Starbucks Baristas Can’t Stand Making Drinks with Dome Lids—Here’s Why

It’s 3 p.m. and that mid-afternoon slump just hit like a ton of bricks, so it’s time for some coffee—and sugar. You take a break from work and decide to order one of the best drinks at Starbucks, like the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. The Starbucks barista whips up your order (literally, as Frapps are topped with whipped cream), and goes to put a Starbucks dome lid on the drink around the whip. Only to have the lid not fit on the cup again…and again, and again.

This particular struggle is surprisingly common among Starbucks employees, and according to many baristas, the dome lid can be the catalyst for iced drink disasters at the shop. Here’s how.

What’s wrong with the Starbucks dome lid?

The dome lid at Starbucks protects your pile of whip instead of squishing it down like a flat lid would, but the dome lid isn’t the easiest to work with. It hardly fits on the Starbucks cup—especially if you order a tall!

Recently, one Starbucks barista posted on TikTok showing how this particular struggle plays out, joking about “how many Starbucks baristas does it take to put a dome lid on a frappuccino” as a coworker hops in to assist.

@emmalaflair If you see your local baristas struggling, it’s the dome lids @starbucks #help #fixit #starbucks #sos #fypage ♬ original sound – Emma

They were unsuccessful in fitting the first lid on, the dome lid bending and breaking as they attempted to snap it on the top. The lid is tossed and they work to fit on the second. Some of the coffee spills onto the counter as they attempt to fit the lid on, thinking maybe they need to reach for a third, only to finally fit the lid on the cup in victory.

This attempt to get a dome lid on the cup was successful, but unfortunately, that’s not always the story when wrestling a dome lid on a Frappuccino. Starbucks baristas on Reddit have recalled times when trying to squeeze the dome lid on has caused the drink cup to fold over and all of the coffee goodness to spill out.

The dome lids not fitting on cups isn’t a new problem, either. Starbucks baristas have been complaining about it for years. And many months later, this struggle is still real.

How are baristas fixing the issue?

It takes too much time to wrestle a dome lid on a tall cup, so some Starbucks baristas have crafty solutions to make the process a little more successful—and faster during rush hour craziness.

First, the dome lids seem to fit better on the grande and venti cups. Reddit user u/vanillacakez writes “a good trick is to put [the tall cup] in a venti ice/grande cup and when the lid is on, take the other cup back out.”

Or, simply adding a second tall cup to stack underneath gives the barista more protection when trying to fit on a lid. “If I struggle with one – immediately, I pull out a second cup I’m not playing these games,” writes u/AgentPsychological44. With a sturdier base, fitting a dome lid on top allows for less iced coffee casualties all over the Starbucks counter and floor.

Does this mean you shouldn’t order a Starbys treat during the morning rush? Of course not—but maybe think about ordering a drink that won’t hold up the drive-thru line. A Frappuccino in a larger size (grande or venti) should be easier for a barista to fit that dome lid on…especially if you’re in a rush to get to the office. Or order a drink that doesn’t require a dome lid, like a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew or a Strawberry Açaí Refresher.

If you want a Frappuccino but don’t want to brave the lines at Starbucks, you could always make your own at home—like this caramel Frappuccino, this green tea Frapp for tea lovers or a copycat pumpkin spice Frappuccino.