Starbucks Update

[celiac-mommy]

I just talked to 'Dave' in customer services at Starbucks (1-800-23LATTE) and he said that the only gluten containing items they have (besides the bakery/food items) are the frappaccino's--vanilla bean and chocolate chip, the malted frapp. isn't carried anymore and the egg nog they use during the holidays has trace amounts of gluten. Otherwise, all of the syrups ARE gluten-free, specifically the mocha syrup. So we will continue to drink away!!

[jerseyangel]

Thanks for the update

Starbucks

[njbeachbum]

Woo HOO! Thanks for posting. Caffeine gets me a little crazier now that i've been on the gluten free diet, but i still LOVE my starbucks coffee.

[Sweetfudge]

good to know

[JennyC]

Thank you for posting. When I initially called them they did not tell me their vanilla bean frappuccino contained gluten. That's too bad. My son loves the strawberries and cream blended frappuccino. Now I will have to worry about cc--even in places without the malt/chocolate chips.

[pixiegirl]

Vanilla bean and chocolate chip??? My daughter is going to be devastated! There is so much she can't have because of peanut, nut and now gluten allergies/celiac. She loves both of these flavors.

I'm not a huge frappachino fan but what other blended cold drinks do they have that a 16 year old might like... I need to be able to make suggestions.

Are we 100% sure about the vanilla bean and chocolate chip? It was a long time ago but I was told they were ok.

Susan

[SunnyDyRain]

Egg Nog... So the mysterious "I feel like i got hit by a bus" feeling that I endured all holiday season has been identified.... my starbucks addiction.

I love anything eggnog.. never would have thought it had gluten

[MegHaligh]

Vanilla bean and chocolate chip??? My daughter is going to be devastated! There is so much she can't have because of peanut, nut and now gluten allergies/celiac. She loves both of these flavors.

I'm not a huge frappachino fan but what other blended cold drinks do they have that a 16 year old might like... I need to be able to make suggestions.

Are we 100% sure about the vanilla bean and chocolate chip? It was a long time ago but I was told they were ok.

Susan

I work at Starbucks, and I'm absolutely in love with a drink I made up myself. I probably wouldn't order it quite the way that I make it myself since it's a lot of fuss, but the basis is just blended Strawberry Lemonade. I add a couple pumps of raspberry syrup, a bit of whipped cream and a teeny bit less ice than we normally put in our blended drinks before mixing it up, and then whipped cream on the bottom of the cup and a bit more on top along with a pump or two of raspberry syrup.

Like I said, I probably wouldn't make anyone else mess with all that lol. But regular ol' blended Strawberry Lemonade on it's own is quite dandy. ^^

I'll see what I can find out on Sunday when I go into work about the other fraps. I've just been avoiding them in general because of the malt powder, but I don't know for sure one way or another.

-Meg

[pixiegirl]

Oh I've never even heard of strawberry lemonade but it sounds good and its flavors both my daughter and I like! Its blended? We'll have to try it. I always drink the same thing at the 'buck.... "grande vanilla latte with extra foam please"

I told my daughter about the blended vanilla bean and chocolate chip and she said we need to check out the stawberry lemonade and also find out about the blended Mocha because she likes that too!

Thanks for your help!

Susan

[JennyC]

Does anyone have any info about other coffee places? Dutch Brothers? Seattle's Best?

[MegHaligh]

Oh I've never even heard of strawberry lemonade but it sounds good and its flavors both my daughter and I like! Its blended? We'll have to try it.

Susan

It is blended! Honestly, I get more specialty orders during a day at work than normal things straight off the menu. If it is found that the fraps are out, ask your local barista to just add vanilla syrup and/or regular milk (I guess I'm not entirely sure of the culprit here. Is it the actual powder we add to the drinks? Or is it the base itself? I honestly wouldn't be surpised if gluten was hiding in the bases, but - like I said - I'll check on Sunday and ask around a bit.) to a blender with a little more ice than one normally adds since the base is pretty think in and of itself. I'm pretty sure it'll taste similar to the vanilla bean when you add whipped cream to the top. Well, maybe more like a vanilla milkshake, but it's worth a try if she's really craving one.

You can do this for basically every drink, just make sure you let them know what's up. Chances of cc aren't terrible at Starbucks, but the person that's making your drink will still have to be careful to use a completely clean blender and whatnot -- rinsing it in the sink between orders, like we do, probably still leaves residue.

Heck, just last week I helped a mother order something for her son who had a very severe milk allergy. I brought her the boxes from all the ingrediants so she could look at them all and decipher the lists. It drives me nuts when I ask someone at an eating establishment if there's any gluten/wheat products in certain products and they fire back a response before they can even think. So, I guess I could relate to the small kid with his life changing diet. ^^

<3 Meg

[little d]

Yah!!!!

So I can continue to enjoy my beloved Carmel Mocchiottos

donna

[tiffanyo]

Oh no I always thought that the vanilla beans where free of gluten. Now I have to tell my daughter that she can't have it anymore.

[MegHaligh]

I'm sad to say that both our frap bases (coffee and our UBB/creme base) contain maltodextrin, and - from what I've read- it's something to avoid. The vanilla bean powder in and of itself contains malt as well.

There are many many other options at Starbucks, especially since it seems like everything else is gluten free.

