17 October 2023 , 10:09
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Coffee lovers have been praised for sharing a money saving hack to get Starbucks custom order drinks using the coffee chain’s app. Sophia Celentano, 21, from South Carolina shared how she spent just $3.82 (£3.13) on her large customized iced latte, which usually costs just under $5 (£4.11).
The University of Virginia student, who went viral over the summer for commuting to her internship by plane. On TikTok she is known as @sophiacelentano48 and has more than 39,000 followers. The secret, according to Celentano, is to order an iced triple espresso in a venti cup using the Starbucks app, topped with your choice of cool foam or cream.
The drink itself cost $3.25 (£2.67) and included the choice of milk while the cold foam was an additional $1.25 (£1.03). “Usually, this drink ends up being right under $5,” she explained. “But if you have 25 stars in your account, which really isn't that hard to get, you can customize your drink for free.”
When a user scans their member barcode in the Starbucks Rewards app, they receive one star for every dollar spent. Celentano was able to get the cold foam for free because she already had 25 stars on her account.
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“So this drink was literally less than $4 (£3.29), and I usually end up spending at least double that,” she said: “I just love that you can customize this. You can use whatever creamer you want. You can add in whatever cold foams they have in stock”
“I've been switching back and forth between the cinnamon sweet cream one and the pumpkin cream one for fall. I am a bitter coffee girl, so I love the fact that this actually has a strong coffee taste with the espresso shots.”
For someone who likes "things that are more sweet," she recommended getting "the blonde roast instead of the signature roast." “Honestly, I think this is better than a lot of their signature lattes that end up being $8. My life changed when I figured out this hack.”
Since it was published on October 5, Celentano's video has received more than 61,000 views and dozens of comments. “I’ve been doing this for like 5 years and it’s literally my favourite way to get Starbs. It’s definitely for people who like the coffee taste!” one fan responded. “I tried this hack yesterday and loved it,” another added.