Starbucks Drive Thru Menu Prices, 2001 vs. 2020

2001 Menu

In 2001, I snapped this photo and thought it would be neat to have a photo of a drive thru menu for Starbucks because it was weird. In 2001 coffee shops didn't typically have drive thrus. This drive thru menu stands out because it isn't backlit. It is just a paper menu with a long fluorescent bulb along the bottom. That font and color scheme makes it look even more like something out of the 1930s. There were no product photos on the menu.

2020 Menu

The Starbucks Drive thru menu in 2020 is now plastic, backlit with 28 product photos and tiny crisp black lettering on a white background. There are calorie counts. The prices are higher, but haven't doubled. Starbucks doesn't feature every little thing on the drive thru menu. For example, Iced Coffee isn't on there. Because every drink has a bunch of different sizes, prices and calorie counts, they conserve room. The menu does help make sure you know about new items. Half of the menu space is now dedicated to food items.

2001 Espresso

I'm not going to be able to compare prices of everything. I'll estimate that old favorites have gone up about 55% in price in the last 20 years. Starbucks bought Tazo Tea in 1999 for $8 million and helped make it into a household name.

2001 Drink Prices

Coffee $1.35, $1.55, $1.65
Latte: $2.30, $2.85, 3.15
Iced Caramel Machiatto: $2.65, $3.20, $3.50

2020 Espresso

Starbucks isn't really my thing. I never realized how many new styles of drink they have introduced to their menu over the years. Tazo tea has left the menu board. Starbucks sold Tazo Tea in 2017 for $18 million. Just kidding, it was $384 million.

2020 Drink Prices