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Starbucks intentionally underfills its lattes by 25 percent, saving the coffee giant millions while ripping-off customers at the same time, a putative class action states.
Latte drinkers Siera Strumlauf and Benjamin Robles claim that Starbucks baristas follow a standardized recipe when it comes to making lattes. According to the plaintiffs, latte-makers are instructed to fill a pitcher with steamed milk up to an etched “fill to” line, then pour shots of espresso into a serving cup, pour the steamed milk into the serving cup, top the latte with milk foam and leave 1/4 inch of free space at the top.
However, the Starbucks class action alleges that the “fill to” lines don’t measure up to the supposed 12, 16, and 20 fluid ounce cup sizes offered to customers.
“Tall Lattes are not 12 fluid ounces, Grande Lattes are not 16 fluid ounces, and Venti Lattes are not 20 fluid ounces,” the class action states. “Starbucks cheats purchasers by providing less fluid ounces in their Lattes than represented.”
The plaintiffs say Starbucks made a conscious decision to underfill its lattes in 2009 in order to save on the cost of milk, which is one of its most expensive ingredients.
By giving baristas a “fill to” line, there is no room for deviation making every latte short by several ounces, the plaintiffs claim.
“Moreover, Starbucks refuses to fill any hot beverage up to the brim of the cup. Thus, under no circumstances will Starbucks ever serve a Grande Latte that actually meets the fluid ounces represented on the menu,” the Starbucks lawsuit states.
Strumlauf says she visits her local Starbucks in San Francisco one or two times each week spending $3.95 on a grande-size (16 fl. oz.) latte. She claims that the representation on Starbucks’ menu informs customers that the grande-sized latte would in fact contain 16 ounces. Strumlauf states that had she known the coffee drink would be less than 16 ounces she would have either paid less for it or not bought it at all.
Robles claims he too was cheated when he purchased an underfilled 16 ounce, grande-sized Starbucks Latte. The plaintiff says he relied on the representation of ounces offered by Starbucks when deciding to make his purchase not knowing the product was misrepresented.
The Starbucks lawsuit alleges that by underfilling lattes, the coffee company is in breach of express and implied warranties as well as liable for unjust enrichment.
If the class action lawsuit is approved, it will be open to all U.S. Class Members who purchased a Starbucks Latte. The plaintiffs also seek to represent a subclass of California residents who bought a latte from Starbucks.
Strumlauf and Robles are represented by L. Timothy Fisher, Julia A. Luster and Scott A. Bursor of Bursor & Fisher PA, and Gerald Healy and John Hafemann of Military Justice Attorneys PLLC.
The Starbucks Underfilled Latte Class Action Lawsuit is Siera Strumlauf, et al. v. Starbucks Corp., Case No. 3:16-cv-01306, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
UPDATE: On April 25, 2016, plaintiffs urged a California federal judge not to dismiss a class action lawsuit that accuses Starbucks Corp. of uniformly underfilling its lattes by 25 percent.
UPDATE 2: On May 26, 2016,Starbucks filed a motion with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigationto transfer all underfilled drinks class action lawsuits to Washington, arguing that it would be more convenient for depositions. UPDATE 3: On June 17, 2016, thisStarbucks class action lawsuit over underfilled lattes will continue, but with fewer claims and limitations on the available relief.UPDATE 4: On Aug. 5, 2016, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled that the class action lawsuits alleging Starbucks intentionally underfills lattes and other coffee drinkswill not be mergedinto one centralized case.UPDATE 5: On Oct. 17, 2017, the plaintiffs argued that the coffee company’s
motion to dismiss the Starbucks class action lawsuit is premature because it was filed during the discovery phase, in which the plaintiffs are attempting to learn the standard recipe formulations for Starbucks mochas and lattes.
UPDATE 6: On Jan. 5, 2018, a judge ruled in favor of Starbucks, in response to a class action lawsuit alleging that the popular coffee chain underfills its lattes.
