The Raised Dots On The Bottom Of Starbucks Cups Play A Very Important Role

If you've ordered a cold beverage from a Starbucks store in the U.S. or Canada recently, you may have noticed some raised dots along the bottom edge of the new Starbucks cold cups, and may have wondered what they were all about. Although the raised dots (or bumps) are not Braille as some online commenters on Reddit have speculated, they are included to help those with low visibility easily figure out what size cup they are dealing with, and "signify different sizes that can be felt with a swipe of the thumb," according to a Starbucks statement about its new cups. For example, a tall cup will have one dot, while a grande will have two, and a venti has three dots.

Designed by a lab inside the Tryer Center, Starbucks' center of innovation in Seattle, these cups were launched in April 2024 with a gradual rollout throughout the rest of the year. In addition to the raised dots, they also feature embossed sizes on the bottom, so baristas can determine which size they are grabbing by feel alone. On top of the accessibility features, these new cold cups are also more sustainable, and use between 10% and 20% less plastic, depending on the size of the Starbucks cup.

These new cold cups are an example of Starbucks achieving a part of its Commitment to Access and Disability Inclusion, namely what the company calls, "[p]ackaging that is easy to distinguish by touch or clear visual markers." Nor are the cups the only plans that Starbucks has for improving accessibility and inclusiveness. For hard of hearing and deaf individuals, Starbucks already has several unique community stores that are signing stores (where every partner, or employee, at the store is fluent in American Sign Language, and some partners are deaf or hard of hearing), including in Washington, D.C., Jakarta, and Guangzhou. 

Washington, D.C. is also home to the first Starbucks store built as part of the chain's Inclusive Spaces Framework. Accessible features for the visually impaired include a new point-of-sale system that offers an adjustable angle stand, screen magnification, and voice assist, adjustable lighting, a large order status board, and the Aira app, which connects blind or low-vision customers to visual interpreters to help them get around the store, along with more accessible equipment for partners, featuring larger dials, light notification, and visual and haptic confirmations. According to Starbucks, all new and renovated stores operated by the company will start incorporating the framework going forward.