Dutch Bros Vs Starbucks: Comparing The Coffee Drink Sizes

Both Starbucks and Dutch Bros were founded on the West Coast of the United States, with the former opening its doors in 1971 in Washington and the latter setting up shop in Oregon in 1992. And, of course, both built their businesses on selling caffeinated goodness and are also known for offering a variety of flavors, including seasonal options Starbucks' Dubai chocolate-inspired options or Dutch Bros' Stout Kicker Latte. But that may be where the two brands' similarities end. 

While Starbucks is known for its upscale products and elevated coffeehouse ambiance, Dutch Bros has a decidedly more playful atmosphere with "broistas" that are happy to chat and customize your drink order to a precise percentage of requested sweetness. In one Reddit thread comparing the two, multiple commenters give a nod to Dutch Bros' customer service, with some stating, "broistas are trained to be super friendly [and] helpful[, and] it shows," and "the staff is always fun, friendly[,] and genuine."

But that's not the only difference many reviewers pointed out — it also comes down to value. Several wrote that they felt like they got more bang for their buck at the newer chain. And while the face value price by size may be lower according to reviewers, the quantity of the caffeine that coffee-drinkers are getting may also contribute to the value, due to the cup size. 

If you wanted to dive down a rabbit hole, there are plenty of things to learn about Starbucks. But, when it comes to the variations in sizes of drinks, the one thing to know is that there may be more sizes than you realized at Starbucks. There are six different cups that range from 3 ounces (Demi) all the way up to 30 ounces (Trenta). The Demi is only intended for espresso, and the Trenta is only for iced teas and plain iced coffee (not lattes). The other four cup sizes are made to be vessels for standard coffee, lattes, or even secret menu drinks.  

The two smallest cups of the four are Short (8 ounces, which is only served hot) and Tall (12 ounces), which both have one shot of espresso if you're ordering a latte. These are followed by the Grande at 16 ounces (and sports two shots of espresso in lattes), and the Venti at 20 ounces of liquid when hot and 24 if it's chilled. However, the Venti drinks differ in their caffeine levels — a standard hot latte will pack in only two shots while the cold one has three (unless you're ordering shaken espresso, which packs a punch with one more).

However, if you order an americano, you get an extra shot thrown in — unless it's a Venti hot drink; then it's two more doses of caffeinated goodness than what's in a latte. Of course, you can always add shots to your drinks for an additional amount.

Dutch Bros also offers six different sizes for its coffee drinks (plus a kids' 10-ounce cup). However, the other cups vary depending on whether you get cold or hot; both come in small, medium, and large, but the hot beverages are 12, 16, and 20 ounces — while iced drinks are 16, 24, and 32 ounces. So, the sizing on DB's iced drinks in particular is notably larger; the chain takes into account the amount of ice (and potential add-ins) to be sure sippers of chilled drinks still get the same amount of goodness as comes in hot drinks.

While Dutch Bros does publish the amount of milligrams of caffeine in each of its drinks, it's not specific about how many shots are in them, with the exception of the 9-1-1 (an Irish Cream breve) that packs a punch at a whopping six shots of espresso. However, one Redditor who self-reportedly works at the chain reported, "Basically[,] any other drink with coffee gets 2 shots for small and medium and 4 for large." Considering that many of the drinks on the menu contain around 95 milligrams of caffeine for small and medium sizes, and approximately double (192 milligrams) for large, it stands to reason that the commenter is giving an accurate description. However, a large iced latte from Starbucks has 225 milligrams (though a hot large only has 150, which is the same as the medium).