Starbucks Secret Menu — Quick Facts
- Items listed
- 28 with full order recipes — 24 orderable today, 4 classics kept for the record
- What it is
- Not an official menu — every item is a customization of a standard Starbucks menu item
- How to order
- By recipe, not by name — baristas are not trained on secret-menu names
- Price basis
- Grande (16 fl oz); typical total = verified base price + standard customization charges, checked Oct 2026
- Cheapest build
- Butterbeer Latte, ≈ $5.19
- Most famous
- Pink Drink — a 2016 fan customization that joined the official menu in April 2017
- Also official now
- The Medicine Ball, on the menu as Honey Citrus Mint Tea since 2017
- Milk swaps
- Free — Starbucks dropped the non-dairy milk charge on November 7, 2024
- Syrup charges
- Free on flavored drinks; one $0.80 flat fee on unflavored drinks (since June 2025)
- Caffeine peak
- Liquid Cocaine: 4 espresso shots, ≈ 300 mg caffeine
- Retired bases
- Java Chip and 12 other drinks left the menu in March 2025 — 4 classics below keep their original recipes for the record
- Good to know
- Prices and stock (raspberry syrup, bananas, blackberries) vary by store — check the app before you go
The Starbucks secret menu is not a menu at all — it is a shared collection of customer customizations that spread online because baristas will build almost anything you can describe. There is no secret list behind the counter and baristas are not trained on the nicknames, so the golden rule is simple: order by recipe, not by name. Below are 28 of the most ordered secret items with the exact build for each one, a typical Grande price worked out from the verified menu, and calories where they can be honestly estimated.
Secret menu items are customizations, not official Starbucks products. Prices are typical totals — the verified Grande base price plus standard add-on charges — and vary by store. A few classics whose base drinks were discontinued in March 2025 are kept for the record and clearly marked; everything else can be ordered today.
Starbucks Secret Menu Drinks
These are the coffee-based secret drinks: lattes, mochas and espresso builds that start from the hot menu. The Butterbeer Latte is the archetype — a steamer wearing three syrups — while the Liquid Cocaine is the opposite end of the scale, four straight shots under white mocha. The Cake Batter Latte is the newest entry: Starbucks itself launched it as an official “secret menu” customization in January 2026. If you want the standard versions first, the full Starbucks menu with prices covers every base drink used here.
| Item | How to Order (Grande) | Typical Price | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butterbeer Latte | Grande whole milk steamer (Steamed Milk) with 3 pumps caramel syrup, 3 pumps toffee nut syrup and 3 pumps Cinnamon Dolce syrup, topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Add 1–2 espresso shots if you want it with caffeine. | $5.19 | ≈ 450 |
| Nutella Drink | Caffè Misto with 1 pump mocha sauce and 1 pump hazelnut syrup, finished with caramel drizzle. | $5.79 | ≈ 170 |
| Liquid Cocaine | Four espresso shots poured over ice in a Grande cup with 4 pumps white chocolate mocha sauce. No milk in the standard build — expect roughly 300 mg of caffeine. | $7.07 | ≈ 260 |
| Raspberry Cheesecake Mocha | White Chocolate Mocha with a few pumps of raspberry syrup stirred in. Raspberry syrup was discontinued in 2023 and returned permanently in February 2026, so most stores can build it again. | $7.24 | — |
| Cake Batter Latte | Starbucks’ own official secret-menu launch (January 2026): an iced Blonde Caffè Latte with oatmilk, 3 pumps hazelnut syrup, 3 pumps sugar-free vanilla syrup and 3 scoops vanilla bean powder (published for a Venti; ask for one pump/scoop less in a Grande). | Varies | — |
How these totals are built: the Typical Price is the verified Grande price of the base drink from our Starbucks menu plus Starbucks’ standard customization charges, checked October 2026. Since June 2025, syrups and sauces are free on drinks that are already flavored and cost one flat $0.80 on unflavored drinks; non-dairy milk has been free since November 2024; an extra espresso shot is about $1.25. Calories marked ≈ are estimates built the same way, from the verified base plus standard per-pump figures, and are shown only where every component has a published figure. Stores set their own prices, so your total may differ.
