Mormon Guide to Starbucks

[Quin]

Okay... I bumped the home button with my nose (arm in a sling means I contort a bit, here)... And came across this article.

I'm a little disturbed:

1) Mocha = Chocolate + COFFEE

2) Frappuccino Syrup = COFFEE + other stuff

(The "creme" ones don't have frappuccino mix in them, and are fine. Strawberry & Creme, Vanilla, etc. But the article recommends a couple of the coffee based ones, which surprised me).

There are a lot of drinks at Starbucks that don't have coffee in them...

But many of the ones in the article do, in fact, have coffee in them.

Including the hot chocolate ordered with MOCHA (noooooooooooo!) syrup. It's fairly easy to ask for chocolate syrup, or he yucky powder based cocoa. Not that I'd recommend yucky powder, but at least it doesn't break the WoW.

Q

[Lakumi]

There is only 1 type of tea I enjoy and that's chai (an indian tea I only ever have at indian resturants and...whenever I one day make it to India)

Coffee, there's a pumpkin spice latte, but coffee especially makes me jittery and I dislike it.

Though I always found Starbucks overpriced and so-so.

I got a 3.50 lemonade once, ate every icecube in it too.

[pam]

I checked each of these out the first day that this article came out and talked to a friend of mine that manages a Starbucks. The drinks mentioned in the article do not contain coffee at all.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Quin, I don't believe frappuchino has coffee...it seems like just crushed ice with flavorings.

 

I love this article because I live in the land of Starbucks.  I shared it on my FB page.

[pam]

I'm all about the Strawberries and Cream

[Guest]

I checked each of these out the first day that this article came out and talked to a friend of mine that manages a Starbucks. The drinks mentioned in the article do not contain coffee at all.

Pam, I'm a Starbucks regular. Mocha-flavored anything in Starbucks has coffee... The mocha syrup is made with a 1:1 ratio of cocoa powder and coffee powder mixed with sugar and vanilla.

[Dravin]

I just shot them an email asking. The mocha syrups sold online don't contain coffee but it is possible the stuff behind the counter is formulated differently.

[pam]

Pam, I'm a Starbucks regular. Mocha-flavored anything in Starbucks has coffee... The mocha syrup is made with a 1:1 ratio of cocoa powder and coffee powder mixed with sugar and vanilla.

 

Actually the only drink mentioned in the article that mentions mocha is the the Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended cream.  It's not made with coffee. They use a cream base per my friend that manages a Starbucks on this particular drink.

 

It may be true of their other "mocha" drinks but not of this one and this is the only drink in the article that mentions mocha.

 

*edit* She just told me that's why this drink is popular in Utah among Mormons.

[Guest]

Actually the only drink mentioned in the article that mentions mocha is the the Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended cream. It's not made with coffee. They use a cream base per my friend that manages a Starbucks on this particular drink.

It may be true of their other "mocha" drinks but not of this one and this is the only drink in the article that mentions mocha.

*edit* She just told me that's why this drink is popular in Utah among Mormons.

The first two says it is flavored with mocha syrup.... Yes, you can get them without the mocha syrup.... You can choose what syrup to put on them. Mocha syrup has coffee. Chocolate syrup just has the chocolate. Now, there's something they sell off the shelf called Mocha chocolate sauce. This is not mocha syrup - which is a coffee+chocolate syrup. The mocha chocolate sauce is the chocolate you add to coffee to make mocha so it doesn't have the coffee... Make sense?

So, on the article, mentioning mocha syrup in the first two items kinda gives the impression that mocha syrup is LDS-compliant... Also the one item that has coffee as one of the main ingredients should not just have a disclaimer. It should be simply removed.

Tons of good non-coffee things in Starbucks... But Starbucks is a coffee shop...

[Wingnut]

The mocha chocolate sauce is the chocolate you add to coffee to make mocha so it doesn't have the coffee... Make sense?

No, not really.  You add mocha to coffee to make it not have coffee?

[Wingnut]

Also the one item that has coffee as one of the main ingredients should not just have a disclaimer. It should be simply removed.

That one is confusing.  Here's the text from the LDS.net article:

Caramel Ribbon Crunch Creme Frappuccino – A creamy blend of milk and ice with four kinds of caramel. Be careful while ordering! The “Caramel Frappuccino” comes with coffee.

That link goes to Starbucks' own page for the drink, where the first words in the description are "All caramel, no coffee."  So really, I don't know why the author even wrote that it comes with coffee.

[Guest]

No, not really.  You add mocha to coffee to make it not have coffee?

 

No... mocha chocolate sauce is an ingredient to making mocha...  it's the chocolate part of mocha...

 

Okay... mocha is 1 part chocolate to 1 part coffee.  Okay, if you make your own, you can actually make it any part chocolate to any part coffee.  But, that's what mocha is - chocolate and coffee together.

 

So... to make Starbucks tasting mocha drink at home, you take any flavor Starbucks coffee from the shelf for your coffee ingredient and add mocha chocolate sauce for your chocolate ingredient.  Mocha chocolate sauce is chocolate syrup designed especially for use in making mochas.

 

This is different from the mocha syrup that they add to hot chocolate.  The mocha syrup flavoring to any drink adds mocha (chocolate and coffee) flavor to whatever drink you're ordering.  If you just want the chocolate and not the coffee, you order it with chocolate syrup, not mocha syrup.

