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venti-sized coffee
Here in California in Starbucks Coffee Shops there are three sizes of beverages: tall, grande, venti. So venti's supposed to be the biggest one. But I didn't find this word in any dictionary. What does it mean exactly? Seems like Latin.
http://www.starbucks.com/retail/nutrition_beverage_detail.asp?selProducts=172&x=15&y=2&strAction=GETDEFAULT
It's "ridiculous", and I refuse to play that game with them. When I go to Starbucks (which isn't often), I say, "Give me the big one." It's entirely bad enough that I need a frickin' dictionary to puzzle out the names of the drinks themselves -- I'm not going to learn a whole set of cutesy made-up B.S. for "small, medium, and large" on top of it.
>> It's "ridiculous", and I refuse to play that game with them. When I go to Starbucks (which isn't often), I say, "Give me the big one." It's entirely bad enough that I need a frickin' dictionary to puzzle out the names of the drinks themselves -- I'm not going to learn a whole set of cutesy made-up B.S. for "small, medium, and large" on top of it. <<
It's simply so they can call their tiny, elfin, size the "tall", so it makes it seem as if one is getting something larger than is actually the case.
Dear Uriel
I had a job in New York City once, in the Papaya King. We sold three sizes of drinks; regular, medium and large. I have an email correspondence with a Lawyer in Texas, he is quite happy with the idea of America taking over the world. Even more worryingly, he thinks that all opposition should be exterminated. Anyway, I don't entering into the game. You are supposed to pretend that Starbuck is giving you an Italian experience. Perhaps in this day and age, it is not Politically Correct to say 'Supersize' me, and that a Venti is much more acceptable. In the UK we have long been used to a confusing mix of sizes and measurements. Do you want to pay in Dollars, Euro's or Zloties? Well, no, I would prefer to pay in Pounds. Oh. I am very sorry sir! Scottish Pound Notes are not acceptable. Scottish Pound Notes come in various flavours. A the moment I have got two Clydesdale Notes in my pocket, one for £10 and one for £20. The £10 has got a map of Ekio, and Imibio on it. I thought it was Matabeleland Land, or Malawi; where there is a town called Blantyre, but actually it is in the Calabar (Nigeria). Bye for now
<<<Anyway, I don't entering into the game.>>>
I meant to say: "You should enter into the game." Which is obviously, much more grammatically correct, and also 'meaningful'. So, that was a form of typo!
"Tall", "Grande" and "Venti" have absolutely no meaning to Italians as it just doesn't make sense. So if they are trying to give you the Italian experience, they are failing sorely. Hint, Italian caffè doesn't have a size!
You just ask for what you want, and they make it as they see fit. Generally, espresso is always a tiny glass/cup, cappuccino being medium-sized and latte macchiato or latte caldo are usually in the biggest glasses available (which is not usually as big as a "tall" at Starbucks anyway!). There are other drinks in between this spectrum. Personally, I think no one should ever drink anything more than a tall of just about any drink from Starbucks. Do you know how much sugar and calories is already in a tall White Chocolate Mocha? You don't want to know, but think big. These sizes are an American invention.
20 oz of coffee?
You could drive the breadth of the States without sleeping after that amount of caffeine!
Ayah. Everything in the US is fat and dirty. (Just kidding.)
I hate Starbucks to the fullest extent. Rhubarb is the only thing I hate more.
I haven't been to Starbucks in years but, like Uriel, when I occasionally used to I would refuse to play their ridiculous game too.
20 oz ... about 600 ml ... dunno about driving the breadth of the States without sleeping that's about enough to get me up in the morning.
