It really is faster to just put everything except milk into the blender pitcher and then pour just enough milk to cover ice without it floating and blend. If no one is watching me I never use the cups. And my Frappuccinos are perfect every single time with minimal waste.

But you can’t get the same consistency with that. In my 9 years I’ve only met two other partners that could do this consistently. Most will end up short or with waaaaay too much liquid in the blender so I really don’t recommend this.

And if incredibly understaffed I do skip shaking most teas and refreshers. Just swirl them a lot on my way to hand off. Except the coconut milk drinks, those look horrible if you don’t shake them.