Baristas Wish You Would Stop Adding This To Your Cold Drinks

Step one: Order your grande cold brew (unsweetened, please) from the barista at the Starbucks counter, somehow managing to avoid the siren song of the fresh-baked cookies in the display case. Step two: Wait for your name to be called out — most likely it will be spelled wrong. Step three: Carry your drink over to the cream and sugar station to doctor it to your liking. Unless you're someone who drinks their iced coffee (or iced tea) black, that's likely what your average trip to Starbucks — or any coffee shop, for that matter — looks like.

However, there's one step of that process that makes baristas everywhere gasp in horror. And surprisingly, it's not the ridiculous number of modifications you ask for at the register — it's actually what you do after you get your drink. Here's the common mix-in that baristas wish you wouldn't stir into your cold beverages, and what you should be adding instead.

Before you tear open that packet of sugar, hold up — baristas everywhere are begging you to reconsider stirring sugar or a similar sweetener into your ice cold beverage. Not because it's bad for you, but because it won't dissolve as well as it would in a hot coffee or tea. "While I would never judge a customer's drink order, I did genuinely cringe any time I saw someone dump a packet of sugar into their iced coffee," a former barista confessed to Bon Appétit, explaining that no matter how much you stir said sugar, it'll just sink to the bottom of your cup. 

Business Insider confirms this, adding that sugar has a higher solubility in hotter temperatures. A better solution? The same barista told Bon Appétit she's a big fan of simple syrups. They'll sweeten your drink while dissolving quickly and easily, so you won't end up with a mouthful of sugar on your final sip.