuccinos in those. :facepalm:
So I work for Starbucks, just a contract worker for now but hey maybe one day I’ll be a real Partner!
But anyways, I have been following this testing for a new iced tea cup size and have heard a lot of ppl on the phones talk about it. (I’m a Customer Service Rep)
It is a good idea for the southern areas I think, but it might not be so popular elsewhere. Not to change the subject, but I’m personally waiting to be able to by dark cherry mocha frappaccinos all the time!!!! I’ve already tested one and OMG yum!!! lol
Didn’t get to read everyone’s comments and not sure if the test run is over or not, but I agree Melody – any 32oz size beverage is a bad idea and throws Starbucks into bed w/ McDonald’s Super Size.
I agree w/most: too MickyD’ish and the snack stuff… I told our DM straight up when he asked me what I thought of them– I feel like we’re turning into a convenient store :-/ Can we just sell coffee? Please?
BTW, I like “everlasting thistquentcher” LOL
I agree, too much! Maybe appropriate for the Texas stores…or other places where customers are likely to roll through the drive-through in a Humvee, but doesn’t seem to fit with the corporate image, imo.
32.5oz… Their are no words.
@ Mister Coffee Sage,
“What’s been taking away from the Starbucks experience is insufficient labor and a lack of communication and training.”
.. you’re not the only employee of a company that thinks that. ;[[
HOWEVER. i honestly thought you guys had all the time in the world for training, being such a highly popular brand and all… grass greener on the other side, i guess.
There is never enough frappachino in my cup…this cup size would be great for me.
To quote Wo: “We typically have 6+ months of 100+ degrees, and 30 days above 110. I can know have ONE drink, instead of two. Usually, with the standard Venti, I am left wanting just a little more. This is perfect, but only for those “refreshing” drinks.”
I agree. I’m not in Phoenix, but I am down south where it gets hot as all hell in the summer, and sometimes I can gulp down an entire iced tea lemonade and still want more. There are times when a Trenta green tea lemonade would be nice.
I know I’m in the minority, but I’ll say again that I don’t really think that a 32-oz drink is going to cheapen the brand, especially if it’s just for iced tea and iced coffee. Our brand strength comes from the quality of our product and our customer service, not cup size.
By the way, Melody, were you shocked that cuppings weren’t common knowledge among Starbucks employees in general, or was it the coffee master thing? The first is kind of understandable, but the second is just sad.
Regardless, I’m glad your site exists and you post stuff like that! Starbucks Corporate might not be telling us about that kind of thing, but at least you are. Your thread got me interested, so I’m gonna see if I can get more info on cuppings so I can try one at my store.
But I’m getting off-topic. So yeah…Trenta’s just another thing Starbucks may or may not do, in my estimation, rather than something that cheapens the brand.
I’ve had two of my friends spot the Trenta in Tampa locations, but I’ve yet to see it at any of the locations that I usually stop at. As far as the size, it might be too much for me, but when I blogged about it, there were a lot of people who said that they couldn’t wait for it during the summer.
“There is never enough frappachino in my cup…this cup size would be great for me.”
I wish I had a never ending plate of Bacon. Somehow I am glad that no place offers that because I would die in a week.
Looks like the iced venti drinks will no longer be the only ones getting the longer, wider straws. As a former Latin student, I love the ring of “triginta,” but “trenta” is nice too. I could probably drink 30+ ounces of iced passion tea on a hot day, or share an iced coffee with a significant other—too much caffeine for me alone!
(@Brendan206) – Hi Brendan! I think “Trigenta” sounds a bit elegant but it’s a bit difficult for a drink size. Is the g a hard g or a soft g?
Interesting name. lol
no offense enlightened coffee sage, but how the heck are you a certified coffee master and had not READ those manuals or done ANY tastings!! Talk about a SHAM! Again, I don’t mean this as a personal offense, but how in the world can you describe body (mouth feel) , taste, paring when you have not done any of these yourself? Coffee knowledge should not just be a bunch of facts.
Those manuals are a part of baristas initial training…as in, when you are HIRED.
That just blows me away.
@CABarista – I think “Enlightened Coffee Sage” was saying that he has never done a “Cupping”. There is a BIG difference between a “coffee cupping” and a “coffee tasting” and frankly the “cupping” is the industry standard to learn about coffee. A tasting though is also a great starting place for an education, and you can learn a lot about coffee through tastings too.
But the reality is, and I’m a little surprised, I’ve almost never met a Starbucks barista who has done a cupping in their store (and the stores aren’t set up for it with the right ceramic ware, or cupping spoons), and in fact, I almost never meet a Starbucks barista who knows what a cupping is or why it’s important.
You can become a coffee master through coffee tastings, and I really believe that can get you to a place where you can be informed about coffee and educate customers, but coffee education doesn’t stop there really.
@enlightened coffee sage-cupping is part of initial training…your first week, I think it’s on the third day (or something like)…it’s in the workbook. Then, when you get certified (not coffee master, as a BARISTA) You have to lead a tasting with your trainer explaining why the pairing works, the mouth feel and so on and so on…I am still floored.
ok…I am no longer posting while having this 3 day headache b/c my brain is foggy and now feel like an idiot (I do know the difference…but again, read the manuals during my first week and they explain cupping…) Maybe it’s time for a nap…
I’ve NEVER seen store partners doing an in-store cupping. They dont even have the right equipment. Are you understanding that were talking about an experience without a press & nothing like a tasting.
Melody, I have seen a cupping before also! And it’s been a while since a tasting.
Have NOT seen a cupping, I mean.