>> Personally, I think no one should ever drink anything more than a tall of just about any drink from Starbucks. Do you know how much sugar and calories is already in a tall White Chocolate Mocha? You don't want to know, but think big. These sizes are an American invention. <<
That's just what the people who are anti-Starbucks will tell you. It's actually quite healthy to drink Starbucks coffee. You'd be surprised how much sugar and calories a body can take. >> 20 oz of coffee? You could drive the breadth of the States without sleeping after that amount of caffeine! << It's a well known fact that coffee has much less caffeine than most brands of Energy drinks. I've seen people guzzle down a whole (much larger than venti-sized Energy drink with over 120g of sugar and enough caffeine to require a warning label.) >> I hate Starbucks to the fullest extent. Rhubarb is the only thing I hate more. << I love Rhubarb. >> Generally, espresso is always a tiny glass/cup, cappuccino being medium-sized and latte macchiato or latte caldo are usually in the biggest glasses available (which is not usually as big as a "tall" at Starbucks anyway!) << I drink 2 venti's every day. Anything smaller than that is not at all satisfying... you just feel like you need more. >> Anyway, I don't entering into the game. You are supposed to pretend that Starbuck is giving you an Italian experience. << Well, it does give you an Italian experience. Where do you think coffee (espresso at least) was invented?
"It's actually quite healthy to drink Starbucks coffee."
Yeah, as healthy as it would be to drink any other kind of coffee ... i.e. not really all that healthy ... but what the heck, where would we be without caffine? A so-called "venti" isn't espresso. Ordinary coffee wasn't invented in Italy. "Coffee has its history as far back as the 9th century. It is thought to have originated in the highlands of Ethiopia and spread to the rest of the world via Egypt and Europe." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee There's nothing Italian about Starbucks. Starbuck gives you a 100% American experience.
<<20 oz of coffee?
You could drive the breadth of the States without sleeping after that amount of caffeine!>> Not if caffeine doesn't affect you :) I can drink (caffeintated) coffee and go straight to bed. <<There's nothing Italian about Starbucks. Starbuck gives you a 100% American experience.>> Right--I've been to Starbucks plenty in my life and I never got the impression it was trying to be Italian. I'm not a Starbucks lover or hater. When there are other better choices I go for them. The thing is--Starbucks' coffee isn't amazing but it's usually acceptable (it did come out of Seattle, after all) and for the most part consistent. This means you know what you're going to get when you're on the road or in a hurry and that's all that's there. The alternative is all that America used to have--true American old-time coffee was coffee that had been sitting on the burner for hours at Bob's Greasy Spoon roadside diner. Those places still exist and they still make coffee---but they're not always the only choice now (and I'm not just talking about Starbucks--people now expect better coffee in general from any place). Anyway, I'm not a fan of desserty mocha whipped cream frappuccino-type drinks so I judge a coffee place by its espresso (and particularly, its latte) and by that token Starbucks gets a C. Starbucks' latte is too weak if you like a strong espresso taste. The best coffee chain out there is Peet's, but it's not nearly as widespread as Starbucks in most places (it kind of approaches that level in San Francisco but it's still not on every block like Starbucks is here). As for words of sizes, I find most places just have the standard appellations "small" "medium" and "large."
<<20 oz of coffee?
You could drive the breadth of the States without sleeping after that amount of caffeine!>> The warm liquid puts me to sleep, as does the dehydrating effects of caffeine no doubt. But 20 oz: I dunno.
<<The warm liquid puts me to sleep, as does the dehydrating effects of caffeine no doubt. But 20 oz: I dunno.>>
Yeah, I don't seem to be very susceptible to the effects of caffeine and never really have been. Coffee can help pick me up in the morning but so can decaf. I grew up on decaf as that's what my Mom drinks and drinking it in the morning always satisfied me. I think the hot bitterness is enough to jolt me awake. Either that or my body finds some other aspect of coffee besides the caffeine addictive ;) In the few times caffeine has affected me (if I've had too much on an empty stomach, which is something I generally avoid doing so that's not often) it's given me a headache and made me sleepy. I remember remarking recently to my Mom that I thought it was weird that, if anything, caffeine has the opposite effect on me, and she said her father (my Grandpa) used to drink coffee every night right before going to bed to help him sleep. I bet I got that from him. |