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Do you remember the days when a Starbucks drink meant coffee with a splash of milk? Well, those don’t exactly exist anymore, and TikTok baristas are especially willing to showcase what the average drink looks like nowadays. Employees have started filming these unusually sweet creations, often displaying the printed order sticker while calculating the calories hiding inside the cup.

Naturally, the customers behind these drinks are getting thoroughly roasted in the comments. People aren’t shocked by someone ordering an occasional Frappuccino, either—they’re more in awe by beverages containing 12, 20, or even more pumps of sweetener. Once the calorie estimates and final prices appear onscreen, what looked like a coffee order starts attracting the attention normally reserved for an entire dessert cart.

An Astonishing Amount of Sugar

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Starbucks drinks can already be sweet before anyone looks into customization. A large seasonal drink with its standard toppings can approach 500 calories, while certain venti holiday orders have reached roughly 540 calories. Naturally, when you start dumping in extra syrups, cold foam, caramel drizzle (more often than not, extra caramel drizzle), and whipped cream, that all pushes the total higher.

The pumps are usually what cause viewers to pause the video. One typical pump of regular flavored syrup has roughly 20 calories and five grams of sugar, though that’s not the norm across the board. Thicker sauces can—and often do—contain more. So, when you’re looking at 12 pumps in one drink, you’re also looking at around 240 calories and 60 grams of sugar before the milk, foam, or toppings get counted.

In these videos, baristas pour syrup into the cup first, allowing any aghast viewer to watch it collect at the bottom of the cup. After 15 or 20 pumps, the sweetener eats up a surprisingly noticeable part of the container. Using the common estimate of 20 calories per pump, 20 pumps alone could add approximately 400 calories and 100 grams of sugar, although the exact figure varies with each concoction. That visual is exactly what garnered so many horrified comments. A person might not think twice about requesting caramel and vanilla, but seeing literal inches of syrup makes the order look very different. 

Customers Are Being Judged For More Than Calories

Most commenters aren’t even necessarily criticizing people for enjoying a sweet drink now and then. Who among us doesn’t indulge every so often? The backlash, though, begins when an order contains several times the standard number of syrup pumps, especially when sweet cream, drizzle, and whipped cream get added in there as well. 

Baristas also have practical reasons to complain about these so-called brews. Complicated mobile orders can require employees to move between several stations, locate ingredients, blend foam, measure powders, and reread a sticker packed with instructions. Elaborate social media drinks became increasingly common through mobile ordering, too, and Starbucks leadership has acknowledged that complicated orders can slow service and create longer waits.

That being said, there’s also some concern that public criticism can become unnecessarily personal. You never really know what people are doing with those things, and they could easily be dividing a concentrated drink into several servings, sharing it, or treating it as a rare indulgence rather than breakfast. Either way, people have had plenty to say. 

The Final Price Can Be Just As Shocking

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Calories aren’t the only numbers that pop up in these videos, either. No one said that the syrups and cookie crumble were free, and if anyone’s going to charge you an arm and a leg for the indulgence, it’s Starbucks. Depending on the location, a flavored latte or customized Frappuccino can already cost around $6, meaning a heavily customized dirty chai can clock in at $8.64.

Let’s not forget that Starbucks also changed parts of its customization pricing in June 2025. Adding a new syrup or sauce to a drink can carry an 80-cent charge, while extra matcha powder may cost $1 per scoop. Dried fruit can cost 50 cents per serving, and additional chai may add 80 cents. Charges depend on what the original beverage already includes, and prices continue to vary between stores.

Unless you’ve seen one of these videos, it’s hard to imagine all the extras the supposed average customer sticks into their drink. But we’re talking premium cold foam, extra espresso, matcha, fruit, and several flavor additions, all of which can total well beyond its menu price. Suddenly, that impulsive afternoon drink is nearing $10 while carrying hundreds of calories.

Ultimately, Starbucks will prepare an enormous range of custom orders because customization is part of its appeal. And that appeal has branched out into the court of public opinion, too, and customers shouldn’t be surprised when a 20-pump creation becomes internet entertainment. Order what you enjoy, but remember that TikTok’s baristas are watching, and they’ve already found the calculator.