Starbucks began its successful journey of serving customers their daily cup of joy on the cobblestone streets of Seattle in 1971. After making its way through Italy and then Canada, the company has since become a household name for drinks on the go for all ages. Students here at Oak Park can often be seen with a Starbucks drink in hand, whether it be during snack, lunch or sometimes even during class. Regardless of what time it is, Starbucks always seems to be the most popular option. 

As Starbucks flourishes, workers get more customers to attend to, and having numerous drink recipes to remember can be inefficient to the shop’s success in pumping out orders as fast as possible. Thus, Starbucks has cut down 13 of their drinks for one of three main reasons: they weren’t commonly purchased, they were complex to make or they were too similar to other beverages. 

These drinks are as follows: 

• Espresso Frappuccino
• Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino
• Java Chip Frappuccino
• White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino
• Chai Creme Frappuccino
• Caramel Ribbon Crunch Creme Frappuccino
• Double Chocolaty Chip Creme Frappuccino
• Chocolate Cookie Crumble Creme Frappuccino
• White Chocolate Creme Frappuccino
• White Hot Chocolate
• Royal English Breakfast Latte
• Ice Matcha Lemonade
• Honey Almond Milk Flat White

While Frappuccinos may be a popular option for some, they are the main source of reduction for the simplification of the Starbucks menu. Whether these drinks can still be ordered through special requests is still unknown. 

As some customers are saddened by the reduction of the menu, others are intrigued with Starbucks’ new option for mugs instead of plastic cups. Starbucks has brought back their option for customers to have their drinks at Starbucks in a ceramic mug rather than their normal to-go plastic cup. Some customers have raised their concerns about maintaining efficiency with workers having more dishes to wash if their original goal was to be more efficient by cutting down the menu. Additionally, if rush hour affects the way dishes are being washed, health and sanitation can also become a problem. 

To limit plastic waste and to ensure that amenities are for the people who are purchasing an item off the menu, Starbucks has also instilled a policy that states bathrooms are only for paying customers, and that they will no longer be giving out free water. 

“Sure [it was better],” wrote junior Meera Sreedhar, “It wasn’t ever bad for me”.

There’s no doubt in our  minds that Starbucks is, and will continue to be one of the most popular coffee shops out there with more than 40,000 stores open worldwide. With these changes, they enable the reduction of plastic waste, and are trying their best to increase efficiency while also simultaneously offering better service to paying customers.