With the number of signature beverages on Starbucks menus expanding every year and every season, the chain draws in more customers and baristas have to familiarize themselves with more drinks. Memorizing the whole Starbucks menu and how to make each drink is such a tall order for employees, you may wonder if it's a requirement at all.

Most Starbucks stores only display a small portion of the menu, and there are about 87,000 different possible drink combinations when you factor in customization. Baristas do memorize the standard beverage list, but most of the drinks are based on a few simple formulas, so well-trained baristas can make almost any drink with ease.

A former Starbucks clerk shared her experiences with training on Quora, and stated that at her store, trainers taught newbies about the most basic drinks by using flashcards, before working their way up to memorizing more complex beverages. Other baristas make their own cheat sheets to study from until they're ready to sling drinks.