The Real Reason Starbucks Won't Sell You A Venti Nitro Cold Brew

If you like your coffee large and in charge, then you're going to have to order something besides a Nitro Cold Brew the next time you roll through your local Starbucks if you want a big one — as it turns out, you can only order this particular beverage in a 12-ounce tall or 16-ounce grande, which basically translates to "small" and "medium." Why, oh why, can't you order a Nitro Cold Brew in the coveted venti size? 

Splinter recently covered this topic, wondering why exactly venti was out of reach for those who love the Nitro Cold Brew. When writer Katherine Krueger tried to order one, she was turned down and informed it was only available in the smaller sizes. When she checked the Starbucks website, it seemed to be true — nutritional content information is only available for tall or grande, with nary a venti mention in sight. 

Could Starbucks limit the sizing because of a venti's high caffeine content? While this has been given as a reason in the past, it's not necessarily true. Although a venti Nitro Cold Brew would provide somewhere around 420mg, this is not exactly the biggest jolt of caffeine you can get in a single cup of coffee at the popular coffee shop. Look through the menu and you'll see a venti Pike Place Roast gets you a similar 410mg, while a venti Blonde Roast tops out at 475mg. The recommended daily intake of caffeine for adults is 400mg (via Mayo Clinic), but Starbucks has blown right by that number with other offerings. 

So what gives? A little digging on Starbucks Reddit turned up a thread from last February that dispelled the "excess amount of caffeine" myth and pinned reason to another possibility — since there's no ice added to the cup like in their regular cold brew, there's far more actual product in each cup in comparison, and keeping enough on hand in the stores could be difficult. There also may be a cost factor to consider, too. Perhaps pouring too much Nitro Cold Brew would eat up some of Starbucks' profits since there isn't much there to dilute the final product. 

So, if you love the Nitro Cold Brew at Starbucks, you're stuck with the smaller sizes, but if you really want a ton of caffeine, there are other options on the menu that will deliver a heftier dose.