Starbucks Secret Frappuccinos
Blended drinks carry most of the famous secret menu. Nine of the thirteen builds below can still be ordered exactly as written, because the Strawberry Crème, Vanilla Bean Crème, Matcha Crème, Mocha and Caramel Frappuccino bases all survived Starbucks’ March 2025 menu simplification. Four cannot: the Ferrero Rocher, Cookies & Cream, Snickers and Raspberry Cheesecake Frappuccinos were published on bases — Java Chip, Double Chocolaty Chip Crème and White Chocolate Mocha — that left the menu in that same cut. Their original recipes are kept here for the record and marked, not silently re-based.
| Item | How to Order (Grande) | Typical Price | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Crunch Frappuccino | Strawberry Crème Frappuccino with 1 pump caramel syrup, 1 pump hazelnut syrup, 1 pump toffee nut syrup and Frappuccino (java) chips blended in. | $7.82 | — |
| Twix Frappuccino | Caramel Frappuccino with 2 pumps mocha sauce, 1 pump hazelnut syrup and java chips blended in, topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle and mocha drizzle. | $7.82 | — |
| Grasshopper Frappuccino | Mocha Frappuccino with java chips and 1–2 pumps peppermint syrup blended in. | $7.82 | — |
| Cotton Candy Frappuccino | Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino with 1½ pumps raspberry syrup (Grande). Unorderable from 2023 to 2025 while raspberry syrup was discontinued; it returned permanently in February 2026. The current syrup is dye-free, so the drink pours pale rather than bright pink. | $7.02 | ≈ 410 |
| Cake Batter Frappuccino | Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino with 1½ pumps hazelnut syrup (Grande) and whipped cream. Some fans ask for a Birthday Cake Pop blended in — that part is at the store’s discretion. | $6.80 | ≈ 410 |
| Thin Mint Frappuccino | Matcha Crème Frappuccino with 2 pumps mocha sauce, 1 pump peppermint syrup and java chips. (Older recipes built it on green tea crème — same drink under its current name.) | $7.02 | — |
| Churro Frappuccino | Caramel Frappuccino made with heavy cream, 2 pumps Cinnamon Dolce syrup, extra caramel drizzle and Cinnamon Dolce topping, with whipped cream. | $7.02 | — |
| Apple Pie Frappuccino | A crème-base build with no named base drink: cream to the first line, apple juice to the second line, 2 pumps Cinnamon Dolce syrup and 2 pumps caramel syrup, blended with ice and topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Order it in person with the build list — it cannot be built in the app. | Varies | — |
| Banana Split Frappuccino | Strawberry Crème Frappuccino with 1 scoop vanilla bean powder, java chips and a whole banana blended in, topped with whipped cream, mocha drizzle and caramel drizzle. Only works where the store sells bananas and agrees to blend one — ask first. | Varies | — |
| Ferrero Rocher Frappuccino | Classic recipe, kept for the record: Double Chocolaty Chip or Java Chip Frappuccino with 3 pumps mocha sauce, 1½ pumps hazelnut syrup and hazelnut drizzle. Both original bases were discontinued in March 2025, so it cannot be ordered exactly as published. | — | — |
| Cookies & Cream Frappuccino (Oreo) | Classic recipe, kept for the record: Double Chocolaty Chip Crème Frappuccino with white chocolate mocha sauce substituted for the mocha sauce. The base was discontinued in March 2025, so it cannot be ordered exactly as published. | — | — |
| Snickers Frappuccino | Classic recipe, kept for the record: Java Chip Frappuccino with 2 pumps toffee nut syrup and caramel drizzle on top (plus a drizzle inside the cup in the fullest version). The Java Chip base was discontinued in March 2025, so it cannot be ordered exactly as published. | — | — |
| Raspberry Cheesecake Frappuccino | Classic recipe, kept for the record: White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino with 1 pump hazelnut syrup, 1 pump raspberry syrup and caramel crunch topping. The base was discontinued in March 2025, so it cannot be ordered exactly as published — the hot Raspberry Cheesecake Mocha above is the surviving version. | — | — |
How these totals are built: the Typical Price is the verified Grande price of the base drink from our Starbucks menu plus Starbucks’ standard customization charges, checked October 2026. Since June 2025, syrups and sauces are free on drinks that are already flavored and cost one flat $0.80 on unflavored drinks; non-dairy milk has been free since November 2024; an extra espresso shot is about $1.25. Calories marked ≈ are estimates built the same way, from the verified base plus standard per-pump figures, and are shown only where every component has a published figure. Stores set their own prices, so your total may differ.
