How Long Should a Latte Take to Make? Starbucks Gives Baristas a Time Limit for Crafting Orders Starbucks has reportedly set drink-making goal times for its baristas. Here's how long your next order could take.

By Erin Davis

Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Miami, Florida, Miami International Airport, Starbucks Coffee shop with line of customers waiting to order.

Four minutes is the new goal time for your Starbucks order, even during rush hour.

According to training documents viewed by Bloomberg News, in-store and drive-thru orders should be crafted within four minutes of being placed. The wait for mobile and delivery orders should be ready within 12 minutes of purchase time.

Related: 'We're Not Effective': Starbucks CEO Tells Corporate Employees to 'Own Whether or Not This Place Grows'

Starbucks also recently reduced the maximum number of drinks that can be placed on a mobile order, from 15 to 12. Bloomberg previously reported that Starbucks is testing an algorithm to sequence mobile orders with pickup time slots.

It is not known if there were goal times for crafting drinks previously, though it has not been reported if so.

As part of CEO Brian Niccol's effort to turn around the coffee giant's lagging sales, Starbucks has made a spate of recent changes, including adding ceramic mugs for people who want to hang around, revamping its code of conduct, and plans to reduce the menu by 30% in the fall, a.k.a. Pumpkin Spice Latte season. The coffeehouse already cut 13 drinks from its menu earlier this month.

Starbucks also laid off 1,100 corporate workers in February.

Starbucks has around 11,000 company-owned stores in North America.

Related: Starbucks' New CEO Can Make Up to $113 Million His First Year

Erin Davis

BIZ Experiences Staff

Trending News Writer

Want to be an BIZ Experiences Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Starting a Business

These Brothers Started a Business to Improve an Everyday Task. They Made Their First Products in the Garage — Now They've Raised Over $100 Million.

Coulter and Trent Lewis had an early research breakthrough that helped them solve for the right problem.

Franchise

How to Prepare Your Business — And Yourself — For a Smooth Exit

After decades of building your business, turning it over to someone else can be emotional. But with the right mindset and a strong plan, it can also be your proudest moment.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for BIZ Experiencess to pursue in 2025.

Franchise

10 No-Office-Required Businesses You Can Start for as Little as $5,000

With strong Franchise 500 rankings and investment levels starting under $5,000, these brands are ready for new owners to hit the ground running.

Business News

Here Are the 10 Jobs AI Is Most Likely to Automate, According to a Microsoft Study

These careers are most likely to be affected by generative AI, based on data from 200,000 conversations with Microsoft's Copilot chatbot.