See the winner of Starbucks’ first-ever barista championship
Starbucks hosted the inaugural Global Barista Championship in Las Vegas featuring baristas from around the world.
Starbucks’ secret menu is going public.
The premium coffee chain has long had what it calls a “Not-So-Secret Menu” broadcast channel on Instagram, where concoctions not listed on the official menu were shared with devotees. (Last check it had more than 151,000 members.)
Starbucks wants to make it easier for you to find those new drink hacks, so special customized drinks will now appear in the Starbucks app. Members of the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program will be able to find them under the “Offers” tab. You can select the drink and it will be prepared with all the options listed, at participating stores, the company announced Monday, July 14, in a press release.
More choices seems like a win-win for Starbucks patrons, even though the Secret Menu’s reveal comes just a few months after CEO Brian Niccol made changes to simplify the Starbucks menu, especially trimming back the Frappuccino options.
Since the removal of those “less popular” drinks, some new Strato Frappuccino Blended Beverages were added to the menu on July 8.
Starbucks Secret Menu Contest
To jump-start the unveiling of the Secret Menu, Starbucks has a contest this week to find a new favorite new drink. You can submit your customized beverage from Monday, July 14, through Sunday, July 20 on the Secret Menu Contest page. The top four drinks will be voted on August 18-20 on the Starbucks Instagram page.
The four finalists will each win $5,000 and their drinks will also be on the Secret Menu from August 18-25. The Grand Prize winner gets an additional $25,000.
Starbucks drinks: Here’s some new hacks
To kick off the more-public launch of the Secret Menu, four new drink customizations are now featured in the Starbucks app:
- Cookies on top: Customizes a Cold Brew with two pumps of vanilla syrup, plus Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam and cookie crumble topping.
- Dragonfruit glow-up: Starts with the Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher, adds peach juice blend, is blended and topped with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam.
- Lemon, tea & pearls: Adds the raspberry-flavored popping pearls – used in Refreshers drinks – to black tea and lemonade.
- Just add white mocha: Upgrades the Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso with White Chocolate Mocha Sauce and topped off with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam.
Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY’s Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & [email protected]
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