-Meg

[Guest LittleMissAllergy]

Anyone know if anything at starbucks is dairy free and sugar free as well? I know this is probably nearly impossible, but I just thought I'd check

[MegHaligh]

Anyone know if anything at starbucks is dairy free and sugar free as well? I know this is probably nearly impossible, but I just thought I'd check

Can you have soy? For sugar free syrups, we have: vanilla, cinnamon dolce, hazelnut, mocha (This is a brand new flavor, and isn't that bad. It does have a strange bitter/acrid aftertaste though, in my opinion. I'm not sugar free so I'm not used to the sweeteners used in such products, but all the other ones that we have at Starbucks don't have that bitter taste.), and caramel.

I don't know if all of our teas have sugar added, but I don't think that all of them do. In hot teas we have about 10 different flavors -- anywhere from Earl Grey to Chai. In the iced teas we have Passion (which is my favorite), Green and Black.. I'll check it out when I go back to work next! Or you can just contact the Tazo company, because that's the brand that Starbucks uses.

Hope this helps,

Meg

[Guest LittleMissAllergy]

Can you have soy? For sugar free syrups, we have: vanilla, cinnamon dolce, hazelnut, mocha (This is a brand new flavor, and isn't that bad. It does have a strange bitter/acrid aftertaste though, in my opinion. I'm not sugar free so I'm not used to the sweeteners used in such products, but all the other ones that we have at Starbucks don't have that bitter taste.), and caramel.

I don't know if all of our teas have sugar added, but I don't think that all of them do. In hot teas we have about 10 different flavors -- anywhere from Earl Grey to Chai. In the iced teas we have Passion (which is my favorite), Green and Black.. I'll check it out when I go back to work next! Or you can just contact the Tazo company, because that's the brand that Starbucks uses.

Hope this helps,

Meg

Wow thanks for the info! I'd love to try some of the teas sometime...maybe sometime when I'm feeling brave

Hmm...I CAN have soy...but I'm pretty sure the soy milks starbucks uses have sugar? If they are indeed unsweetened, that's AWESOME. I also can't do artificial sweeteners though either...so I'm going to guess that those syrups are a no-go because they're sweetened with Splenda or something like that, right?

[MegHaligh]

Wow thanks for the info! I'd love to try some of the teas sometime...maybe sometime when I'm feeling brave

Hmm...I CAN have soy...but I'm pretty sure the soy milks starbucks uses have sugar? If they are indeed unsweetened, that's AWESOME. I also can't do artificial sweeteners though either...so I'm going to guess that those syrups are a no-go because they're sweetened with Splenda or something like that, right?

I'll check the soy milk when I go back as well. I just looked at the Silk Soy Milk website, because we use a special formula made by them specifically for Starbucks. I didn't find an actual list of ingredients, but this is what I see on the site and it looks like it's out:

"Silk Soymilk is made by carefully grinding whole soy beans in filtered water, and the okara (mostly insoluble fiber) is removed while keeping the heart-healthy soy protein and other soy benefits. We mix in just the right amounts of filtered water, natural sweeteners, vitamins, minerals and necessary ingredients to provide that great Silk taste. We package the final product in our single serve, quart, or half gallon packaging and send the final product out to your store

[Guest LittleMissAllergy]

I'll check the soy milk when I go back as well. I just looked at the Silk Soy Milk website, because we use a special formula made by them specifically for Starbucks. I didn't find an actual list of ingredients, but this is what I see on the site and it looks like it's out:

"Silk Soymilk is made by carefully grinding whole soy beans in filtered water, and the okara (mostly insoluble fiber) is removed while keeping the heart-healthy soy protein and other soy benefits. We mix in just the right amounts of filtered water, natural sweeteners, vitamins, minerals and necessary ingredients to provide that great Silk taste. We package the final product in our single serve, quart, or half gallon packaging and send the final product out to your store

[patriceo15]

I saw that my fav Vanilla Bean was not Gluten free I was so sad I told one of my friends who is always looking up anything she can on gluten free stuff and found this.

Last verified 7/3/07

1-800-23-LATTE

The following information was given by a Customer Service Department representative for Starbucks via telephone. They require you to call to receive information about their gluten-free menu items, rather then email.

Not gluten-free:

Any frappachino with "chips" (Java Chip or Chocolate Chip)

Cafe Vanilla Frappachino and Vanilla Bean Cream Frappachino. These both contain the Vanilla Bean Powder, which is produced in an area that also produces gluten-containing items. The uncontaminated Vanilla Bean Powder would be gluten-free, according to the rep.

Eggnog drinks These are only on the menu during the holiday season. They may or may not be gluten-free, depending on the local suppliers.

All other beverages are gluten free (as long as they don't have any of the "chips").

So is it just that the stuff that is near the Vanilla Bean Powder what makes it have the gluten?

[pixiegirl]

OK wait I'm confused... I thought someone above said nothing that uses the milk based blended stuff is gluten-free? Now its only frap's with chips. Has anyone called Starbucks this month to find out for sure?

Susan (very confused)

[rpf1007]

I actually called Tazo tea and they told me that only 5 of their teas (the ones that contain no "natural flavorings" ) they could guarantee as gluten-free. I can't honestly remember them all- but Awake and Refresh were two of them. They said they don't disclose where their natural seasoning/flavorings come from so they could theoretically be derived from gluten containing products.

[jerseyangel]

They said they don't disclose where their natural seasoning/flavorings come from so they could theoretically be derived from gluten containing products.

They told me this exact thing--I called to check on the Awake tea which they told me was gluten-free. She than said that their herb teas have flavorings that are not listed.