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Here’s everything you need to know about Starbucks venti drinks, including how much caffeine each Venti contains and why we recommend a Grande instead.
According to a former Starbucks barista, a Starbucks venti hot drink contains two espresso shots. In contrast, venti iced drinks contain three espresso shots, and a Venti Americano includes a whopping four shots!
Starbucks Venti facts:
- Starbucks Grande (16 fl oz.) and Venti (20 fl. oz) contain two espresso shots. The Venti has more milk.
- The number of espresso shots is different between Venti hot and cold drinks. A venti iced coffee drink includes one more Starbucks espresso shot.
- Venti is the Italian word for the number 20 and refers to the twenty fluid ounces in a Starbucks venti drink (1).
What is a Venti at Starbucks?
Starbucks refers to its coffee drinks sizes using Italian names. They do this because in 1983, Harold Schultz, Starbucks CEO and Chairman, took a trip to Italy where he was “captivated by the romance of the Italian Coffee Bar.”
The name Venti (pronounced VEN-tee) is the Italian word for the number 20, and a hot Venti drink at Starbucks is a coffee drink that contains 20 fluid ounces (590 ml) of coffee.
The Venti is the fourth largest drink size on the Starbucks menu.
The menu has many Venti drinks to choose from, such as the venti latte, venti caramel macchiato, flat white, and Venti latte macchiato.
In case you’re not familiar with other Starbucks coffee sizes or need a quick refresher, here are the five options to choose from on the Starbucks drinks menu and their volume, which differs between hot and cold drinks:
- Short – 8 fluid ounces (available only for hot drinks)
- Tall – 12 ounces
- Grande – 16 ounces
- Venti – 20 ounces for hot drinks and 24 fluid ounces for iced drinks
- Trenta – 30 ounces (available only for cold drinks)
Now that you’re familiar with the Starbucks coffee sizes let’s take a deeper look at Starbucks venti drinks and find out how many shots of espresso each Venti contains.
How many shots of espresso in a Venti?
| Starbucks Drink | Drink Size | How Many Espresso Shots? |
| Venti | 20 ounces (590 ml) | 2 espresso shots |
| Iced Venti | 24 ounces (710 ml) | 3 espresso shots |
| Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato | 24 ounces (710 ml) | 3 espresso shots |
| Venti Cold Drink | 24 ounces (710 ml) | 3 espresso shots |
| Venti Americano | 24 ounces (710 ml) | 4 espresso shots |
The number of espresso shots in a Starbucks venti depends on which venti drink you choose and can range between two shots to four shots of espresso in your Starbucks drink. The quantity of espresso in a venti will also depend on whether you choose hot drinks or only venti iced drinks from the Starbucks menu.
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How much caffeine is in a Venti?
To calculate how much caffeine is in a venti, we first need to know how much caffeine one shot of espresso at Starbucks contains.
Answer: one shot of espresso contains 75 mg of caffeine.
A hot venti drink contains 150 mg of caffeine, an iced venti drink contains 225 mg of caffeine, and a venti americano includes 300 mg of caffeine.
The most potent Venti drink at Starbucks is the blonde roast Veranda blend. One cup of Venti blonde roast contains a staggering 475 mg of caffeine – perfect if you’re looking for a caffeine boost!
Why?
Because the blonde roast contains different beans grown in East Africa and Latin America, these beans contain more caffeine and, therefore, a higher caffeine intake.
People Also Ask
Is drinking 3 shots of espresso a lot?
Based on research conducted by a team of expert German researchers, four shots of espresso is the optimum number to consume daily for a healthy heart and other benefits. So drinking three espresso shots is not a lot; however, one must consider the difference between drinking many shots consecutively or gradually as a single shot throughout the day.
How many shots of espresso are in a venti iced?
A venti iced drink contains three espresso shots, except for a Venti iced Americano, which includes an extra shot. These iced drinks are 24 fluid ounces and provide a decent caffeine boost.
How many espressos are in a venti?
There are two shots of espresso in a venti hot drink and an extra shot added in the Venti iced drinks. Presumably, this is because the iced venti drinks are four fluid ounces bigger.
How many shots of espresso in a venti macchiato?
There are two espresso shots in a hot venti macchiato (20 fl. oz) and hot venti caramel macchiato (20 fl. oz). Each hot drink contains 150 mg of caffeine, which is actually the same as a grande hot drink. A venti iced macchiato contains three shots of espresso (24 fl. oz).
How many shots of espresso in a venti americano?
The Starbucks venti americano contains a whopping fours shots of espresso, which is one extra Starbucks espresso shot than other iced coffee drinks.
How many shots of espresso in a venti dirty chai?
You can order from the “Starbucks secret menu” by asking the Starbucks barista to add an extra shot or two shots to your chai tea latte order. There is no venti dirty chai on the menu and it can only be ordered by those in the know 😉
Verdict
A hot venti at Starbucks contains two shots of espresso, which is the same as their smaller Grande drinks.
Considering the extra calories from additional milk and other optional extras such as vanilla syrup, whipped cream, and flavored syrup, it would seem logical to order a hot Grande drink instead.
Plus, it’s cheaper than the Venti.
If you prefer drinking iced coffee, then the slightly larger capacity Venti option makes more sense because it has another one shot of espresso which probably isn’t too much caffeine for the 24-ounce drink size.
Ultimately, this all boils down to personal preference, and so you should order the drink that you enjoy the most 🙂
References:
- https://www.starbucks.com/menu
- https://starbuckssecretmenu.net/starbucks-secret-menu-dirty-chai/
- https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/real-reason-why-starbucks-sizes/
- https://news.starbucks.com/contact/leadership/howard-schultz
- https://www.inc.com/business-insider/coffee-caffeine-heart-health-how-much-should-you-drink-healhty.html
This free cheat sheet will improve your coffee brew by providing quick information on brew ratio, grind size, optimal brewing time, and more.
