Starbucks Baristas Name Their Favorite Drinks

Starbucks cup
Cole Saladino/Thrillist
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

People are creatures of habit, and that's no more evident than when you go into Starbucks and get the same half-caf, three-pump hazelnut chai latte every single time. We get it: That's what you like. But the people who work at Starbucks have made everything on the menu and other custom drinks probably a billion times over -- so why not turn to them for your new favorite drink?

That's why we asked coffee obsessive Melody Overton, who runs a Starbucks blog you should read, to survey her pals who work at the coffee giant to find out what they're sipping on. Turns out that none of the baristas are downing Frappuccinos, Starbucks' famed milkshake masquerading as a coffee drink. Instead, they turn to the chain's vast flavored syrup collection to whip up some pretty killer flavor combinations.

So the next time you stop by, give one of these drinks a try. Who knows, it might be the next drink you end up ordering again and again and again.

Starbucks caramel brulee latte
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Caramel Brulée Latte

"My drink of choice is a triple tall, two-pump Caramel Brulée Latte. It's the perfect balance of rich espresso and sweet toasted caramel, and is the perfect way to start off a cold winter day."  -- Tiffany

Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Iced coffee

"My daily drink: a non-fat, grande iced coffee with two pumps of toffee nut syrup. It's the perfectly balanced drink -- the toffee nut highlights the nuttiness of the iced coffee and the non-fat milk cuts the acidity." -- Megan

Breve Starbucks Doubleshot

"My favorite is a venti Starbucks Doubleshot on ice with light breve [Editor's Note: Fancy word that means half-and-half.] instead of the 2%. It's simple and not overly sweet. I definitely feel like it's the most neglected drink on our menu that could be huge." -- Shari

hot starbucks drink
Drew Swantak/Thrillist

Pumpkin spice chai tea latte

"This drink reminds me of the days that my grandmother and I enjoyed tea together when I was younger." -- Marsha

Cappuccino

"My favorite drink is a double tall vanilla dry cappuccino. [Editor's Note: Dry cappuccinos have more foam than milk, as opposed to a regular cappuccino with 50/50 foam and milk.] My favorite part about this drink is the foam -- if it's done right -- will taste like you're floating on a cloud." -- Naomi

Starbucks Chile Mocha
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Chile Mocha

"My favorite drink is a triple short Chile Mocha, soy, light foam, and no whip. It's sweet without the heavy syrup and has a nice balance of espresso to milk." -- Marck

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Strawberry Acai Refresher

"My favorite cold drink is a Strawberry Acai Refresher without water, add lemonade and one pump of raspberry syrup. If I had to choose a favorite hot beverage, it'd be a flat white with one Sugar In The Raw." -- Jodi

Caffè Misto

"I love a grande one-pump mocha, one-pump white mocha, one-pump toffee nut, almond milk Caffè Misto. I used to make it with soy, but it was always just a bit too sweet. Now that we have almond milk, it's perfect." -- Laurel

Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Cold brew

"First thing in the morning, I love our iced coffee or cold brew. I can add any flavors I want, so I can keep up with the season's offerings while not having to have so much milk at once." -- Elisabeth

Vanilla Americano

"My favorite is an iced quad [Editor's Note: That's four shots!] grande Americano with three pumps of vanilla syrup and coconut milk. It's a great drink to wake you up in the morning or a lightly sweetened pick-me-up in the afternoon." -- Rett

Starbucks doubleshot
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Starbucks Doubleshot

"I love the ristretto [Editor's Note: This is espresso made in a way to give you an even bolder-tasting shot.] Starbucks Doubleshot with dark caramel. It has a perfect ratio of coffee to dairy." -- Devin

Chestnut Americano

"I'm looking forward to the return of Chestnut Praline, but I live on iced quad ristretto Americanos with chestnut syrup during the holiday season. The rest of the year I enjoy them minus the syrup." -- Chana

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A super-custom chai

"My favorite is a hot two-pump chai, one pump pumpkin spice, one pump cinnamon dolce soy, no-water chai. It's fall in a cup, and is my absolute favorite seasonal drink." -- Jenni

Clover-brewed Willow

"I love an iced grande (in a venti cup) Clover-brewed [Editor's Note: This is a brewing machine Starbucks developed.] Willow with extra ice and a splash of soy. It tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios!" -- Mikey

Water (?!?!)

"This sounds crazy, but my go-to drink is our water. I often refer to it as angel/siren tears. I used to take some with me to my second job and my co-worker always would comment on how clean it tasted. Water is the most important part of all of our drinks." -- Amanda

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Lee Breslouer is a senior writer for Thrillist, and his favorite drink is the Coffee Frappuccino. Follow him to caffeine rushes @LeeBreslouer.