Starbucks App Makes Waiting in Line For Coffee a Thing of the Past

— -- Want your venti pumpkin spice latte now but don't want to wait in that morning Starbucks line? There's an app for that.

The coffee chain announced today its app would begin supporting mobile ordering at 7,400 of its stores in the United States, giving users the opportunity to order and pay for their drinks before they even arrive at their local Starbucks.

An estimated pick-up time lets coffee drinkers know when their beverage should be ready so they can time their pick-up for when it's at its freshest. Starbucks estimates the typical wait time given in the app will average around 3-5 minutes at most stores, with the window depending on the number of mobile orders in the queue and what a person's order entails.

Here's the fun part: After the transaction is completed in the app, users can skip the line and instead head to the pick-up counter where they can ask a barista for their order.

Starbucks first tested the order and pay ahead system in Portland last year and later expanded it to 3,400 of its company-owned locations. The company declined to say what percentage of its orders in Portland, where the system has been in place for nine months, come from its mobile order and pay service.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.