Do hand-drawn Starbucks cups demand real coffee making skills?

Starbucks has revived hand-drawn doodles and handwritten greetings on takeaway cups as part of its "Back to Starbucks" strategy, rolling out in North America from March this year and spreading to domestic stores. Customers who receive the decorated paper cups say the gesture brings back the in-store feel of more than a decade ago, but many baristas report the extra work is exhausting and would rather see it stopped.

The pressure is unevenly spread. Employees without drawing ability say doodling on cups is harder than memorizing recipes, and the task adds time during busy shifts. Some customers have also questioned the hygiene of cups handled this way. The debate now pits the atmosphere customers value against the workload added to routine coffee making skills behind the counter.

Last year, Starbucks' new CEO introduced the "Back to Starbucks" strategy, and one element of it—hand-drawn doodles on takeaway cups—was first revived in North America starting in March this year, with domestic stores following suit. More and more customers are receiving paper cups adorned with cute designs or greetings when they pick up their orders, saying it brings back the familiar feeling from over a decade ago. However, this added service aimed at enhancing the in-store experience has put considerable pressure on many baristas who aren't good at drawing, with some saying it's more of a headache than memorizing recipes. At the same time, some consumers have raised concerns about the hygiene of hand-drawn cups. Behind a cup of doodles—is it a warm return or a sweet burden?

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"Look, there's a little cat drawn on my cup!" Recently, many people buying drinks at Starbucks have noticed playful or cute hand-drawn designs on their takeaway paper cups, making them smile involuntarily and snap a photo of this little surprise.

Long-time Starbucks fans, upon seeing the greetings written by baristas on the cups, feel as if they've traveled back over a decade—back then, store partners would also leave handwritten blessings on cups. However, as time went on, label stickers gradually replaced hand-drawn doodles, and such fun designs appeared less and less on takeaway cups.

After the new CEO took office last year, he proposed the overall plan of "Back to Starbucks," and "cup drawing" is one part of it. The initiative wasn't officially implemented until March this year, rolling out first in North America, and domestic Starbucks stores have also been influenced, with more and more customers receiving hand-drawn paper cups when making purchases in stores.

For consumers who receive hand-drawn cups, that familiar yet special "Starbucks atmosphere" has returned. They believe these cute and fun doodles bring good vibes, and they express approval and support for the brand's move to bring back hand-drawn cups.

However, while customers are posting their hand-drawn cups on social media and racking up likes, Starbucks baristas are starting to worry. For those with no drawing skills, doodling on cups is more of a headache than memorizing recipes. They admit they can't produce doodles that rival black-and-white comic art, but they also worry that drawings too crude or designs too plain will be seen by customers as perfunctory.

What's more, once a store suddenly hits a rush of orders, many employees say they can't even squeeze out time to write a blessing, let alone skillfully sketch a design on a cup in a few strokes. So those who struggle with drawing have taken to the internet to plead "stop drawing already," and some even proactively leave comments telling netizens who complain about sloppy barista drawings to contact customer service, hoping management that values customer experience will put an end to hand-drawn cups. "I really don't want to draw anymore, it's too exhausting."

Interestingly, besides Starbucks employees, some customers also frankly say they don't like doodled paper cups. "Honestly, if I'm buying a drink, I don't want drawings on my cup."

Perhaps the cute designs hand-drawn by baristas add a touch of fun to an otherwise plain paper cup, but in the eyes of some consumers, having their takeaway cup handled and fiddled with repeatedly by an employee just to draw a nice design feels a bit awkward—"it doesn't feel very hygienic."

In addition, some baristas use watercolor, colored pencils, and other pigments to color the designs on cups, but the finished cups may be stacked on cup racks, which makes some customers worry whether the inner walls of the paper cups might get stained with pigment after being stacked.

In response, some employees explained: according to operating standards, doodled paper cups are not allowed to be stacked, so customers needn't worry about the inner walls being contaminated. But they also mentioned that since they can't prepare a certain number of hand-drawn cups in advance, they can only pick up a cup and start drawing after receiving an order, and this added service does significantly affect drink-making efficiency.

In the eyes of employees, hand-drawn paper cups were originally just a casual doodle to add a little surprise for in-store customers, but now, because of their widespread praise, they've become a headache-inducing work task. Many lament that an added service that had already been discontinued really didn't need to be revived—it just adds to the workload.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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