Ever go to a coffee place and have no clue what to order or what is good on the menu? Well, we went to every café on campus and in downtown State College to ask baristas for their go-to orders.

Starbucks

Since there are four Starbucks on and around campus, it’s only appropriate to visit all four and ask what their favorite orders are.

Jess at the Starbucks in Paterno Library says her go-to order is a grande iced latte with blonde ristretto espresso shots, 2% milk, two pumps of toffee nut syrup, and two pumps of caramel syrup.

Jackie, who works in the HUB, loves the new shaken iced espresso with brown sugar syrup and oat milk. For this drink, baristas will queue espresso shots, fill an iced drink shaker with ice and brown sugar syrup, add the espresso, and shake it, which makes the espresso ~foamy~. After that, oat milk is added to top it off.

Jackie’s HUB co-worker, Jay Jay, orders a double shot over ice, with one pump of white mocha sauce, one pump of toffee nut syrup, and just a splash of creamer. A double shot is another term for a shaken espresso, so similarly to Jackie’s drink, baristas will pour shots, ice, and syrups into the drink shaker, shake, and pour in the creamer.

Rachel from the Starbucks on West College Ave. loves hot lattes with soy milk and hazelnut syrup, while Tim from Garner Street orders an iced americano. Iced americanos are normally made with espresso, cold filtered water, and ice.

Dunkin’ Donuts

Erin from Dunkin’ Donuts said her favorite is an iced coffee with vanilla syrup and oat milk. At Dunkin’, baristas queue shots of espresso, add syrup, add ice, and pour cold milk into a cup.

Bagel Crust

Amy loves iced coffee with vanilla and almond milk. At Bagel Crust, baristas will add syrup, pour iced coffee, add milk of choice and top it off with a scoop of ice.

Saint’s Cafe

Grace orders a breve latte. Breve means that the barista uses half and half milk in their drink. They will steam the milk and add espresso to the drink.

Meanwhile, Sydnie orders the perfect simple caffeine boost: an espresso!

Crust & Crumb Cafe

Julian from Crust and Crumb orders a lavender vanilla coffee. This order uses Crust and Crumb’s lavender vanilla syrup and hot brewed coffee.

Irving’s Bagels

Diana orders an iced latte with oat milk and caramel syrup. Irving’s iced lattes are similar to the iced lattes previously mentioned by Starbucks.

Oat milk started to become popular this year, as big coffee corporations like Starbucks and Dunkin’ have made it a milk substitute. Because I was curious and have never tried oat milk, I ordered Diana’s coffee, and it was amazing!

Duck Donuts

Abby gets an iced latte with white mocha, Cinnabon syrup, and a splash of cream. Duck Donuts makes its iced lattes with espresso, syrup, cold milk, and ice. For this drink, baristas use Cinnabon syrup and white mocha syrup, along with creamer.

Dillon gets an iced latte with caramel syrup and almond milk. Again, they make this latte with caramel syrup and cold almond milk.

Webster’s Bookstore Cafe

Matt from Webster’s gets a brown cow latte. It is normally made with espresso and steamed Myer’s chocolate milk.

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The common theme in all these coffees? You can never go wrong with an iced latte, your favorite syrup, and your milk of choice. And it never hurts to just get whatever the barista’s favorite drink is.

What’s your go-to coffee order? Let us know in the comments!