And just who would need a single ounce shy of a QUART of strong coffee (not to mention the sugar and cream) in a Trenta? That’s as bad at the Interstate 10 gas station come-ons in Texas touting 64oz Cokes with free refills.

I’m wishing I had decided to be a cardiologist instead of a translator and writer. As the Starbucks generations grows up, there’s money to be made!

bente = 20
trenta = 30
kwarenta = 40
singkwenta = 50
saisenta = 60
sitenta = 70
otsenta = 80
nobenta = 90

haha. dunno.

Actually, to add a little on the explanation, when the stores opened they only offered two sizes: the “Short” (espresso shot, basically), and the “Tall” as it was taller than the short.
Due to the American way of wanting more-more-more (SuperSize me please!) they had to come up with larger cups throughout the years. The sizes became Italian from then on (as explained above) with “Grande” meaning “Large”, “Venti” for being 20oz, and the brand-new-not-available-everywhere-as-it-is-still-in-testing-stage (not everyone wants 30oz of coffee, but some do. Please the customer is a business’ motto if they want to grow and make money, right?) “Trenta” meaning 30.

The only reason I ever purchase a Venti is to get two Talls for not much more than the price of one to share with my sweetheart for life.

Hot Word is finally right. Starbucks sizes are named after Italian words. @ms.karma: Nice try, but they weren’t the correct spellings. Here they are:

10 = dieci
20 = venti
30 = trenta
40 = quaranta
50 = cinquanta
60 = sessanta
70 = settanta
80 = ottanta
90 = novanta
100 = cento

Hot Word is finally right. Starbucks sizes are named after Italian words. @ms.karma: Nice try, but they weren’t the correct spellings. Here they are:

10 = dieci
20 = venti
30 = trenta
40 = quaranta
50 = cinquanta
60 = sessanta
70 = settanta
80 = ottanta
90 = novanta
100 = cento

-Nicola

Thank you, Nel.

then what is vendi????????

Paragraph 2:

“How much larger than a Venti, which is 24 ounces, IS A TRENTA?”

We think that is very surreptitious of Starbucks. It is a very efficient way to gather customers and make a good-sized profit. Unfortunately, I don’t think that it is very benificial to the American society. As we all know, most Americans are overweight, and coffee only increases these standards of our nation.

Thirty ounces of coffee, jesus.

[...] ain’t that hip no more. — Screw the Starbuck indoctrination language. — Extra Large at Dunkin’ Donuts is enough to give us what we [...]

And for all the rest of the world, including Italy:
* 31 oz is around a massive 0.927 litre,
* Italy is the country where people drink 2 oz coffees.

In a future blog, how about exploring the classifications of olives. Talk about hyperbole.

I never bothered to learn their “corporate-speak”. Tall, Windy, Grandioso, I don’t care. I walk in there and order a “Big Ass Coffee”. I’m the customer, we speak MY language.

Hi! Funny thing is that in Italy we don’t have yet a single Starbucks cafè!

I’ve just had to convert that and it turns out it’s nearly a litre of coffee. That’s pretty disgusting.

31 ounces are 916 ml, aren’t they !? Almost one liter of coffee! You have my respect.

Starbuck was Captain Ahab’s first mate in the novel Moby Dick.

The words “venti” and “trenta” are Italian words for 20 and 30. I think you will find the others translate as well. Not a real mystery.

Nel….I followed you until the second paragraph. I think at that point the retard (Ruh-tahrd) gene must have kicked in, as you became a blithering idiot. Enjoy your coffee.

Does it come with a motorman’s friend or do you just use the empty cup (or the prior one) for that?

I love the Hot Word Blog because it’s one of the few intelligent blogs left on the internet. So I was pretty disappointed to see “The result arguably encourages a consumer to think a little less about the size of their beverage as well as the size of their bill.” If a single consumer is being referred to, it’s “his or her,” not “their.” Come on guys, this IS a blog that focuses on language after all…

So basically, “Grande,” “Venti,” and now “Trenta,” are lingo developed by the Marketing department that doesn’t precisely mean anything, only just a vague reference to something, so the consumer has a general idea of what they are getting before they plunk down their hard-earned cash for an extravagant sounding cup of joe.