Starbucks Secret Refreshers and Teas
The two biggest secret-menu success stories live in this section. The Pink Drink and the Medicine Ball both started as customer builds, went viral, and were promoted onto the official menu in 2017 — order either by name today. The Purple Drink and Green Drink from the same 2016 “rainbow drinks” wave never made that jump and are still ordered by recipe. Their retired sibling, the Violet Drink, is not listed: its Very Berry Hibiscus base disappeared in 2021 and never came back.
| Item | How to Order (Grande) | Typical Price | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pink Drink | Now an official menu item — order it by name. The original 2016 secret build was a Strawberry Açaí Refresher made with coconut milk instead of water, with freeze-dried strawberries; it was so popular that Starbucks put it on the permanent menu in April 2017. | $6.48 | 140 |
| Medicine Ball (Honey Citrus Mint Tea) | Also official now — order a Honey Citrus Mint Tea. The fan original steeped a Jade Citrus Mint tea bag and a Peach Tranquility tea bag in half hot water and half steamed lemonade, sweetened with honey. Starbucks added it to the menu under its official name in 2017. | $5.39 | 130 |
| Purple Drink | Iced Passion Tango Tea with soy milk instead of water, vanilla syrup and a scoop of blackberries. Blackberry inclusions are store-dependent in 2026, and the drink usually pours dark pink rather than purple — the viral colour was often filters. | $6.19 | — |
| Green Drink | Iced Black Tea made with coconut milk, with matcha powder added. Starbucks matcha is unsweetened now, so the current build tastes less sweet than the 2016 original unless you add sweetener. | $5.84 | — |
| White Chocolate Pink Drink | A Pink Drink with 3 pumps white chocolate mocha sauce and 3 pumps vanilla syrup added. | $6.48 | ≈ 380 |
How these totals are built: the Typical Price is the verified Grande price of the base drink from our Starbucks menu plus Starbucks’ standard customization charges, checked October 2026. Since June 2025, syrups and sauces are free on drinks that are already flavored and cost one flat $0.80 on unflavored drinks; non-dairy milk has been free since November 2024; an extra espresso shot is about $1.25. Calories marked ≈ are estimates built the same way, from the verified base plus standard per-pump figures, and are shown only where every component has a published figure. Stores set their own prices, so your total may differ.
Starbucks Secret Food and Customizations
Not every secret at Starbucks is a drink. The affogato-style shot and the off-board Short size are official options most customers never hear about, and the food case hides two cheap upgrades: a warmed brownie dressed like a sundae, and the Avocado Spread that turns a plain bagel into a café breakfast for about five dollars. For the standard food list these build on, see the breakfast and bakery sections of the full Starbucks menu.
| Item | How to Order (Grande) | Typical Price | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affogato-Style Frappuccino | Order any Frappuccino “affogato-style”: a shot of hot espresso is poured over the top after blending instead of being blended in. An official Starbucks option since 2016 — the shot adds the standard extra-shot charge to the base drink. | Varies | — |
| Short (8 oz) Hot Drink | Ask for any hot drink in the Short size — 8 oz, 1 espresso shot, less milk, a stronger taste and a lower price than a Tall. It is not printed on the menu board and is not available for iced or blended drinks. | Varies | — |
| Toasted Brownie, Sundae-Style | Ask for the Double Chocolate Brownie warmed (toasted) so the chocolate chunks go soft, then topped with whipped cream and mocha drizzle. A courtesy request rather than a menu item — best eaten straight away in the store. | $4.63 | — |
| Avocado Spread Bagel | A Plain Bagel plus a cup of Avocado Spread, spread on yourself at the table — Starbucks sells the spread on the side and will not assemble it for you. Works on a breakfast sandwich the same way. | $5.04 | 340 |
| Cake Pop Blend-In | Buy a Birthday Cake Pop and ask for it blended into a Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino (the Cake Batter build). Blending food into drinks is at the store’s discretion, so ask before you order. | Varies | — |
How these totals are built: the Typical Price is the verified Grande price of the base drink from our Starbucks menu plus Starbucks’ standard customization charges, checked October 2026. Since June 2025, syrups and sauces are free on drinks that are already flavored and cost one flat $0.80 on unflavored drinks; non-dairy milk has been free since November 2024; an extra espresso shot is about $1.25. Calories marked ≈ are estimates built the same way, from the verified base plus standard per-pump figures, and are shown only where every component has a published figure. Stores set their own prices, so your total may differ.
