How Starbucks’ new Trenta compares to your stomach

Starbucks recently announced their next size up from 591-milliliter Venti: the Trenta. It’s 916 milliliters, which happens to be slightly more than the average capacity of the human stomach, as illustrated by Andrew Barr for The National Post.

I don’t know why everyone’s getting their panties in a bundle though. If it’s too big for you, then don’t buy it. Besides, 7-Eleven has Starbucks beat with their line of Big Gulp drinks ranging from 0.59 to 1.9 liters.

I’m thirsty.

[National Post]

29 Comments

  • Those don’t look like any Starbucks cups I’m used to (all those ridges!). Are they cups in Canada different? Or, perhaps that illustrator is a bit lazy and used stock art? I was thinking the new Trenta should come with four short cups to share with friends/fiends. Do I smell fresh coffee? Could I…?

  • I think the artist was trying to draw the brown sleeve that protects your hands from the heat/ice

  • And how much ice is in an average pop can? Given how much ice is typically in cold drinks, there will be nothing near 31oz. of drinkable liquid in the cup.

  • Whoosh. It totally went over my head that these are iced coffee only. It doesn’t help that they look opaque (there I go rationalizing).

  • “If it’s too big for you, then don’t buy it. ”

    The problem is that portion sizes just keep getting bigger, and they surely aren’t healthy things either. If a larger cup means more Americans are getting fat and using my tax dollars because of it, then I do care.

    • Then I’m assuming you approach people in restaurants and show them the error of their ways when they order a fried dish vs. a broiled dish since fried is more likely to cause heart problems. And I’m sure you ride a bike to work everyday vs. driving your own car because, as we all know, driving is a major promoter of a sedentary lifestyle, thus increasing overall weight…and thus affecting your tax dollars.

      Or don’t you care that much other than liking how it sounds when you claim others are using “your” tax dollars?

      • Actually I rarely go out to restaurants and I do bike commute. Thanks for playing though.

      • What he meant to say was “Actually, I am holier than thou.”

      • Not Andy either January 23, 2011 at 7:59 am

        Actually he probably is.

        You should encourage such behavior/actions/lifestyle, instead of looking for ways to denigrate or distract from the importance of it.

      • I love how doing the right thing somehow makes me a jerk. “Not Andy” could use some lessons in civility. And yes, hugely oversized drinks from any store affect what we all pay in health insurance and taxes, so that is why I care.

  • OMG!!…it’s not that serious. people chose to get the bigger size at those places. If you don’t want that big of a size then buy a small cup of coffee or make your own cup of coffee. That’s whats wrong with the US we blame others for what WE put in our mouths!

  • What about 7-11’s Super Big Gulp and Double Gulps?

  • too the ““If it’s too big for you, then don’t buy it.” people:

    wow, you really don’t get it do you? Yes, people can buy as big as they want. The scary thing about this news is that people want this size! Starbucks wouldn’t offer it if there wasn’t demand.

    question about average stomach capacity: is this the average figure for all all Americans or those that are not over-weight?

    • Hop off that high horse and you’ll get a better view of the situation

    • Actually the size is quite reasonable – the venti is quite small for iced drinks. Remember that when you order an iced drink at Starbucks, it’s not just a couple ice cubes. They fill the entire cup with ice, then add liquid. How much space do you think is left? Maybe half? So this 30oz “trenta” cup is actually about 16 oz – about the same as a bottle of soda.

  • You’re right. We don’t get it. Perhaps we should empower the government to come in and decide what is a healthy and reasonable serving for us to drink. Why is this an issue when Starbucks offers a larger size but not an issue when a convenience store offers a 1.9 liter cup of high fructose sugar water? While we’re at it, SUVs are more car than anyone really needs. Let’s express our outrage at auto makers for offering such a frivolous, unhealthy product.

    Or, how about you just don’t buy it and let people that have an interest in the product exercise their right to do so?

    • Michael,

      Nowhere in my comment did I advocate that the government regulate what size drink or what size car we can buy (though I do think it’s a worthy debate). I’m simply dismayed that people feel the need to drink that much iced coffee or sugary soda.

  • I suppose, if you sip a coffee through out the day, like I do, I don’t have to make that second run to starbucks… but if you have an addictive personality like my boss, who drinks his coffee in 30 minutes, then I am in trouble!

  • While it’s up to individuals to buy the size they want, (and as an Englishman I love the 7-11 Big Gulps etc) (Diet only mind !) , Starbucks really take the biscuit (biscotti ?) (cookie ?) when it comes to cup sizes.

    Remember – Tall – it’s not italian it’s American – Tall as opposed to Short – but they don’t do a short. Actually it is fairly tall though – at 354 ml it’s considerably larger than a standard ‘cup’ – which is around 120 ml – although few people generally drink coffee so short and regular mugs are usually around 240 ml.

    Grande – IS Italian – but for large not medium. Venti is Italian but for twenty not for large – and refers to the number of fluid ounces in the cup – 20 – which is odd because this equates almost exactly to a UK pint, but to the slightly odd size of 1 and a quarter US pints.

    Trenta obviously then is 30 fluid ounce. Except its not – 30 fluid ounces would be 886 ml – quite a bit less than the Trenta.

    Perhaps they’d be better labelling their sizes, Large, Enormous, Mahoosive, and Ridiculously Stupid.

    Bear in mind that you’d need 8 shots of espresso in a Trenta to bring it to the same kind of strength as a regular Italian cappuccino

  • God what’s the point of that 900ml again?

  • William C Bonner January 19, 2011 at 5:16 am

    I always find it funny when they compare drink size to stomach size. I don’t think the stomach does all that much with most drinks that people consume, and that the contents are passed into the intestine fairly quickly. (Especially if the drinks are not fatty and don’t congeal into a solid when they hit the stomach acids.)

  • Well, it is not that large, considering that average American stomach is twice as large as normal ;)

  • Starbucks dropped the “cup” with this. The “trenta” name is an Italian word that translates to Thirty in English, and even though all of the typical domain name extensions (.com, .net, etc) were taken many years ago, the new and increasingly popular domain extensions like trenta.co or trenta.me were not taken by Starbucks. For a few dozen dollars they could have had major marketing successes with these domains.

  • A comparison to the bladder would be more helpful.