At Starbucks, a Short is 8 ounces. It’s not printed on the menu, but is indeed available. On the rare visit to one of their stores, I refuse to use fancy and misleading language; I use the agreed-upon national standards old small, medium, and large. And funny, the workers never have trouble understanding me.

If I want something tall, it’s gonna be beer! (Tall Yuengling, anyone??)

Nel got it right. “Tall” was originally the taller of the two available sizes. “Grande” was at one time the biggest offering. “Venti” definitely signifies the number of ounces in the hot drink size. (Cold Venti drinks have 24 ounces, but the name stayed consistent with the hot beverage name.) Even though offerings continue to change, the names just stick because consumers are so accustomed to them.

Side note: “Trenta” is only available in cold beverages and does not include cold lattes or frappuccinos. Just Iced Coffees and Iced Teas.

Dey gonna put half ove de cup for ice? Is dat how you “shtupid shtudents” and cooler-than-thou latte freakazodes eat them? Oh vell. Even if it’s not ove de half full for ice, you watch-your-weight weight-watchers and hipsters probably dont know that you’ll be ingesting a litre of heavy farm creme per latte! When I was yung, latte didn’t make you cool, it was called coffee with creme in its! The peoples that drinks this is that same ones that jog at traffic lights and make grandiose poses when dey drink from dere water bottles! I see you at Chapters, baby! I see u!!!

In response to Maggie,

I have to correct you. There should be no reason for you to criticize their use of “their” in that sentence. Using “his or her” or “his/hers” or other such iterations of gender-based pronouns conjoined “or” is improper in formal usage. Try using it in a college paper, you will be marked off.

Their use of “their” is proper, as “their” is not inherently plural but rather merely gender-neutral. Furthermore, you can look here for their definition of “their”: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/their.

I suppose you could argue with them on their definition if you like, but other online dictionaries agree or at least acknowledge the usage: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/their, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/their, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/search/british/?q=their&x=50&y=1, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/their?view=uk.

Just a friendly correction. I write as a hobby so I try to be on top of these things.

If I ran a coffee shop, I’d call them Venti, Milli, and Billi.

I only wish I could afford to patronize Starbucks. However, it is far too hip and far too ultra-contemporary for this old codger, not to mention costly.

The reason Italy doesn’t have a Starbucks store yet, is a result of the “Slow Food Movement”. This movement is a backlash against fast-food chains, and promotes eating and cooking non-processed foods. This is besides the fact that Starbucks completely ruined good espresso by burning it and adding in crazy, overtly sweet syrups. No Italian in their right mind would drink the stuff.

Granted, coffee from home is more affordable, but I am not opposed to the larger serving size. It is nothing for me to have three cups of coffee in one sitting, the soon-to-be Trenta would just be combining these into one cup. Saves me from having to take multiple travel mugs with me to work! Then again, I would probably take my coffee through an IV line if it was offered…

Love this site …lots of witty people.

As for the coffee angle, I once allowed my cup of cappuccino to cool and took a sip. Never again. I got a mouthful of fatty substance that was simply super sweet. It was always there, but not so delightful cooled. So now, I make my own potful of coffee at home (and it takes about a minute to do) lightly sweetened. Saves me money and calories.

BTW, how would you hold a cup of 31oz of super hot liquid? Will it come w/a pot holder??? I would think those cute sleeves wouldn’t do the job. Then by the time you reach the midway point, the coffee wouldn’t be at the right temp. any more!

As for the marketing lingo, that kind of thing has been happening all along. It’s no secret that customers are thought to be wallets with skin.

I think that it doesn’t matter if they have a larger cup so forget about it.

means about as much to me as naming them moe, larry and curly…and adding shemp.

as kelli stated above, i order a small, medium, or large..and they have no problem understanding me

You spelled “sixteen” wrong in Italian. It’s seidici.

