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Types of Drinking Straws

Last updated on May 15, 2024
The type of drinking straw you use is as important to a customer's drinking experience as the beverage itself. Adding a unique drinking straw can be a fun and affordable way of enhancing a beverage or cocktail. This guide will go over the types of straws and different sizes of straws available so you can be sure you are stocking up on the right kinds for the beverages you offer.

Shop All Drinking Straws

Use the following links to navigate this guide and learn more about drinking straws:
  1. Straw Sizes
  2. Plastic Straw Alternatives
  3. Types of Drink Stirrers
  4. Drinking Straw Styles
  5. Straw Dispensers and Storage Options

Straw Sizes

There are several different sizes of drinking straws. From smallest to largest, the straw sizes are classified as school milk, jumbo, super jumbo, giant, boba, and colossal. Each has a different diameter, which means they are all used for drinking different beverages. For example, colossal straws are extra large beverage straws that are best for thicker drinks like smoothies, milkshakes, bubble tea, or slushies, whereas school milk straws are much shorter in length, smaller in diameter, and are best for use with milk and juice cartons or kids' drinks.

We've listed the diameters below for each straw size. For reference, the standard drinking straw diameter is 0.25".

1. School Milk Straws: 0.13" Diameter

2. Jumbo Straws: 0.219" Diameter

3. Super Jumbo Straws: 0.25" Diameter

4. Giant Straws: 0.296" Diameter

5. Boba Straws: 0.375" Diameter

6. Colossal Straws: 0.47" Diameter

Straw diameter chart
Restaurant Equipment
  • Ideal for milk, water, and juice
  • 0.13” diameter
Restaurant Equipment
  • Ideal for water, juice, and soda
  • 0.219” diameter
Restaurant Equipment
  • Perfect for thick drinks like milkshakes, slushies, and frappes
  • 0.25” diameter
Restaurant Equipment
  • Ideal for thick drinks like smoothies, milkshakes, and floats
  • 0.296” diameter
Restaurant Equipment
  • Ideal for bubble tea, smoothies, and milkshakes
  • 0.375" diameter
Restaurant Equipment
  • Perfect for extra-thick drinks and drinks with add-ins
  • 0.47” diameter

Plastic Straw Alternatives

It is estimated that Americans alone use around 500 million single-use plastic straws a day. As a result, straw bans have been enacted across the United State in an effort to reduce ocean pollution. Replacing plastic straws with eco-friendly alternatives is a simple, cost-effective way to go green in your restaurant. Some plastic straw alternatives include:

Restaurant Equipment
  • Stands up to the wear and tear of everyday use
  • Can be washed and used again
  • Reusable design is cost-effective
  • Provide a stylish, modern look to help make beverages shine
  • Environmentally friendly and long-lasting
  • Available in stainless steel, acrylic, and glass materials
Restaurant Equipment
  • Break down at a much faster rate than plastic, providing guests with a guilt-free way to sip
  • Often colorful and feature fun designs to brighten up any drink
  • Withstand hot or cold use
  • Styles come wrapped or unwrapped
  • Various sizes available
Restaurant Equipment
  • Constructed from renewable resources including starch, sugarcane, or cassava roots
  • Durable and conveniently disposable, making them a perfect solution for any business looking for simple environmentally friendly solutions
  • Looks and feels just like traditional plastic straws, making it ideal for establishments looking to continue to use plastic without guilt
  • When properly composted, these straws break down much faster than traditional plastic; they have no environmental benefit if disposed of without composting
Restaurant Equipment
  • Provide a sustainable solution while maintaining their strength and remaining tasteless
  • Made with wheat and water, making them suitable for vegans
  • Can be cut to any length for your drinks, and are even safe for consumption
  • Stay intact without softening for over an hour
  • Only meant for use with cold beverages
Restaurant Equipment
  • 100% compostable
  • Can be used in hot beverages
  • Never become soggy in drinks
  • Each straw is different from the last, providing an eye-catching, appealing straw for guests
  • Available in multiple sizes
Restaurant Equipment
  • Perfect for use in smoothies, shakes, juices, and cocktails
  • Can be eaten after the drink is finished to enhance your customer's overall experience
  • Eco-friendly and plastic-free
  • Only meant for use with cold beverages
Restaurant Equipment
  • Great for use with cold drinks
  • Available in many sizes to fit different cups
  • Eliminates the need for a straw, providing both an eco-friendly and cost-saving benefit
  • Often features a compostable design 

Plastic Straw Bans

Environmentally friendly straws have increased in demand since the rise of straw bans around the globe. Several cities in the states of New York, Washington, New Jersey, Florida, Hawaii, and California have already established, or are in the process of establishing, a ban on the use of plastic straws in local businesses. In addition, some states, such as Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island, are considering asking restaurants to only give plastic straws to those who ask for one.

Types of Drink Stirrers

If you own a bar or restaurant that regularly serves cocktails, you may find yourself in need of mixed drink stirrers so customers can stir drinks and keep them from settling and separating.

Restaurant Equipment
  • Also known as sip straws or cocktail straws
  • Ideal for stirring hot or cold beverages, cocktails, or mixed drinks
  • Often used by bartenders to test a drink before serving
Restaurant Equipment
  • Long to accommodate drinks in taller glasses, like the Collins glass
  • Popular for stirring tall mixed drinks and cocktails
  • Great addition to restaurants, bars, or outdoor patios
Restaurant Equipment
  • Ideal for stirring in milk, cream, or sugar into hot beverages
  • Most can also be used as mixed drink stirrers
  • Great for coffee shops, hotels, office break rooms, and bars

Drinking Straw Styles

Whether you own a restaurant, bar, smoothie shop, or cafe, straws are an essential part of your drink service. There are various features and styles to look for when choosing the right straws for your establishment.

Restaurant Equipment
  • Offer a twistable and bendable design to provide convenient handling
  • Keeps the kids entertained with a straw they can bend as they please
  • Can be used to assist customers with limited dexterity
  • Come in a variety of sizes, styles, and colors, including popular crazy straws and straws with ornamental paper decorations 
Restaurant Equipment
  • Great for slushies, snow cones, smoothies, milkshakes, and other ice cream treats that you could eat with either a spoon or a straw
  • Open-ended feature doubles as a small spoon, which is both convenient for thick drinks and fun to use
  • Offered in a variety of sizes and colors
Restaurant Equipment
  • Great solution for busy cafeterias and fast food restaurants
  • Straws stay clean and untouched until ready for use
  • Provide better protection against the spread of bacteria than unwrapped straws
  • Available in a wide selection of sizes and a variety of colors
Restaurant Equipment
  • Adds a pop of color to your tabletop or your to-go cups
  • Available in individual colors as well as assorted packs
  • Various styles and sizes, including flexible straws, colossal straws, and paper straws

Straw Dispensers and Storage Options

The final step in choosing the straws for you bar or restaurant is selecting the proper dispenser to house them safely. Straw dispensers make sure that sanitation is always a priority, keeping dust and bacteria away from straws while they are in storage. Here are just some of the types of straw dispensers you can choose from to meet your establishment's needs.

Restaurant Equipment

Allow for wrapped straws to descend easily out of the dispenser

Restaurant Equipment

Dispense one unwrapped straw at a time to keep the others sanitary

Restaurant Equipment

Provides access to straws from either side of a cafeteria line

Restaurant Equipment

Perfect for setting on individual tables

Restaurant Equipment

Nostalgic look is perfect for diners or ice cream shops

Restaurant Equipment

Beverage supplies organizers are ideal for self-service counters

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