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Starbucks Can Kiss My ....

Poppi

By Poppi
in Gluten-Free Restaurants

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plumbago Experienced
plumbago
Posted

Thanks for that perspective Sarie Sue. The three plastic sacks of ingredients I looked at did not at all seem to have been made in the store since they came with writing on the bag. Also it is possible, during a down time, to ask the staff to clean a blender for you. I did.

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  • Replies 66
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Marilyn R Community Regular
Marilyn R
Posted

Thanks for that perspective Sarie Sue. The three plastic sacks of ingredients I looked at did not at all seem to have been made in the store since they came with writing on the bag. Also it is possible, during a down time, to ask the staff to clean a blender for you. I did.

I make my own coffee and chocolate syrup by scratch for less than it costs for a "straight" coffee at Starbucks, and make some delicious drinks in my blender. Sometimes it's about being social though. :)

mbrookes Community Regular
mbrookes
Posted

I haven't been to a Starbucks either. I love coffe... but at those prices? No thanks.

  • 4 weeks later...
cougie23 Explorer
cougie23
Posted

Maybe this has changed, but I used to work in a Starbucks and received no training re: gluten free. We washed those blenders constantly, but only by hand through most of the day and at lightning speed - more of a rinse. I wouldn't trust it at all unless all the syrups and other ingredients were gluten-free. I'm pretty sure they are not. As for refusing to show you the info, that's weird customer service. I'd report him to his manager. Maybe he didn't know where to find the info and didn't want to tell you that.

When I worked at star bucks..years ago...they didn't even teach us how to make any thing!!! Let alone anything about washing the utentsils or mechines...we had a three hour introductry course on the history of coffee... but nothing on how to MAKE the actual product! The first day on the job they handed me the COMUNAL book of recipies...and threw me in the mix...so to speak!!! forget about anything on cc...milk..gluten...soy or otherwise!!!

years later..by pure acident I found out that SOME stores soak their backery products in PEANUT oil!!! MY SON GOES TO THE HOSPITAL OVER PEANUT OIL!!! I'm GLAD I ASKED!!! No WARNING signs about it or anything!!! And that allergy is more publicly known than ours!!!

Its AMAZING the IGNORANCE out there!!! Especially for such a BIG company! :blink::blink::angry:

cougie23 Explorer
cougie23
Posted

I agree with you on that. As I said, I only have these things once in a while. The oatmeal is for the kids mostly. Usually I eat after I have taken the kids to school and get a Jamba Juice (of wich I read the ingredients of in the available book) or some eggs and bacon. I stay away from sausage. Carolinakip & love2travel, you have to go to Starbucks if you are a coffee drinker. They know me by name at a couple of the local stores in my town :D . I even went to Starbucks when my family (Wife, kids, mother and niece) traveled to France and England. The Cafe Creme was much better than Starbucks over there though.

Later,

Ray

What about THE COFFEE BEAN?...I find I get less tummy ahes from their coffee!....

And in re-ply to the other comments about Mc Donnalds...

Mc DONNALDS Allways gives me a TUMMY ache!

  • 3 weeks later...
CeliacSarah80 Newbie
CeliacSarah80
Posted

I went to a Starbucks the other day, for the first time since I was diagnosed Celiac. I ordered an iced mocha and felt really dizzy and sick about 20 minutes after drinking half of it.

So I would have to agree that CC is pretty risky at these places. During the fall, they always have seasonal drinks that have little crumbly toppings etc. Blargh.

I miss my mocha drinks though - need to find a place that can guarantee gluten free!!

  • 2 months later...
norcal-gf Newbie
norcal-gf
Posted

I'm a little late to this discussions about Starbuck's but.... their hot chocolate is gluten free. And you can get regular chocolate, and white hot chocolate (even though it's not on the menu). I've had both without any problems.

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plumbago Experienced
plumbago
Posted

I'm a little late to this discussions about Starbuck's but.... their hot chocolate is gluten free. And you can get regular chocolate, and white hot chocolate (even though it's not on the menu). I've had both without any problems.

Great to know. (Can I ask how you found out?)

researchmomma Contributor
researchmomma
Posted

Is it even legal to refuse to give out allergy information? Starbuck's gets on my nerves. I usually go to Peet's.

They have to show you the ingredients! I asked about their hot chocolate recently and the woman handed me the huge bag and said she didn't know but I was free to look.

I think you ran into an A$$.

Monklady123 Collaborator
Monklady123
Posted

I'm glad to read this thread today because now that winter is here I'm spending one evening a week in Starbucks. My dd dances for 2 hours one night a week and we live just far enough away that it's not worth dropping her, driving home, then driving back to pick her up. In the warm weather I sit in the park, or get a coke from the hamburger place and sit at their tables outside. But in cold weather I have a choice of the ballet studio or Starbucks.

I have been mostly getting hot tea which is safe at my Starbucks because the coffee person doesn't do the tea. The cashier gets it and puts the tea bag and hot water in right away.

But then the holiday season arrived and I got a light peppermint mocha. oy. :ph34r: I woke up the next morning with that awful gluten headache. The next time I was there I asked for the ingredients and they immediately let me see the packages of peppermint syrup and mocha. I didn't see any gluten ingredients. So I ordered another one. Yep, had another reaction. So no more peppermint mocha drinks. :(

So I think hot tea is safe. If I was a sugary coffee drink I think I'll get iced coffee and put in a bunch of half-and-half for the cream effect.