Why on earth would anyone drink a litre of coffee? I mean, I love coffee … but not that much. I’m a ‘long black’ kind of girl anyway.

It’s kind of like those giant energy drinks they’re making. Why any 15-year-old would need to drink a litre of battery acid to stay on the ball beats me.

30 ounces of coffee is too much? According to whom? There is a lot of debate in the medical community regarding the harm or benefit of coffee.

I drink a ton of it daily, my blood pressure is fine and my dental hygenist says my teeth are among the cleanest she sees.

Soooo…two trentas to go, please!

So true why would someone need that much coffee anyway? good increase in size but i don’t think anyone will finish it… anyone agree?

When I heard this on the news I was thinking, “Why did Starbucks name their coffee ‘Thirty’?”

I would think that the terms come from the spanish.

Obviously, Bill, you have never been a nurse.

Pokemons like to drink coffee too?

grande means big so the big cup is grande and the other words are like small

i think starbucks is just trying to compare with coffee bean and tea leafs 32 ounces sized drink

@ John on January 18, 2011 at 5:33 am : I am right there with you, man.
I have never ordered anything from them using their silly, pretentious little nicknames, chosen to convey “classiness”no doubt.
I just ask for large. Bonus fun when the (speaking of pretentious) Barista responds with “you mean Venti(r)?”. Me: “Large.”
Useta think I was all stickin’ it to The Man but realised that it’s really because I find using their names embarrassing.

I hope that in addition to the debatable names, Starbucks does not also hide the size of the cups of coffee under a napkin when they serve them, because then there really might be something to complain about here.

ok starbucks is doing this now? ok come on this is ridiculous everything should be enjoyed in modertion,, ok im a freshman in high school and almost every one of my classmates comes to school with cofee, energy drink, but they are small usually,, now okay whatever fine thats cool,, but if they were to come in with a 31 oz. drink, nearly a liter? wow shows what america has come too,, jeez

I only drink green tea at Starbucks, so “grande” or larger is grand for me – no calories!

“Venti” reminds me of “vent” (frustration, anger, etc) – negative connotations.

“Trenta” sounds good and “trendy”.

Coffee has no nutritional value at all. Starbucks coffee is so full of creme and sugar that I’m sure they have negative nutrition (yes, I am aware this is impossible, but in this case it might as well be true ). And while I am already writing, I shall let out a bit of a rant and say that surely Starbucks is taking over the world. Their convenient, overpriced, sugar-pumped coffee tantalizes curiosities and draws people away from Mom & Pop shops to their greedy corporation. I am not saying it doesn’t taste good. A caramel frappachino every now and then definitely will not kill you. Their moral standards are so different in real life. As a change of conversation, 30 ounces is cuckoo. They must be entirely off their rockers. Nobody needs to have 30 ounces of anything. In response to the person above, Jen, having three coffees in succession is so different because it is a new fresh cup thrice. A “Trenta” will simply get cold before you can finish it, unless you prefer to chug your drinks. Frankly, I think Starbucks is making enough off unfortunates as it is and they shan’t tempt people with a bigger, better, more expensive drink. Aren’t Americans large enough as it is ? Do we truly need 30 ounces of calories, fat, and sugar ?

Coffee has no nutritional value at all. Starbucks coffee is so full of creme and sugar that I’m sure they have negative nutrition (yes, I am aware this is impossible, but in this case it might as well be true ). And while I am already writing, I shall let out a bit of a rant and say that surely Starbucks is taking over the world. Their convenient, overpriced, sugar-pumped coffee tantalizes curiosities and draws people away from Mom & Pop shops to their greedy corporation. As a change of conversation, 30 ounces is cuckoo. They must be entirely off their rockers. Nobody needs to have 30 ounces of anything. In response to the person above, Jen, having three coffees in succession is so different because it is a new fresh cup thrice. A “Trenta” will simply get cold before you can finish it, unless you prefer to chug your drinks. Frankly, I think Starbucks is making enough off unfortunates as it is and they shan’t tempt people with a bigger, better, more expensive drink. Aren’t Americans large enough as it is ? Do we truly need 30 ounces of calories, fat, and sugar ?

