Whether you are a committed regular or a casual enjoyer, pretty much everyone has been to a Starbucks at least once in their lives. But that doesn’t mean everyone is a Starbucks expert. With the seemingly endless ways to customize your Starbies run — from its extensive menu to the numerous ways you can place your order — it can feel overwhelming, or even intimidating, to step foot inside a Starbucks. Been there!
And if you’ve ever been to your campus Starbucks during finals week, you may have encountered a stressed-out barista who didn’t seem like they had time to talk you through each step of the ordering process and make sure you get the exact drink of your dreams. (Totally get it, they’re busy!) But the truth is, Starbucks baristas are actually trained to do just that — and for many of them, that’s one of the best parts of their job.
To acknowledge how much work its employees put in, Starbucks recently hosted its first Global Barista Championship, where over 84,000 Starbucks baristas from all over the world competed in order to be crowned the winner. The three-day culmination of the competition, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in early June 2025, saw 12 finalists compete in a series of challenges to determine who was the true best of the best. Her Campus got to speak to three of these finalists (including the winner of the whole shebang!), who shared their favorite Starbucks ordering hacks so customers can have the best experience possible — no stress necessary.
Here’s what they had to say:
1. “Do your research.”
“I think a lot of customers come in and they don’t really know exactly what they want or sometimes they stick to a certain order, and I feel like if they kind of just went out their comfort zone, they would find different beverages that we have that are pretty good. So I would say to research our menu and how our coffees work — how we have coffees from three different regions — and they all have different flavor profiles and all that good stuff that sometimes customers kind of overlook it.” – Sumayyah, Global Barista Championship first runner-up, representing Europe, Middle East, and Africa
2. “Experiment with customizations.”
“For example, everyone knows about matcha lattes, but people don’t know that if you put espresso in there, it would taste like seaweed.” – Charlie, Global Barista Championship Top 12 finalist, representing Asia Pacific
3. “Ask your barista for recommendations.”
“Each barista has his or her own favorite customization. I welcome my guests to ask the barista what their favorite recommendations and customizations [are], and then that will help customers have more choices. So therefore, customers are welcome to reach out to baristas.” – Nobuki, Global Barista Championship Winner, representing Japan