New Trenta size hard to stomach

Guzzling 31 fluid ounces of iced coffee may sound like a good idea to some, but a Starbucks employee and Purdue food science student find its appeal questionable.

Starbucks recently announced the company will begin marketing the Trenta, a size upgrade for iced drinks including teas and Frappuccinos. The Trenta will join the ranks of Starbucks sizes throughout the U.S. by May 3. The new size is getting a lot of flak online due to the drink's nutrition facts and capacity, which is slightly larger than the size of the average adult human stomach.

Starbucks workers are divided on the Trenta's future success, some seeing it boosting sales, while others see it not having a very large effect. Peggy Hunley, operations supervisor for the Purdue Student Union Starbucks, said she examines the popularity of current menu items to predict sales for Trenta-sized drinks.

"The student workers at this Starbucks say Frappuccinos are most popular with the younger crowd," Hunley said. "Though I think we sell an equal amount of hot and iced coffees. We sell a lot of different drinks, even in Venti (20 fluid ounce) size."

From her experiences at the Union Starbucks, Hunley said brewed coffee is increasing in popularity, which will affect the influence of Trenta on Starbucks.

"There is a trend for brewed coffee," Hunley said. "I know consumers are health-conscious but my workers say the new Trenta sizes will be popular."

Jenn Farrell, a junior studying food science in the College of Agriculture, said students will be likely to purchase the Trenta when it hits the market because of their inconsistent sleep schedules, though they will fail to realize the negative health effects some of the drinks may have.

"I would assume college kids would enjoy having larger sizes available because of the lack of sleep most of us experience during exams and finals," Farrell said. "Most consumers won't think twice about consuming something so calorically dense and loaded with caffeine without reading the nutrition facts."