Just a few friendly reminders and pro-tips to properly equip you for your next Starbucks run.

1. Looking for more caffeine?

Try a brewed coffee with a shot of espresso.

(Pike's Place, Verona, Veranda, etc.) Drip coffee alone has more caffeine than a latte does and you can order it with room for milk/cream or sweetener.

Get a lighter roast.

It's a common, and understandable, misconception that dark roast has more caffeine when, in fact, it has the least caffeine. Why? Because darker roasts are burned/roasted more to get that rich, dark flavor which eliminates a lot of the caffeine. Don't let your tastebuds fool you! Your best bet for pulling that all-nighter or waking up early in the morning is a blonde roast: Veranda, Willow.

If you love the flavor of dark or medium roast but need more caffeine, just add a shot or two (or get whichever roast you want, you are your own person).

2. The Goldilocks of temperatures.

To avoid burning your tongue when eagerness sets it, get your hot drink at kid's temperature.

Kid's Temp. is steamed at a lower temperature (130 degrees) rather than the normal temperature (152 degrees).

To avoid drinking a lukewarm or cold latte due to tongue-burning anxiety, ask for your drink extra hot.

This definitely seems counterintuitive if you're looking to not burn your tongue, but it's a drink-saver if you're traveling a long commute, are a slow drinker, or just want to wait until later. Your drink will maintain a beautifully drinkable temperature after an extended amount of time.

How about the perfect temperature?

You can ask for your hot drink at 140 degrees. This is perfect if you don't want to drink a slightly-warmer-than-lukewarm latte or are trying to avoid a tastebud-melting, piping-hot cup of coffee. Of course this might bother your barista, especially during a rush, so just be aware of that.

3. Espresso.

Don't let your espresso shots die!

This is so important. A lot of people don't know that shots only have about ten seconds to live until they taste awful. So if you've ever wondered why that shot tastes like velvety death when you're well into your eight-page paper, it's because you let that poor guy die. Unless you order your shot(s) with sweetener, water, or milk you better knock that sucker back as soon as your barista hands it to you. And if you ever see a barista let it sit longer than ten Mississippi's, ask for another one. No certified barista should be doing that, anyways.

Here's a list of the different kinds of shots you can get and what they come with:

Espresso

Regular espresso is the most common. It is made up of finely compressed and finely ground coffee grounds with a forcibly smaller amount of hot water under pressure.

Ristretto

Ristretto shots are a more concentrated and sweeter short shot of espresso. This is made with a smaller amount of water than regular espresso. You can find ristretto in a flat white, or you can simply ask for it as a substitute for regular espresso.

Solo

This is a single shot of espresso or ristretto.

Doppio

This is two shots of espresso or ristretto.

You can get as many shots as you want but the more shots you get the more I would recommend you ask for a sweetener or add some milk/cream to break up the espresso complex. That way you can continue drinking it later.

Undertow

Not many people know about an Undertow. This is, essentially, a broken down latte. An Undertow consists of a few pumps of your favorite syrup with a splash of milk beneath a shot of espresso. It is made by putting the sweetener and milk in the cup first then using a spoon to funnel the shot over the milk and syrup. Think of it as an espresso chaser.

Espresso Macchiato

This is like a mini cappuccino. An espresso macchiato is a shot of espresso marked with a dollop of foam on top and some milk, upon request.

Americano

Most of you know what this is. But, on the off chance that you don't, an Americano is shots of espresso in water. You can get it hot or iced- same with all of the other espresso drinks I mentioned. You can also get it with room for milk/cream/sugar or you can ask for steamed milk or a syrup of your choice.

4. Frappuccinos.

You can get anything with coffee base or a shot.

Certain Frappuccinos, such as the Vanilla Bean or the Double Chocolatey Chip, don't have any caffeine in them (although who needs caffeine when you have all of that sugar?). You can ask for your favorite frosty frap with a shot of espresso or with coffee base rather than creme base. If you get the Double Chocolatey Chip Frappuccino with coffee base or a shot it becomes the Java Chip Frappuccino, and if you get the Vanilla Bean with coffee base or a shot, it becomes a French Vanilla Frappuccino.

You can also ask for anything without coffee base.

If you ask for creme base instead of coffee base you'll get your favorite drink without the unwanted all-nighter. You can ask for a Caramel Frappuccino with creme base. Get this: you can even get a Coffee Frappuccino without coffee base. How, you ask? Ask for a decaf shot of espresso as a replacement for coffee base.

5. Hot teas & tea lattes.

**Caffeine content is measured on a scale of zero to four.

Black tea (steep for three to five minutes)

Royal English Breakfast (FOUR/four): "A full-bodied black tea infused with malty and oaky undertones."

Earl Grey (FOUR/four): "Famously highbrow and high grown, this Earl Grey is a bright blend of black teas and fragrant bergamot oil and lavender."

Green tea (steep for one to two minutes)

Jade Citrus Mint (ONE/four): "A bright citrus balance of lemon verbena and lemongrass with a hint of spearmint and a rich China Chun Mee green tea base."

Emperor's Clouds & Mist (ONE/four): "Praised as 'green gold' for centuries, this Chinese green tea has a light smoky beginning, a soft sweet middle, and a green tea finish."

White tea (steep for one to two minutes)

Youthberry (ONE/four): "White tea with a refreshing sweet pineapple and fruity acai berry infusion, and a subtle floral finish."

Herbal tea (steep for three to six minutes)

Oprah Chai (ZERO/four): "A distinctive chai tea blend of black and rooibos teas with sweet spice."

Mint Majesty (ZERO/four): "Spearmint and peppermint join with subtle lemon verbena to create this cooling, refreshing herbal tea."

Passion Tango (ZERO/four): "A harmonious pairing of bright tropical notes of papaya and mango with citrus lemongrass and a hint of cinnamon."

Peach Tranquility (ZERO/four): "A peaceful medley of chamomile, sweet peach infusion with light citrus and floral undertones."

Pineapple Kona Pop (ZERO/four): "A pineapple and citrus infusion with light floral undertones."

Tea lattes

You can make any hot tea into a tea latte, simply by asking for it. A tea latte is hot tea with a syrup, half steamed milk, and half water. For the syrup, I would recommend Vanilla or Classic. If you branch out too much with the syrups you might not like your latte (Cinnamon Dolce combined with Jade Citrus Mint? No, thank you).

May your newfound Starbucks knowledge be with you on your next coffee run.