Sorry about my apparently repeated though slightly different comment.

The -obvious- reason they don’t call the 16 oz, a “Sedici,” is that there are two, sizes both in the decadal range … (and maybe because it rhymes with, “Medici,” which is storywise synonymous with poisonous liquors…).

But maybe we could convert them to French and call the 12 oz, a ‘doozie’. (Fr. douze)

Okay, okay … Inasmuch as I don’t drink coffee (because nobody-but-nobody knows how to make coffee the right way), I’ll back out of this discussion; But leave it to say that I did-like Starbucks’ Almond Crunch ice cream (it was a non-coffee ice cream), but they don’t sell it any more to find here.

Nicola on January 18, 2011 at 1:17 am
>thanks for the correct spelling of the terms. we use those here in the philippines. people especially the locals use those but not exactly spelt or pronounced like italian. thanks again nicola.

Maggie/Coyote,

Born in 1958, the use of “their” and “his/her” are both jarring to my exquisitely-trained ear.

In the pre-feminist “old days”, the Queen’s english demanded “his” in that context.

In current post-feminist days, “her” is used more and more – still a bit jarring, but still preferable to “their” and “his/her”.

As to Starbucks; I avoid it, especially since Jackie Mason humorously ridiculed them and their imitators (in a late 90s Weekly Standard) – in comparision to the classic “bottomless cup” found in the classic American Diner.

Now diner coffee is often not so good – never comparable to a cafe americano – but American food and drink continue to improve, and diner coffee is much better than it used to be.

After twice getting the unexpectedly small “tall cafe americano”, when I relent and order coffee at Starbucks, I specify the number of fl. oz.

To Kelli, thanks for the “short” (8 oz) tip. In return, I offer the “grill order” at MacDonalds (from my hitch there in 1976) which is not as uesful as it once was, but which will assure a hot sandwich done the way you want.

Seriously…
I knew the origin of Starbucks’ name in fourth grade. It’s named after Captain Starbuck from Moby Dick.

Also, why the heck did I see this on the news? I don’t get that.

WTF!! so much discussion about coffee at Starbucks? They should pay you guys for advertising

this is weird
i like dunkin donuts better

North Americans (Americans) tend to have bad eating habits. England surprisingly mirrors the American eating style as well as many other wealthy first nation countries such as sniffle Canada. People can eat as much as they want if they exercise the equivalent amount of time per calories then the life style would be balanced. The key to all things is balance.

it means they can charge yuppies exorbitant prices for coffee ?

Many Starbucks stores in Sydney, Australia, closed and the company moved their efforts to China. Here we have many Italian, Greek and Lebanese immigrants so there are many cafes with baristas from those places who can m,ake a good cup of cofee. Starbucks would have found that very hard to compete with.

Gee, who can’t type today!?

I mean, of course, “make” in line 3 and “coffee” in line 4

Sorry guys

i work for starbucks. your commentary is missing some inside informations, as well as one whole sbux size: the SHORT.

the tale goes like this:
once upon a time starbucks was not a huge corporation, and its focus was coffee. there were two sizes: the short, and the tall. ah, logic flowed over the land. then the company had to deal with the greedy american appetite. enter the GRANDE (LARGE). short, tall, grande. all was still well. then the company had to deal with their greedy pockets, enter the venti, logically named for the 20 oz. the HOT cup contains. the greedy meets greedy does. the end.

Open mouth wide, and yawn.

Whatever their names is, its all about “Starbucks” they were advertised the product..what should do is we’d love the coffee with cigarret smoke..and
I will agree with Miss jen…Marketing strategy.

Woah!31 ounces of coffee!?!?!?!?! NO WAY!!!!!!!

How can so many people write such drivel about crap

PS. I forgot to add the question mark. (?)

