FINALLY! This is Back at Minnesota Starbucks Locations

Since the pandemic, and after restaurants and coffee shops reopened, we have not been able to use the self serve station at Starbucks.  This was a great deal when you ordered your coffee, you could add your own cream and some spices that were provided by the company at a self-serve bar off to the side of the baristas.

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It was a nice way to just get some regular black coffee for a little lower price (because it's plain black coffee) and just add in your own flavors of choice.  That was removed during the pandemic, and has been nonexistent since.  That is now changing, finally.

Starbucks is bringing back the self serve bar AND the hand written names on cups.  Honestly, I hadn't noticed that part was gone.  The Starbucks that I go to generally still writes names on the cups, but apparently others did not. The new CEO Brian Niccol said that is coming back to give customers a more "human touch".

From CNN:

“The number I heard was something like close to 200,000 Sharpies we’ve got to track down,” Niccol said in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. “Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just going to the Staples and picking up some Sharpies.”

Another thing that is changing at the coffee shop chain is the extra charge for specialty milks such as almond, soy, coconut or oat milk.  There will no longer be that extra charge for something other than dairy milk.

Starting next week, Starbucks customers will no longer pay more for adding non-dairy milk to their orders. The company said the removal of the non-dairy milk surcharge means customers who request it will pay around 10% less than they did previously.

The milk substitution is the second most common change in people's orders.  It makes sense to help customers out with this change. The most common addition is an extra shot of espresso.