[Guest]

That one is confusing.  Here's the text from the LDS.net article:

Caramel Ribbon Crunch Creme Frappuccino – A creamy blend of milk and ice with four kinds of caramel. Be careful while ordering! The “Caramel Frappuccino” comes with coffee.

That link goes to Starbucks' own page for the drink, where the first words in the description are "All caramel, no coffee."  So really, I don't know why the author even wrote that it comes with coffee.

 

I just reread that part.  At first I thought they were saying the Caramel Frap is on the list too... but upon second reading, I'm fairly certain they're saying that the Caramel Frapuccino comes with coffee... so be careful in ordering to make sure you specify that you want the Ribbon Crunch Creme and not just the Caramel Frap.

[pam]

I just reread that part.  At first I thought they were saying the Caramel Frap is on the list too... but upon second reading, I'm fairly certain they're saying that the Caramel Frapuccino comes with coffee... so be careful in ordering to make sure you specify that you want the Ribbon Crunch Creme and not just the Caramel Frap.

 

That's exactly what the article means.  :)

[pam]

Okay this is from a manager at Starbucks Corp.  If it states there is caffeine in the drink, it contains coffee.  No caffeine is coffee free.

 

We will be making an edit to the article with clarification on this.

 

 

*edit*  Please refer now to our official statement regarding this which can be found on the article itself:

 

http://lds.net/blog/buzz/mormons-guide-starbucks/

 

Update Tuesday May 20 12:25pm: There has been some controversy concerning the accuracy of this article. We stand by the statements made. Our facts were verified by the Supervisor of Corporate Customer Relations at Starbucks Headquarters in New Mexico. There is no coffee in the official recipes of any of the drinks listed in this article. If coffee is added, it is the mistake of the barista. We reaffirm our earlier advice to always request no coffee to ensure there are no mistakes.

[The Folk Prophet]

My guide to Starbucks = just stay out entirely. What is there that isn't a breech of the word of wisdom is still a far cry from healthy. And I don't go to bars even though they may serve stuff other than alcohol.

 

Yeah, I know. I'm a conservative nut.

[The Folk Prophet]

Okay this is from a manager at Starbucks Corp.  If it states there is caffeine in the drink, it contains coffee.  No caffeine is coffee free.

 

We will be making an edit to the article with clarification on this.

 

Interesting. All of the items that showed mocha syrup as an ingredient did show caffeine content, including the hot cocoa.

[Guest]

My guide to Starbucks = just stay out entirely. What is there that isn't a breech of the word of wisdom is still a far cry from healthy. And I don't go to bars even though they may serve stuff other than alcohol.

 

Yeah, I know. I'm a conservative nut.

 

I'm a Starbucks regular because it's the one place next to my kid's school that has reliable wifi that won't chase me out the door after 2 hours... So, I drop my kid off at school, work at Starbucks for 6 hours, then pick up my kid from school.  Of course, I can't just sit there for 6 hours without ordering anything... I've gotten the hang of this thing they call a Protein Bento Box even though it doesn't come with rice.  :)

[pam]

We're calling Starbucks back asking about the hot chocolate.  It does say it's made with mocha syrup.

[Wingnut]

Every time I've had hot chocolate from Starbucks, it's tasted coffee-ish.  None of the other drinks (even those with caffeine) that I've had have even a hint of coffee or mocha flavor to me.

[Guest]

Every time I've had hot chocolate from Starbucks, it's tasted coffee-ish.  None of the other drinks (even those with caffeine) that I've had have even a hint of coffee or mocha flavor to me.

 

The "default" base to the Starbucks hot chocolate is mocha syrup.  But, you can order the hot chocolate with chocolate sauce instead of mocha syrup.  You just need to tell the person making it.

[The Folk Prophet]

Maybe this should go in the 'I Wonder' thread...but, I wonder how many good and faithful Mormons have accidentally broken the word of wisdom by patronizing Starbucks. I refer back to my first post: Generally speaking, just stay away. :)

[pam]

The "default" base to the Starbucks hot chocolate is mocha syrup.  But, you can order the hot chocolate with chocolate sauce instead of mocha syrup.  You just need to tell the person making it.

The problem with some of this is that those that aren't savvy on these kinds of things may not know to do this.

[Guest]

Maybe this should go in the 'I Wonder' thread...but, I wonder how many good and faithful Mormons have accidentally broken the word of wisdom by patronizing Starbucks. I refer back to my first post: Generally speaking, just stay away. :)

 

A lot, I'm thinking.  Evidence is the article on lds.net. 

 

Me, personally, I eat at the bar when there's a 45-minute wait for a table.  I'm practical like that.

[Guest]

The problem with some of this is that those that aren't savvy on these kinds of things may not know to do this.

 

Yeppers!

 

That's why I mentioned on one of my posts... Starbucks is a coffee shop.  It is safer to assume that the drink on the menu has coffee than not.  So, unless it specifically says it has no coffee (all the Frapaccino Cremes are advertised as non-coffee drink), then assume it has.

 

And another thing - LDS folks choosing to go to Starbucks need to familiarize themselves with the terms used... like what is mocha, espresso, machiatto, americana, etc. etc... which are all different types of coffee.

 

I just happen to have a friend who manages the Starbucks I go to who knows I'm Mormon and covenanted to avoid coffee.  So she makes sure to recommend only non-coffee things.  She also knows my kid is allergic to cow milk, so she only makes Almond or Soy milk drinks for him.