“Friends don’t let friends go to Starbucks”
BangkokJohnny
Royaume de Thailande

zipurlip2… A thick layer of foam on a cappuccino serves to insulate the beverage allowing you to drink it at your leisure, as opposed to gulping down the espresso shot at once. Letting a cappuccino cool down really defeats the idea of having that layer of insulation; it’s also no longer a beverage you can sprinkle chocolate or cinnamon on and consume with a spoon. Making coffee at home will always be much more economical… and not many people have a steaming wand at home, either.

The thirty ounce beverage only comes in the clear plastic cups, they’re not intended for hot beverages of any kind.

And as for the marketing lingo… you’re right that’s how it’s been all along: starting with Short and Tall… eventually Grande (Big) and even further down the line Venti (20)… which brings us to where we are today, Trenta (30). They’ve simply chosen to confuse you by keeping things the same. Marketers are going to mislead you your whole life, it’s kinda their job.

As for everyone saying, “Who’s going to finish all that coffee?” Trust me, I serve the junk and people would order even bigger sizes if we offered ‘em. People have been eating and drinking in excess since ancient times… nothing surprising here.

’sedici’ is spelt right

Don, would you like some crackers with your cheese?

Here in the UK, we have Starbucks as well
I was in Westfields (London) once, ordering some iced tea and I say t to the barista:
“Could I please have a medium mango…(blah blah blah)”
He blinks, looks at me with some half-contorted expression and simple replies
“You mean grande.”

I stood there, looked right back at him and said
“No. I mean medium, thank you.”

Bloody hell, vende granti….whatever the hell their weird language is.

Small.Medium.Large. Hell, even EXTRA Large. Meaning’s still clear.

The Costa’s elsewhere didn’t seem to find a problem with
‘Large Cuppa, please’

Yeah.
Not a fan.

Nel,
Americans have been programmed to want more…
by marketing companies and who employees marketing
companies…Starbucks does!!!

I certainly do not want or need a 31 oz drink.

Marketing experts have been doing it to us for years. That which we call a “kiwi” is known in New Zealand as a Chinese gooseberry. Red snapper used to be called slimefish. Ocean trout used to be called weakfish. We Americans have never seen a real canteloupe unless we have been to Europe; those things we buy are actually muskmelons. In the 70s, marketers tried to sell us “buysuites” but they were too late–people were already embracing the technical term “condominium.”

There is a Waffle House immediately next door to my local Starbucks; guess where I get my coffee. Besides, Waffle House also serves grits.

have you ever noticed that when you order in plain old english, “i would like a medium sized, sugar-free coffee” you get the order repeated back to you in Starbuckian….”So..you want a grande, skinny..”? trying to learn spanish is enough for me, i don’t need a third language.

A note to starbucks, how about using ENGLISH since you are located in the USA not meheeco.

Error: “Perhaps the as the names of drink sizes shift from the most familiar…” Extra “the.”

31 ounces of coffee, iced or hot, has about five calories. Maybe not even that. It’s the flavored syrups and cream that make you fat. I’ve been drinking black coffee since I was nine years old — I consume two or three (8-cup) pots a day at this point (I’m 27), and am the picture of good health.

That being said, I am very picky about coffee. I’m not pretentious enough to refer to Starbucks as “Charbucks” in public as I’ve heard certain others do, but I will agree that they roast their espresso beans to a flavorless crisp. It’s what I’d expect from a greasy all-night diner, but not from a coffee shop — and certainly not at their prices.
I’ll also agree with RKP that nobody-but-nobody knows how to make a good cup of coffee.

A side-note: The article did specify that the new size was for iced beverages, so all the “Your drink will get cold before you can finish it” comments are completely true!

~Saf

I have gone 90 days today without a cup of coffee after drinking it for over 30 years and I am loving it.

Actually, I suppose the correct concern is that “Your drink will warm up to room/ambient temperature before you can finish it”.