Starbucks Secret Menu Allergen Information
Customizing a drink changes its allergens, so the standard allergen table is only the starting point. The builds above routinely add milk (whipped cream, heavy cream, caramel and mocha sauces), soy (soy milk, some sauces), wheat (Frappuccino chips and cookie-style toppings can carry it) and tree nuts (coconut milk, hazelnut and toffee nut syrups). A coconut-milk swap makes a drink dairy-free in recipe but adds tree nut (coconut) — the same trade-off the Pink Drink makes. Starbucks uses shared steam wands, blenders and ovens, so no customized drink can be guaranteed allergen-free. Check the full Starbucks allergen table for the base items, and always confirm with the store before ordering if you have a serious allergy.
Starbucks Secret Menu Nutrition
There is no official nutrition panel for a drink that exists only as a recipe, which is why the calories in the tables above are marked as estimates or left blank. The defensible way to judge a build is from its parts: a standard syrup pump adds about 20 calories, a pump of mocha sauce about 25, a pump of white chocolate mocha sauce about 60, an espresso shot 5, and whipped cream on a Grande roughly 70–110. Swapping water for coconut milk in a Grande Refresher adds about 50. Syrup and sauce additions are where secret drinks quietly double — the Liquid Cocaine carries roughly 240 of its 260 calories in white mocha sauce alone. For verified figures on every standard drink, use our Starbucks nutrition chart.
Starbucks Opening and Closing Hours
Most US Starbucks stores open at 5:00 or 5:30 in the morning and close around 9:00 PM, with slightly later weekend openings. Drive-thru locations often open earlier, from 4:00 or 5:00 AM, and some stay open later than the café. There is no single national schedule, so the Starbucks app or store locator always has the exact hours for your store.
| Day | Typical Opening | Typical Closing |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 5:00 – 5:30 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday | 5:30 – 6:00 AM | 9:00 – 10:00 PM |
| Sunday | 5:30 – 6:00 AM | 8:00 – 9:00 PM |
| Drive-thru stores | 4:00 – 5:00 AM | Often later than the café |
| Holidays | Reduced hours | Many stores closed on Christmas Day |
Starbucks Reviews: The Original Store at Pike Place
The most reviewed Starbucks in the world is the original store at 1912 Pike Place in Seattle, which holds a 4.5 out of 5 rating from about 6,900 Google reviews. Visitors treat it as a landmark as much as a coffee shop, and the line regularly wraps around the building.
“This was such a cool experience to be able to visit the very first Starbucks! I felt honored to be able to step foot in the very first Starbucks store!”
— Bethshaba P, Google review (5 stars)
“We stopped in on a whim and were blown away with the impressiveness of the roastery!”
— Jonathan C, Google review of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, Seattle (5 stars)
Everyday stores rate on speed and consistency more than spectacle: mobile order pickup, drive-thru times and drink accuracy are the themes that come up again and again in local reviews.
Starbucks Secret Menu Facts
- There is no official Starbucks secret menu. Starbucks publishes no secret list and baristas are not trained on secret-menu names, so every item on this page is a customization of a standard menu item.
- The Pink Drink began as a customer customization in 2016 — a Strawberry Açaí Refresher with coconut milk instead of water — and after more than 100,000 Instagram posts Starbucks added it to the official permanent menu in April 2017.
- The Medicine Ball followed the same path a year earlier in the making: a store manager reported selling 20 or more a day, and in 2017 Starbucks put it on the menu as the Honey Citrus Mint Tea.
- Starbucks says there are more than 170,000 ways to customize its beverages — the figure the company cited when the Pink Drink went official.
- The best-known secret-menu catalogues are fan sites, not Starbucks properties; their own advice is to know your recipe before you order, because not all baristas will know the drink.
- The Butterbeer Frappuccino and Latte — a crème or steamer base with caramel and toffee nut syrups — are described as arguably the most famous secret-menu creations, and can only be ordered by their ingredients.
- Adding an espresso shot is Starbucks customers’ most requested customization, and swapping in a non-dairy milk is the second — ahead of every syrup on the bar.
- Since November 7, 2024, that milk swap costs nothing: Starbucks removed the non-dairy milk charge in US and Canada company-owned stores.
- Since June 2025, syrups and sauces follow one simple rule — free on drinks that are already flavored, and one flat $0.80 for any combination added to an unflavored drink, however many pumps.