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93 thoughts onStarbucks Class Action Says Lattes Are Intentionally Underfilled
What would happen if you underpaid for your coffee by a few cents every time? perhaps 7% or say $.35 for each coffee? would that be Ok with Starbucks? the sign states a certain price, just as the sign says a certain amount of coffee, but is that up for negotiation? hmmm
I live in Colorado, and I have experienced this in the last few months! I have several emails to managers, district managers AND regional managers, along with several pictures from different locations and dates that this has happened. All I received was denial from all management teams. I could never reach corporate. I too have been a customer with Starbucks for over 8 years, holding Gold Status year after year, spending thousands of verifiable funds with them! I knew I wasn’t imagining this shortage!
How ironic! I am in Colorado and this 3/4 cup fill on my Grande drink has been happening consistently the last few weeks. I let them know about it last week and I was told its because they have new employees. I am sure I am not the only one on this, but I work hard and a lot of hours and Starbucks is expensive, so I expect to get what I am paying for!
Buy Starbucks all the time this is unacceptable. Use a larger cup. DUH
This is nuts! You want to sue this company because the cup isn’t filled completely, but if the cup is overfilled you’d then want to claim you got burned because they overfilled it. This is ridiculous. I have an idea….if you don’t like the way they prepare your lattes…just stop buying them, you don’t sue the company for it!
Your logic is so wrong. If we don’t like being ripped off we should 1. Not enjoy Starbucks 2. Get over it and pay for something we didn’t receive. What a child you are. Or just an elitist that likes to throw money around.
To B that is replying and trying to make them look better – sorry, but its a rip off. I have complained about this so badly that they gave me 2 free drinks at my local SB. My husband always orders a drink with foam on the top, well foam is just that FOAM. By the time we sat to drink our drinks 1/4 of his cup was GONE. So yeah, that’s a complete and total rip off, so I order his drink with very light foam, but it is still a huge portion of his drink that isn’t even a drink at all. If you sell 20 oz. then your cup should be larger – you aren’t selling a 20oz cup with 18oz of drink. You are selling 20 oz of DRINK, so if your crap will spill, YOUR cup needs to be larger, or you drop the price to meet what Im buying.
I worked for a Starbucks years ago and for the iced drinks we were instructed to fill to the line that’s like 1/3 of the cup and then fill it with ice. Rip off! If you get a hot drink let it sit a minute and when the foam settles your drink will be way below the top of the cup!!
A bad way to do business.
Everyone here can munch my fartbox.
That sounds worse than drinking a half full week old Starbucks Coffee that was sitting under the bug light with a light breeze blowing on it. I for one am not munching anybodies fartbox. No sir, I am not a fartbox muncher now, I have never munched fartboxes in the past and I shan’t not be munching any in the future.
LMAO!!!!!
pig
I have been complaining about this same issue for over 3 years now. I always make them remake it. If they think they are saving money by cheating Me I will make sure it costs them double. I pay $5.04 per venti drink and I expect a venti drink not a grande.
I am frankly thrilled to see someone addressing this . I complain every time I get a latte. Same lame excuse including today when the barista said they are instructed by corporate to under fill to prevent spillage. This is not 1/4 inch. Sometimes my drink is down from the top over an inch. I at least try to get my 4 dollars worth by insisting they add more steamed milk, then I add more milk at the bar if they bother to have it out, and then another ounce of my own preferred creamer. They think the foam makes it look full but it’s not. I don’t go there often but when I do I check the beverage every time.
The underfilling can be addressed by using larger cups. We are getting ripped off!!!
Right bigger cups with a line inside that would meet the exact ounce we are paying for. Keep it simple …Smiles! :)
I’ve had to complain a few times to my local Starbucks over these issues. I’ve ordered lattes from Dunkin and have never been cheated out of my dunk. But every time I go to Starbucks 1/4 of my drink is missing when I leave the drive thru. And using the excuse that the drink could spill and burn you, it is a hot beverage, you take that risk and use common sense in handling the cup. Ripping people off is not the way to do it. And to the employee running her mouth on here, defending the company, 1- It’s bad for business. 2- I’d check with the company to be sure what you are doing can’t get you fired. As an employee in a management position for my company, we are not allowed to do what you are doing on here.