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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

r/starbucksbaristas

Full History - 2022 - 04 - 14 - ID#u3xz5j

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the "right way" to make an iced americano (self.starbucksbaristas)

submitted by freddyfastballs

so im a very new hire, i think ive worked like a week or two total of normal shifts (ive worked for more than a week but very few shifts a week). i dont want to bother my coworkers *too much* so if im semi confident and a drink is easy/simple enough I wing it. and an iced americano is pretty simple obviously, (water, espresso, ice). so what i did is i pulled my shots and filled it with hot water in a hot cup, and then poured it into my cup of ice. i might just be asking a stupid question here but is there some other, better way im supposed to make that?

5AV1OR 136 points 1y ago

You are supposed to use cold water in a cold cup

freddyfastballs [OP] 35 points 1y ago

thanks, definitely makes more sense (and wont melt half of my ice lol)

TarantulaTeeth13 12 points 1y ago

I usually throw a little ice in cup then pull my shots on top and top off with cold water to the line and ice to finish.

Babs9220 10 points 1y ago

Doesn't that shock the espresso? I would add a little water while the shots pulled and then add more and ice last. At my other cafe I worked at, we kept our mugs and shot glasses warm to keep it better quality.

bejones1 8 points 1y ago

This is the way I prefer it. Pull the shots over ice to cool off the espresso as fast as possible keeps the iced americano smooooooth. Try it! The difference is wildly noticeable.

Vegetable-Rain7652 10 points 1y ago

I did this and my supervisor told me to never put the ice first! WHYYYY?! It seems worse to put the hot espresso in an empty plastic cup!

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Anngggiiiee 22 points 1y ago

I did that the first time too haha
Pull your shots, fill with cold water & top off with ice.

targetdollarsection 22 points 1y ago

if you're making it for yourself you can make it however you like BUT if you're making it for a customer you're supposed to make it as a previous comment said. i think the method that you're doing reminds me of "princess water" but for iced americanos, which sounds kind of interesting to me & I might try it tomorrow :)

cookiemonstah87 10 points 1y ago

What's princess water?

targetdollarsection 17 points 1y ago

it's a cold cup filled to the top with ice & then filled with hot water from the hot tap on bar, the hot water melts the ice & the temp is perfect - i forget why it's called princess water, maybe it's a regional thing 🤪

cookiemonstah87 3 points 1y ago

Hah! I've never heard of this! The name makes sense to me, though. Princesses are very particular! Like the story of the princess and the pea!

yungwhipandnaenae 3 points 1y ago

we call it spicy water

bejones1 3 points 1y ago

Must add a sriracha packet to make it spicy water. You’re welcome 😂.

cookiemonstah87 1 points 1y ago

That's what I always call any form of carbonated water. Lol

Snarfungus 3 points 1y ago

we call it princess water too!

Holiday_Pop8647 1 points 1y ago

We call it boujee water😂

Breadfruit_Haunting 2 points 1y ago

We call it holy water 🤣

ArialynnSilver 3 points 1y ago

We call it bougie water

paolathepanda 16 points 1y ago

Don't feel discouraged to ask! Trust me it's better to ask than to make it wrong. I always ask questions & I've been with the company since 2018 but I still ask just to be 100% sure. Your co workers won't mind I'm sure :)

sublimeshivers 13 points 1y ago

If you don't want to ask your coworkers the build of drinks, ask where they keep the recipe cards for you to look over

Chhhloem4 9 points 1y ago

Hey don’t wing it too much! This is how baristas start making drinks wrong and are never corrected. A partner at my store has been with the company since last September and she just now learned that flat whites are made with whole milk. If you don’t want to bother your coworkers, ask your SSV, it’s part of their job to help you!

felinefireghost 9 points 1y ago

Shots, water to the top line, ice.

