Monday, May 18th, 2009
Freak Out Starbucks: Order A Regular Lemonade
It was hot in LA this weekend, so naturally I wanted a lemonade: the drink American children have traditionally sold in the video game world. Lemonade never fails to momentarily quench my thirst, before going back into the punishing California sun.
I ducked into a Starbucks and saw they served “Tazo® Passion™ Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade.” Skimming through the drink’s name, I ordered a tall lemonade.
“Just a lemonade?” The barista seemed startled.
“Yes,” I replied, figuring this wasn’t going to be a big deal.
“So, you don’t want any Iced Tea? Just lemonade?”
“That’s right.”
“Lemme check if we can do that…”
So she conferred with her fellow barista, who also asked me if I was sure I wanted “just a lemonade.” What?
Look, I know Arnold Palmers are hip, but I’m not interested in balancing the sweetness of my lemonade with the okayness of non-sweetened ice tea. I just want the good stuff, but apparently what I was asking for was a big deal. Don’t people like just lemonade anymore? Are we really that sophisticated as a culture that lemonade can’t stand on its own without a partner mixed in?
They agreed to make the drink, but when the barista called out “tall lemonade,” there was a clear hesitation in her voice. Oh my god, lemonade should not be a problem. However, the crazy thing is that this also happened the last time I ordered just lemonade at a different Starbucks. I would get my lemonade from Quizno’s next door, but Minute Maid Lemonade is like drinking liquid sewage from Candyland.
Try ordering lemonade at your Starbucks – I’m curious if baristas around the country get confused, or just the ones in Hollyweird.
8 Comments
May 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am
>Minute Maid Lemonade is like drinking liquid sewage from Candyland.
hahaha- Truest thing ever.
I wonder if French Starbucks baristas will do the same thing…
May 18th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I think what threw them off is that nobody ever asks for that, not that it was a crazy request in itself, but crazy for Starbucks.
I bet you’d have a lot easier time if you were at a Cracker Barrel or a restaurant that was equally old timey. Yeah, I’m implying your old timey for wanting normal lemonade. You weirdo.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Amanda – There’s only one way to find out!
Paul – Very true, but since Starbucks is so omnipresent, it helps set a standard for what’s normal in the world. So if Starbucks gets freaked out by lemonade, what’s this world coming too? Answer: I don’t know! (LOL Cracker Barrel)
May 21st, 2009 at 7:13 am
I wonder if anyone goes into Starbucks and orders plain black coffee?
May 21st, 2009 at 10:23 am
See, I get that Starbucks is precious about what it calls coffee (mocha choka whatever), but what bothers me is they have a beverage called “Iced Tea Lemonade,” and yet they have trouble separating them for some reason — and they make me feel like the asshole!
July 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
As a former barista I can tell you why they reacted that way. There’s no button on the register or recipe for lemonade. The lemonade that is shaken with the tea doesn’t taste very good on its own, so we don’t want to give it to someone without fair warning. We would just explain it to people and give it to them if they still wanted it, and charge them the same price as the tea.
Also – I’m in Michigan, so we’re weird here, too =)
July 14th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Thanks for the comment, Anna! I personally like the plain lemonade, but to each their own. It’s just nice to know that there’s a reasonable explanation for all this lemonade madness!
January 9th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
The one I went to in Arkansas didn’t freak out, but Arkansas can be considered “old timey” so that might be why too.
But if you go to London they have lemon frappacinos which are the best tasting drinks on Earth!
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