How Many Shots Of Espresso Are In A Venti Drink At Starbucks?

Starbucks offers three standard sizes — tall (12 ounces), grande (16 ounces), and venti (20 to 24 ounces) — for its handcrafted espresso-based drinks. If you're new to the Starbucks game, it's easy to see why you'd think different sizes have different amounts of espresso. But that's not always how it works. Starbucks measures the amount of espresso in each drink by the shot. Each shot is 1 ounce, which is less than the standard bar shot of liquor (1½ ounces). A venti contains between two and four shots, depending on the drink type and whether it's hot or cold.

Espresso contains caffeine, so it's helpful to know how caffeinated you'll feel after drinking a Starbucks beverage. A single shot of Starbucks's Signature Espresso contains approximately 100 milligrams of caffeine (a 12-ounce Coke has 34 milligrams). If you have a long work shift ahead of you, three shots of espresso is probably OK. If it's later in the afternoon or early evening, you might want to limit it to two or even one to carry you through the rest of the day.

The number of shots each size has may vary based on the drink type. For example, the classic hot caffe latte comes with two shots in the tall and grande sizes, and the venti contains the same amount. However, the venti iced version contains a total of three espresso shots. The third shot helps ensure that as the ice melts, the cold coffee drinks don't become too watery. That's also why they come in the new larger Starbucks iced coffee cups — to make room for the ice. Caramel macchiatos and flavored lattes like vanilla and pumpkin spice follow the same pattern of two espresso shots for a hot venti and three for an iced venti.

If you like a strong coffee drink with both milk and espresso, go for a flat white. The hot venti size contains three espresso shots while the iced version contains four shots. The milk-free espresso drink that breaks the rules is an Americano. The venti size has four shots of espresso for both hot and iced. (Note that this applies to Starbucks locations based in the United States only.)

By knowing exactly how many shots you get in each drink type and size, you can customize your coffee and save money by using your favorite genius Starbucks ordering hacks to get more coffee and flavor rather than paying for a lot of milk.