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Certain flavors of Tazo brand tea contain gluten and are not safe. I gave up on Starbucks when I was handed the wrong flavor of tea and carried the cup out to the car.... Fortunately I have a fairly good sense of smell and the "plain" tea was wafting an herbal odor, so I took the lid off for another good sniff before tasting it, and it was definitely flavored. The little tag on the string attached to the teabag did not say what flavor the idiot cashier had stuck me with. Previously I had tried several of their mixed chai type drinks and had always reacted with a very bad headache, so I wasn't touching this.

If I want a coffee drink now, I just make it myself. It's ridiculous, the amount of cc.

There used to be a coffee shop along the I- 80 corridor between Sac and San F that was safe for me, I was really sad to see it turn over in management and then subsequently got glutened off of it the first time I tried the new place. (and it was so comically full of "fail" in that the new management also got rid of the decent food snacks for sale, plus "redecorated" with bad furniture, and had a combination of all this bizarre no loitering signs, blah, blah, and then religious sayings all over the place, while the old coffee shop version was always well patronized because it was used by students to study because it was near a college. Then they turned into a Starbucks. Poetic justice. )

modiddly16 Enthusiast
modiddly16
Posted

I drink their peppermint mocha and peppermint hot chocolate pretty regularly and I've never had a bad reaction. My location is pretty good about ingrediants and cleaning things for me, I wonder if that plays a role for you!

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Certain flavors of Tazo brand tea contain gluten and are not safe. I gave up on Starbucks when I was handed the wrong flavor of tea and carried the cup out to the car.... Fortunately I have a fairly good sense of smell and the "plain" tea was wafting an herbal odor, so I took the lid off for another good sniff before tasting it, and it was definitely flavored. The little tag on the string attached to the teabag did not say what flavor the idiot cashier had stuck me with. Previously I had tried several of their mixed chai type drinks and had always reacted with a very bad headache, so I wasn't touching this.

If I want a coffee drink now, I just make it myself. It's ridiculous, the amount of cc.

There used to be a coffee shop along the I- 80 corridor between Sac and San F that was safe for me, I was really sad to see it turn over in management and then subsequently got glutened off of it the first time I tried the new place. (and it was so comically full of "fail" in that the new management also got rid of the decent food snacks for sale, plus "redecorated" with bad furniture, and had a combination of all this bizarre no loitering signs, blah, blah, and then religious sayings all over the place, while the old coffee shop version was always well patronized because it was used by students to study because it was near a college. Then they turned into a Starbucks. Poetic justice. )

Starbuck's Chai teas are gluten free. I drink them all the time and have the Chai Latte's too....with zero issues. Starbuck's or any other coffee shop

are all highly dependent on their staff so if they don't care or are uneducated on food allergies, then you'll have a problem. Otherwise, Starbuck's has drink offerings which are gluten free and perfectly safe. Some of the Tazo herbal tea's are not gluten free but many are. One bad experience does not mean that you cannot go there or their products are not gluten free....it just means you got the person who is clueless waiting on you.

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Multiple bad experiences, specifically with the chai and regular teas, or otherwise I wouldn't be talking about it. Drinking something bad that can give me a migraine when I am far from home and towing a trailer or driving in challenging winter weather conditions can incapacitate me so I cannot drive. Drinking mixed beverages at Starbucks is playing roulette with reactions. Most people do not realize the Tazo brands of teas can contain gluten.

plumbago Experienced
plumbago
Posted

They have to show you the ingredients! I asked about their hot chocolate recently and the woman handed me the huge bag and said she didn't know but I was free to look.

I think you ran into an A$$.

Well, was it gluten-free????

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Multiple bad experiences, specifically with the chai and regular teas, or otherwise I wouldn't be talking about it. Drinking something bad that can give me a migraine when I am far from home and towing a trailer or driving in challenging winter weather conditions can incapacitate me so I cannot drive. Drinking mixed beverages at Starbucks is playing roulette with reactions. Most people do not realize the Tazo brands of teas can contain gluten.

I am not doubting that you had a problem with a Starbucks drink but their stores are only as good as their employee's. The ones in my state and in other countries I have been to all did a great job with regards to cc issues....never been glutened by a Chai drink and I have them at least 3 times per week.

Migraines can be brought on by many other things besides gluten...which you most likely are an expert on as you suffer from them. I do not consider drinking a Chai a roulette experience as I am way too careful with what I consume to do that. I am never careless when it comes to gluten. As far as not realizing that some of the Tazo tea's are not gluten-free, Tazo is not the only brand that has non-gluten-free tea's and any Celiac needs to read the label before consuming anything....that's a given. Mistakes will be made but not checking a drink after being gluten-free for awhile is careless. You have less control over cc but that can also be minimized.

I hate to see people trash a good company that can provide a safe drink for many. Starbucks has gluten-free drinks and with some instructions, can make one free from cc.

  • 1 year later...
Austin Guy Contributor
Austin Guy
Posted

I got sick after having a Starbucks coffee. I think the girl putting the lid on my cup contaminated it after having handled pastries.

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