How about just Plenti

hi everyone i love starbucks
hola amigos me encanta starbucks

Steve… I love olives, no matter the size

John…Do you get a big-ass coffee when you ask for it? I’d really like to know. If I want one I say “LAREGE” if I want a medium…I say medium……..so silly, If I want a small, you got it. I’m really diesapointed that these little wanta be coffee officianatos working there dont even know what you mean when using regular “english” to communicate. I have requested a “strong dark roast” even with an extra shot and don’t get anything NEAR that. I usually get a stale weak “coffee” Shame shame shame

It’s sad. Ssssssssso, I have to resort to relying on myself to buy a good oily looking bean at the local market to get what I desire ……………….or I should say REQUIRE!

Sincerely,
Teri

Vendi is the second personal singular of present indicative of the verb vendere (to sell). In other words, vendi = you sell.

I’m a regular Venti drinker. It should be noted that a Venti is only two shots of espresso. Espresso has slightly less caffeine in it than regular coffee because of the brewing process. The rest is milk. I drink mine with nonfat milk and no sugar.

In other words, the stimulant effect and calorie count of the Trenta are probably being overstated. I also haven’t read that Starbucks intends to offer Trenta lattes.

Personally i prefer Seattle’s Best.

Its funny how coffee sparks a million comments

don’t make it more complicated..just leave it as it is! >:*

1) Short is actally the smallest at 8 oz.
2) Venti is actually a 20 oz cup when it’s a hot beverage. 24 when it’s iced.
3) The Trenta is actually technically 31 oz, but on the bottom of the cup it has a “30″ imprinted.
4) I cannot tell you how many customers I serve SEVERAL refills a day with unsweetened iced tea or unsweetened iced coffee in their iced venti cups. This only saves them a trip or two while Starbucks sees the 40 some odd cents from those who have registered Starbucks cards who normally wouldn’t pay for refills anyway. Time utility = 40 more cents!

And just to be clear, you can only get iced teas/iced tea lemonades/iced coffees in these bad boys. So the amount of sugar we dish out in those Trentas at MY store is still quite minimal as most get unsweetened at my store.

[...] by Avra-Sha Faohla on January 21, 2011 A few days ago, Dictionary.com’s Hot Word got me thinking about coffee, and that’s why in my last post I mentioned that I wanted to try [...]

if you think to something to eat you can only use an italian word – go to italy and you will verify it

I’ve always wondered about that! Thanks, Hot Word!

cien=100, no es ciento
lol mis amigos
me gusta voy a la biblioteca con mi familia.
yo hablo espanol y ingles
hi peeps i am one awesome spamish speaker
:0

p.s. gary303 is my awesome gamer code name
>:) >:( XD :I

(\(\
(‘_’)
I I
(___)
I II I
___ __

For me, the number of shots in each coffee is more important than the total amount of the beverage. It’s my understanding that a Short and a Tall espresso beverage each have one shot, so I never get the larger, which just has more milk. Shandi, give us the goods!

BTW, Seattle’s Best IS Starbucks.

People don’t know how to read. This size is strictly for cold beverages only.

Just another excuse for the authoritarian class to be outraged.

I believe Starbucks mentioned that the trenta was introduced more for their lemonades and cold teas.

[...] explanation of the origin of these rather foreign cup sizes, please refer to The Hot Word’s post from almost a year ago to explore the mystery of all three [...]

pretentious b s

WHY name a 31oz drink TRENTA, when really, 31 in Italian is TRENTUNO?

[...] order.  For a better explanation of “Grande”  and other sizes check this out – Starbuck Sizes Explained   Tell me whatever happened to a regular, double double or a 4×4?  Do small, medium, large [...]

Coffee shops use the bizarre size names so that pre-existing sizes don’t have to be renamed when new sizes are introduced. Albeit, Starbucks did start out with short and tall rather than small and large. But the main point is that if they had started out with small and large rather than short and tall, then added three sizes larger than the large (which is the case if you include the treinta), and stopped offering the small, they’d have ended up with coffees sized large, extra large, extra extra large and extra extra extra large. Either that, or customers would need to figure out the new names of the sizes they want each time a new size is introduced.

That having been said, when I don’t know what sizes equal what amounts in a coffee shop, I generally ask how big their smalls and mediums are and then select the one I want. This has always worked.