As someone who is, a little bit obsessed with coffee, I tend to stop into my campus's Starbucks about once a week. (Okay, once a day.) Lately, I've come across something a tad interesting. Whenever I order my triple Americano, the barista, for SOME explicable reason reaches for a clear cup. The first time it happened, I thought it was a fluke, and I had to remind them that, no, I didn't want watered some nonsense- I wanted actual espresso. Next time, I ordered a normal coffee, and the same thing happened again. Same with the obligatory pumpkin spice latte. Every time I went in there, I had to clarify that I did NOT want an iced coffee, even though I thought I had made myself clear when I ordered.
Although I didn't expect the baristas to automatically know that I always would want hot coffee, I thought it would be fairly expected, especially when I had never used the terms 'cold' or 'iced' while ordering. Soon, I started noticing just how many people ordered iced coffee, even when it was pouring rain. I only drank iced coffee when I needed to get coffee in my system as soon as physically possible, and even then, I drank it so fast I didn't even get to appreciate the coffee itself. On social media, I also saw pictures expressing sentiments of 'iced coffee season is all seasons.' The comments all agreed with this sentiment, and I couldn't wrap my head around how no one was talking about how terrible iced coffee actually was.
I have two main reasons for my argument. The first being that you actually get LESS coffee whenever you order iced coffee. Seriously- the clear cups are the same size as the hot ones, yet are usually filled halfway (if not more) with ice. So, you end up paying the same price for less product, which is why it absolutely baffles me as to why people order it so much. I'm in college, and when I splurge on Starbucks, I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that I am getting as much 'bang for my buck.'
Secondly, the ice melts and what you're left with is extremely watered down coffee that tastes completely HORRIBLE. Why is this what people want? It's unavoidable, and disappointing every single time. Whenever I take the last sip of my Americano, I'm satisfied because it still tastes good. However, when I take the last drink of an iced coffee, I have to slurp down mostly water and it's awful. Not only have I paid for mostly ice, and had to deal with the condensation from the cup getting on EVERYTHING, I get to end up with watered down coffee that should probably just be thrown away.
But every time I order a hot coffee, I am never disappointed. I'm getting more product, my hands get to stay warm, and my final sip is still satisfactory. So I encourage you, put down the straws, and pick up a drink sleeve instead- you'll thank me for it.
