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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
Ah, but the problem isn’t how full the cup is. The problem is that they are advertising a certain amount, i.e. 20 ounces or whatever. If they advertise 20 ounces for a certain price, then I should get 20 ounces, not 18 or 16 or whatever. If I’m a regular customer and buy a coffee each day on my way to work, that’s 5 cups of coffee. If I’m shorted 4 ounces each day (4×5) that’s 20 ounces or the equivalent of a drink. If that drink is $5, it becomes $20 a month or $240.00 a year. Its not the single short cup, its the accumulation of short cups, and that’s costly. The solution is to sell the ounces advertised, very simple.
I hear ya Angela. They should have lines inside the cup to know exactly where to fill.
Every coffee shop I’ve ever visited has never filled the coffee cup all the way to the top. At least not since that little old lady spilled her hot chocolate from McDonald’s on herself and she sued them. People have too much time on their hands to bitch and complain. Make your own damn coffee if you’re gonna bitch. You don’t see me suing McDonalds for my Big Mac not looking like the picture on the menu. And no, I don’t work at Starbucks either.
It isn’t just Starbucks doing this though they set the trend. It is so prevalent that I now will say to a coffee vendor that I would like a cappucino or latte, but not if you are going to serve me a cup of foam. If they say that is how they make it I walk away, but that is because I have been burned so many times at Starbucks and others. BTW, cappucino is supposed to be much darker than a latte and have little or no foam. Most vendors these days make them incorrectly. I look forward to becoming part of this lawsuit.
Cappuccino is by definition heavy foam. It’s darker because there’s less milk, not more coffee. Literally, look it up. The MAIN difference between a latte and cappuccino is that lattes are mostly milk and cappuccinos are mostly foam.
My mom and I started ordering our Grandes in a Venti cup. That way we were getting all the room we needed for our extras. Also when I order my Customized frap with 5 shots and 7 pumps w/ soy, it has to fit into a TresVenti cup and then sometimes they put even the rest into another small cup. This should be done. NOTHING should be thrown away. I paid for it.
While I do enjoy a Starbucks beverage every now and again, (especially on toll roads) it occurs to me that this lawsuit could bankrupt not only Starbucks but every chain restaurant that does not allow free refills. The most obvious solution is to allow free refills or to top off the beverage. After all, there is only so much coffee one can hold. It’s common to under fill beverages with plastic lids on them so they don’t leak on customers clothing. This seems a little frivolous. While technically correct it isn’t like anybody actually gives a real rip. Did the plaintiffs bother to ask the store to right this terrible wrong against society? Or did they jump right to lawsuit? It was reported that there is a fill line inside the cup, that seems to be the amount of beverage one could expect in a latte’.I know they always fill the coffee up. How else would one make room for the foam? Perhaps Starbucks could remove the oz. indication on each cup. I’m not sure this is going to do anything but bankrupt alot of small business people. This is one time I can’t get onboard.
Not happy – sign me up
Mine is under filled every time and I have complained many times.Its been like that since Iv been going to Starbucks for over 5 years now.
Sign me up
The simple solution would be for a company to make their cups LARGE enough to accomadate the need to fill the cup to hold the appropriate amount of liquid and have the level needed to accomadate the room to prevent overfilling … In other words if you are going to offer a 16 oz cup of beverage , make the cup 17oz … Of course that would cost money and we all know Starbucks is so low on the profit margin !!!! Lol
yes, the 16oz is never filled I have to ask in many times to busy on the go, what other companies do this??? I am a shareholder of Starbucks! Wait until the next shareholders meeting! This is a lifestyle issue and I trusted that Starbucks will do the right thing! Get everyone 2 free cups of coffee!