Supersizing is Back!

Supersizing was all the rage in the 90s and early 2000s at McDonalds. For $0.39 more, you could upgrade to 7 oz. of French fries and a 42 fl. oz. soft drink. Customers are drawn to "more bang for your buck" concepts so "supersize" did very well in America. That is until the documentary "Super Size Me" and consumer groups demonstrated the negative health effects associated with consuming supersized meals. Finally, McDonalds retired the supersize option in late 2004.


16-oz Grande vs. 31-oz Trenta 
Well, "supersize" is still very much alive if we take a look at portion sizes offered at restaurants. But extra large portions may come back in a the form of supersized drinks... at a Starbucks near us soon.


Currently, the giant coffee chain is testing out Trenta, a 31 ouncer, at selected stores in Tampa and Phoenix. You read that right. 31 ounces of iced teas or iced coffees are necessary because Venti, the 24 ouncer, isn't enough. Iced tea or coffee by itself only has a few calories. But when sugary syrup or cream is added to drinks in these Trenta cups, we can expect each to carry at least 200 calories. Frothy coffee "dessert" drinks topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle can easily add up to 500 calories. Do Americans, or anyone on the planet for that matter, really need to ingest so much sugar and fat in liquid form?

Read more about Trenta here from msnbc.

Update: Stephen Colbert gave Trenta a "Tip of the Hat" on his show The Colbert Report on Wednesday night. He said, "it's their version of the Big Gulp, or in this case, the Big Twitch." Fast forward to the 12:45 mark to watch Colbert's hilarious commentary on Starbucks's Trenta.

Photo: Carl Lisciandrello