Confused by those Starbucks sizes? This handy guide will help you decode them easily—and figure out just how much caffeinated goodness you're getting.
Everything You Need to Know About Starbucks Cup Sizes
Updated on May 19, 2025
Ordering a cup of coffee should be simple, but those Starbucks cup sizes—with names like tall, grande and venti—can catch customers off guard. And when you’re desperate for a caffeine fix, you don’t want to waste time deciphering the menu! So what, exactly, do the Starbucks sizes mean?
We got to the bottom of this Starbucks mystery so you don’t panic the next time you place your order. Read on to learn about all of the Starbucks cup sizes and the history behind them.
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What’s the biggest cup size at Starbucks?
The largest cup size at Starbucks is a 30-ounce trenta, which is available only for iced coffee or iced tea drinks. Trenta means “30” in Italian, and this size Starbucks drink will surely give you a jolt: A trenta cold brew has 360 milligrams of caffeine—the equivalent of five espresso shots!
What are the sizes of Starbucks cups?
- Demi (3 oz.)
- Short (8 oz.)
- Tall (12 oz.)
- Grande (16 oz.)
- Venti (20 oz. for hot drinks, 24 oz. for cold drinks)
- Trenta (30 oz.)
Starbucks size: Demi
Demi is the little 3-ounce cup used for espresso shots. But this small Starbucks drink can still pack a punch, as any Starbucks employee will tell you. While 3 ounces sounds tiny, a standard shot of espresso is only 1 ounce. So a demi is the perfect size for a single (1-ounce) shot or a double (2-ounce) shot. But what about that unique name? Demi is short for “demitasse,” meaning “half-cup” in French.
Starbucks size: Short
The short is—you guessed it—the next smallest size on the menu. But it is actually larger than a standard cup of coffee, which is 8 ounces. A rep from Starbucks confirmed that the short size is available only for select hot beverages, such as brewed coffee and the new cortado, which was introduced in January 2025.
Starbucks size: Tall
A tall sounds like it would be one of the biggest options, right? Think again! Despite being twice the size of a standard cup of coffee, at 12 fluid ounces, a tall is actually one of the smaller sizes available at Starbucks.
Of the 12 ounces of liquid in a tall espresso beverage, such as a latte, mocha or macchiato, only 1 ounce is coffee (2 if you order a double shot). The rest is milk or another non-caffeinated drink.
Starbucks size: Grande
At 16 fluid ounces, a Starbucks grande drink can hold the equivalent of two-and-a-half standard (6-ounce) cups of coffee. But if you order a grande espresso drink, you’ll get two shots (2 ounces) of espresso combined with 14 ounces of your choice of milk. Or, if you’re not in the mood for coffee, you could go for a chai tea.
Starbucks size: Venti
Venti means “20” in Italian, so you might think this is a 20-ounce Starbucks cup. And you’d be correct … sort of. Venti-sized hot drinks are indeed 20 ounces—equal to a little more than three standard (6-ounce) cups of coffee. But venti-sized cold drinks are 24 ounces. Why not 20? Venti cold is larger than venti hot because cold drinks include ice (unless you specify otherwise), so you get the same amount of beverage plus room for ice, rather than paying for less beverage with your ice. A cold venti espresso drink comes with three shots (3 ounces) of espresso, but a hot one has two, unless you ask for a third.
Starbucks size: Trenta
As noted above, Trenta is the largest Starbucks size. It contains 30 fluid ounces and is available only for specific iced beverages like iced coffee and cold brew. A trenta holds the same amount of liquid as three or four standard cups of coffee, depending on the amount of ice. But the caffeine content varies, depending on the beverage.
Where do Starbucks cup sizes come from?
Several of these Starbucks sizes are a nod to Italy. But why? Legend has it that former Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz took a trip to Italy in 1983, where he was drawn to the “romance” of Italian coffee bars. So he decided to emulate it in the United States with his own coffee shop, which he called Il Giornale.
“Since the stores were designed around the concept of Italian coffee bars, [Schultz] wanted distinctive names” for the beverages to honor that heritage, according to author Karen Blumenthal in her book Grande Expectations.
Il Giornale eventually expanded into the Starbucks franchise. The cup sizes weren’t initially so confusing. In the ’90s, the Starbucks menu had only three drink sizes: short, tall and grande. Short was essentially a small, tall was medium, and grande was large. But then the introduction of the venti complicated things a bit by demoting the tall and also by offering the cold (24-ounce) venti variation. And then there was the addition of the trenta.
Starbucks sizes seem to be one of the many quirks of the company. (Have you heard about the hidden detail on the logo?) But at least now you understand the options and can expertly order your coffee!
Additional reporting by Emma Taubenfeld and Isabel Roy.
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Sources:
- Starbucks Coffee Company
- EnjoyJava: “How Many Ounces in a Cup of Coffee?”
- Grande Expectations by Karen Blumenthal
