My Secret Starbucks Menu

Here's a little lesser known fact about me: I worked at Starbucks for a bit when I came home from spending the summer studying in Boston right out of High School. After I spent countless nights closing the bar and not having any customers for the last couple of hours of our shift, I started modifying and discovering what drinks I could make with dozens of syrups and liquids at my fingertips. I feel like now I have finally perfected my go to list of drinks for any time of the year, so I thought I would share with you all my little "Secret Menu" of my favourite drinks and how I modify them. It's important to note though, I personally am allergic to coffee beans and dairy (amongst so many other things), so I get all of my drinks without either - but if you want you could always switch the soy for regular milk or add espresso into any of these drinks! I also like my drinks quite sweet, so feel free to decrease the amount of sugar in each one. A few of these are also seasonally dependant, hence why I like to have a lot of options at my finger tips!

*Hot Drinks*

Grande Soy Hot Chocolate (No Whip). Two pumps of Mocha Syrup, Two pumps of either (a) Toffee Nut or (b) Hazelnut: Chocolate and nuts is something that has always paired so well together, and in Hot Chocolate is no exception. Use Toffee Nut for a more nutty taste, use hazelnut for a more Bueno Bar/Nutella taste.

Grande Soy Steamed Milk. Two pumps of Caramel, Two pumps of Toffee Nut: My Starbucks version of Butterbeer, or what I think butterbeer would taste like. It's like drinking liquid carmel toffees and in all the right ways. This is a great little treat in a cup.

Venti Soy Earl Grey Tea Latte. Three pumps Vanilla, Three pumps of Peach: Peach and earl grey pair so well together, and I feel like a lot of people don't know that. When you add it in it tastes like peaches and cream in your earl grey tea and gives the nicest twist to your traditional London Fog.

Grande Refresh (Mint) Tea Latte. Replace all Classic Syrup with Vanilla: Not a lot of people realize that you can actually get tea lattes with (almost) every single tea Starbucks serves. My personal favourite is the mint tea because I think it's just so darn good in a latte form. Switching the classic syrup with the vanilla gives the mint a lovely creaminess to it vs. just tasting like sweet peppermint with the classic.

*Cold Drinks*

Venti Passion Tea Lemonade (No Ice). Replace all the Classic Syrup with either (a) Raspberry or (b) Peach: Passion Tea Lemonade is such a standard for so many people, but can tend to get quite repetitive. To change it up, I like to switch the normal classic with either Raspberry or Peach, both which give a really nice twist to the usual sweet yet sour taste of the Passion Tea Lemonade.

Grande Soy Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. Add Raspberry Syrup (I personally like 2 extra pumps of this, but some only like 1). Double Blended. Use Tall Cup of ice instead of grande - add more milk: This one is more of a classic that I think a lot of people know: The Cotton Candy Frappuccino. This will always be one of my favourite drinks I have ever discovered, and a lot of baristas know this one after the original "Secret Menu" hit virally. I like to put less ice though and more milk double blended because I find it's not as icy and is a lot smoother to drink.

Venti Green Tea Lemonade (No Ice). Five pumps of classic, 1 pump of Raspberry: Another great tea lemonade they offer with a twist. If you're feeling like the Passion Tea Lemonade is too fruity for your tastes today or too sweet yet sour, I would try this instead. You still get that fruity taste, but it's really muted and a lot less sweet and sour like the passion tea lemonade.

Venti (No Ice) Half Cool Lime Refresher, Half Passion Tea (No Water): If you're anything like me then you have a love for lime juice and just the idea of mojitos gets you excited. Well this is another great twist on a Passion Tea Lemonade, but instead of being lemon change it to a more lime flavour - trust me, it's amazing.