Edit: the only time I stray from this is if I am solo on bar and have to walk away to make other drinks at CBS. If that’s the case I’ll put a tiny bit of water in the bottom of the cup to save the shots just in case I can’t get back to the drink in the 10 seconds it takes for shots to expire. But then still, water to the top line and then ice.

testingaurora 2 points 1y ago

When I see different baristas leaving shots sitting there without adding milk or cream to save the shot, I just watch it get blacker and blacker. When I ask though, I was told Sbux doesn’t train that way anymore; that the baristas don’t know they need to save the shot. Glad to see your comment although i never learned that water saved it , Starbucks taught me in 2007 it’s the milk. Makes sense though for drinks without cream/milk!!

verdeuce 8 points 1y ago

Shots go into the cup first holy these comments are cringe

ihateyousoymatcha 10 points 1y ago

Apparently some of the stores already have the new compostable cups and they melt if you pull shots straight into them.

Otherwise yeah, I just pull the shots into the cup, add water, then ice

Puddle_Duck88 4 points 1y ago

Compostable cups? Why is that not a thing everywhere? I read some Starbucks on the west coast will become charging stations for electric cars soon

ihateyousoymatcha 2 points 1y ago

It's a test product so they haven't rolled out to all stores yet. I'm in the PDX area and we don't have them yet either

Mission-Accident-917 2 points 1y ago

yes my stores cold cups will literally melt we can get away with it if we pour the cold liquid in a little first then pull the shots into that

-Zispy 5 points 1y ago

Don’t wing it. You’re most likely wrong. There’s too many little differences that people learn months later because of this

Mission-Accident-917 3 points 1y ago

Oh love this is so adorable... Okay so essentially you pull the shots then you can let the shots pour into the cup then use cold filtered water and ice.... I can get how that would be a tad confusing if no one told you though think of it as milk for iced vs hot lattes in hot ones steamed milk in iced ones just cold milk pour ya feel? in an Americano hot gets hot water and cold just gets the same water you would use for like a cup of water

defendtrevornoah 3 points 1y ago

I feel uneasy about hot espresso sitting at the base of plastic cups so I pour shots over water/cream and add ice

bizyguy76 2 points 1y ago

In my opinion... Pulling the shots straight into an iced cup has a weird taste to it. When I asked the ssv told me that it's usually a little water, shots ice then then top with water.

But then he said that iced Americanos seemed to be taught differently from store to store and he tries to stay as close to the drink cards as possible but he knows of customers having preferences on how they are made

nezaket 2 points 1y ago

this is so cute lol

TarantulaTeeth13 2 points 1y ago

I've never heard of it shocking the shots. I was told it keeps them from dying.

andrewdee0 2 points 1y ago

I drink iced americanos everyday on my break... I always do shots to melt the syrup/sugar, water to second line & ice for the rest.. the extra ice melts and cools down the drink to the perfect temp

fhdurham11 1 points 1y ago

Always ask….there are no dumb questions. That’s why we work together as a TEAM!!! If we all respect each other and work together that’s what makes our customers happy and coming back! You got this!!!!!!

sayowats 1 points 1y ago

I put water to the second bold lime then pull shots over that. Then it becomes the perfect amount to ice it

Interesting-Crazy-99 1 points 1y ago

If you’re ever unsure how to make any drinks you can look up recipes in the store resources app on the iPads

Assiqtaq 1 points 1y ago

The gross, but technically correct, way is to put cold water in the cup and then pull the shots, then ice. The much better tasting but technically incorrect way is ice first, then shots. No water ever. Of course, that is technically iced espresso, but it tastes so much better that way to me.

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thatactorjoe 1 points 1y ago

Shots into the cold cup, then water to the bottom line, then ice to the top! Easier then what you did too, less steps! Haha, always loved making those b/c they were like 3 steps lol.

skinniestbarista 1 points 1y ago

I usually just fill the cup with water and ice, and let the shots pour over that. You have enough time between when the shots queue to get some of the upfront work of making the beverage done.

socalsailor027 -27 points 1y ago

I fill the cup with ice and then pull shots over ice and then add water to top

permanently_anxious -3 points 1y ago

I also did this but you're supposed to pull the shots into a shot glass, pour it into the water and then add ice I believe.

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