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To tell you the truth, does Starbucks have a small cup or not?

Published: 2026-08-22 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/22, Big Cajun: Luo Yonghao once filmed a detail of Starbucks in his microfilm Pony. He pointed to the medium cup and asked the waiter to ask for a medium cup, but the waiter said it was a large cup, while a small cup was called a medium cup at Starbucks. So, does Starbucks have a small cup or not? As a foreign enterprise, Starbucks is divided into four cup types: Short, Tall, Grande and Venti according to the local cup type.

Big Cajun: Luo Yonghao once filmed a detail of Starbucks in his microfilm Pony. He pointed to the medium cup and asked the waiter to ask for a medium cup, but the waiter said it was a large cup, while a small cup was called a medium cup at Starbucks. So, does Starbucks have a small cup or not?

Starbucks, as a foreign enterprise, is divided into four cup types: Short, Tall, Grande and Venti according to the local cup type, which corresponds to small cup, medium cup, large cup and super-large cup (small cups are only for hot drinks, but ice drinks are not small).

Whether it is Starbucks' Beverage Resource Manual, the stock of materials in each Starbucks store, or Starbucks' cashier system, the Short cup or small cup has not been given up. All Starbucks partners know the formula for small drinks, there are small beverage cups in the back area of all stores, and all Starbucks cash registers can make small cups of cash register. It's just that the small cup doesn't appear on the menu board as a cup.

So the question is, why doesn't Starbucks put Short on the menu board?

From the perspective of marketing psychology

In a store, there are three kinds of beer to choose from: 2.5 yuan high-end beer, 1.8 yuan mid-range beer and 1.6 yuan cheap beer. 80% of people will buy 1.8 yuan beer, the rest will buy 2.5 yuan beer, and no one will choose the cheapest beer. Later, they removed the 1.6 yuan beer and replaced it with a 3.4 yuan beer. Most people choose 2.5 yuan beer, a small number of people choose 1.8 yuan beer, and about 10 percent choose the most expensive 3.4 yuan beer. We don't like the feeling of being cheap, and we don't like to be cheated. Since we are not sure how much the goods are worth, we will avoid prices that are too high or too low.

Businesses will take advantage of our preference for moderation against us. Now do you understand why Starbucks only has extra large, large and medium cups, but not small cups?

Considering the cost of production

The cup, holder (which has gradually disappeared from the market) and the lid of the short cup are all tailor-made. The profit is obviously not as good as the larger cup type.

In terms of beverage profit

In addition to water in a cup of American coffee is espresso, small, medium, large, super-large four cup espresso (Shot) are: 1, 2, 3, 4. However, even drinks that require only one shot will produce two shot in production, and more than one shot will usually be discarded.

In espresso drinks containing milk (such as lattes and cappuccinos), the Shot of Short and Tall is also 1, meaning that a little more milk can be sold for 3 yuan more. Obviously, for Starbucks, the short Cup doesn't make much sense.

To sum up, you can guess why the Short was not put on the menu.

Note: some of the materials are compiled in Zhihu netizens. I would like to express my thanks here.

Source: Aijiahui

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