Starbucks Announces Trenta Cup, In-store Mobile Payments

Shortly after Starbucks announced its new branding campaign , the massive global coffee shop chain has unveiled another silly, foreign-named cup size to add to its fleet of overly priced, yet equally delicious coffee beverages. The new Trenta-sized cup is available only for iced drinks and will be in every U.S. Starbucks location by May 3. The 31oz option is 7oz, or 325mL, larger than Starbucks’ current large cup size, the Venti.

What is upsetting health advocates and pretty much anyone with common sense is that the Trenta is actually larger than the average capacity that a human stomach can hold, which is 900mL. Yes it’s true, that many Americans are overweight and hopefully are looking to break the overeating cycle with their New Year’s resolutions, but the Trenta is just another symbolic gesture that everything is bigger in America – houses, deficits, political powerhouses, food, and now apparently, beverages.

Trenta-sized drinks will only cost 50 cents more than Venti-sized drinks, which will also filter into America’s yearning for bigger things for lesser costs. Take for instance, fast food chains who are offering mondo-sized 32oz soft drinks for $1.

The company has said that it tested the new size in several U.S. markets last year, in order to respond to customer demands for larger iced beverages. (Maybe customers wouldn’t demand more iced coffee, iced lemonade, or iced fruit drinks, if the baristas wouldn’t put in so much ice! – a personal pet peeve.)

The Trenta will debut in 14 states, including Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Hawaii and Arizona on Jan. 18 and in California on Feb 1.

Additionally, Starbucks announced today that it would begin allowing iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry mobile payments for products at thousands of its stores. The mobile payment system allows customers to hold a smartphone displaying a 2D barcode for reading by a scanner on the Starbucks cash register. The phone wirelessly links to a person’s Starbucks card, which is backed by a credit card. Currently, the mobile system does not work with an Android phone.

By: DivyaM

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