- In March 2025 Starbucks removed 13 drinks in a menu simplification, including the Java Chip Frappuccino, the Double Chocolaty Chip Crème Frappuccino and the White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino — the bases under four classics on this page.
- Starbucks’ own suggested replacement for the Java Chip Frappuccino is the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino — which is also why Frappuccino (java) chips are still stocked and can still be added to other blends.
- Raspberry syrup was discontinued in March 2023, which made the Cotton Candy Frappuccino impossible to order for nearly three years; the syrup returned permanently in February 2026.
- The affogato-style Frappuccino is not a hack at all — Starbucks introduced it officially in the summer of 2016, pouring the shot over the finished drink instead of blending it in.
- The Short (8 oz) is one of Starbucks’ original sizes from 1971-era boards. It was taken off the menu boards but never off the menu — you can still order any hot drink in it.
- In January 2026 Starbucks began launching official “secret menu” drinks itself; the Cake Batter Latte on this page is one of them, published by the company rather than by fans.
- The Purple Drink usually is not purple: reviewers noted in 2016 that it pours dark pink, and the vivid purple in viral photos was often down to filters.
- The Violet Drink is the secret menu’s retiree — it even joined the official menu in 2017, but its Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher base was discontinued in 2021 and the drink went with it.
- Extra pumps of a syrup your drink already includes are free — the cheapest secret-menu upgrade is simply asking for more of what is already in the cup.
Starbucks Secret Menu FAQs
Does Starbucks have a secret menu?
Not officially. There is no secret list behind the counter and baristas are not trained on the nicknames. Secret menu drinks are customer customizations of standard menu items — give the barista the recipe and they will build it. The Pink Drink and the Medicine Ball both started this way before joining the official menu in 2017.
How do you order a Starbucks secret menu drink?
Order by recipe, not by name: state the base drink and size, then each customization — syrups and pumps, milk, chips, drizzles, toppings. Most builds on this page can also be assembled in the app, except no-base builds like the Apple Pie Frappuccino, which must be ordered in person.
How much do Starbucks secret menu drinks cost?
On this page’s Grande maths, typical totals run from about $5.19 (Butterbeer Latte) to $7.82 (Twix, Captain Crunch and Grasshopper Frappuccinos). Syrups and sauces are free on already-flavored drinks and a flat $0.80 on unflavored ones, non-dairy milk is free, whipped cream is free, and an extra espresso shot adds about $1.25. Stores set their own prices, so totals vary.
What is the most popular Starbucks secret menu drink?
The Pink Drink — popular enough that Starbucks made it official in 2017. Of the drinks still ordered by recipe, the Butterbeer builds and the Cotton Candy Frappuccino are the longest-running fan favourites.
Can you still order the Cotton Candy Frappuccino?
Yes. It needs raspberry syrup, which Starbucks discontinued in March 2023 and brought back permanently in February 2026. Order a Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino with 1½ pumps of raspberry syrup in a Grande — and expect a pale drink, because the current syrup is dye-free.
Are the Java Chip secret drinks gone?
The Java Chip Frappuccino itself was discontinued in March 2025, along with the Double Chocolaty Chip Crème and White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino bases, so the classic Ferrero Rocher, Snickers, Cookies & Cream and Raspberry Cheesecake Frappuccino recipes cannot be built exactly as published. The chips themselves are still stocked for the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino, so add-chips customizations on other bases still work.
Is the Medicine Ball still a secret menu item?
No. Order it by its official name, Honey Citrus Mint Tea ($5.39 for a Grande). Starbucks added it to the menu in 2017 after the fan-created Medicine Ball — two teas steeped in steamed lemonade with honey — became a daily seller.
Conclusion
The Starbucks secret menu rewards anyone willing to order in full sentences: a Butterbeer Latte at about $5.19, a Cotton Candy Frappuccino that survived a three-year syrup drought, and a Short size that has been hiding in plain sight since the 1970s. Keep the recipe in hand, be ready for the total to move a little by store, and check our Starbucks coupons and deals before you pay. If you are new to the chain, the Starbucks guide explains sizes, ordering and the app, and the full Starbucks menu has the verified price and calorie data every build on this page stands on.
Recipes checked October 2026 against published secret-menu sources; typical prices computed from Starbucks menu data checked October 2026. Starbucks, Frappuccino and the Starbucks logo are trademarks of Starbucks Corporation; this site is not affiliated with Starbucks.
