This story came out a few days ago but I wanted to talk about it. Alicia Silverstone is committed to veganism and to living a lifestyle that has a low impact on the environment. In May, I reported on a video where she gives a tour of her kitchen. Alicia never uses paper towels, she reuses old jars for storage, and on the rare occasions she uses plastic bags she washes and reuses them. That post was surprisingly popular as so many of you are similarly committed to reducing your waste and living sustainably. Last week Alicia tweeted about a recent experience she had at Starbucks where she was charged more for plant-based milk and where a barista used a disposable cup just to transfer the milk to Alicia’s reusable cup. Starbucks has responded that they’re looking into it.
Here’s what Alicia tweeted and I’ve included Starbucks’ response below.
Depressing! Just brought my reusable mug to @Starbucks &saw staff use a disposable cup, pour it into my mug, then toss the disposable cup. Totally defeats the purpose of trying 2 reduce waste. Then I looked around to see so many people sitting @ the cafe all w disposables! Ugh.
— Alicia Silverstone (@AliciaSilv) September 10, 2019
Also!I'm always frustrated by extra charges for non-dairy milk. Y should we be penalized 4 making the eco-choice? It would be amazing for @Starbucks to lead the way &consider enviro externalities associated w the dairy industry by having dairy cost + or at least = plantmilk fees.
— Alicia Silverstone (@AliciaSilv) September 10, 2019
Starbucks baristas are encouraged to craft beverages directly in customers’ reusable cups whenever possible. Building on our long standing commitment to sustainability and an elevated customer experience, we will take this opportunity to review guidance to our partners about personal cup use as we continue to be mindful of waste.
Regarding alternative milks, adding a splash of any alternative milk to brewed or iced coffee, cold brew or an Americano is always offered free of charge. The price of our beverages is based on a standard recipe, so any customizations that are not part of the standard recipe, which could include added flavors, alternative milk, or an additional shot of espresso, will incur a small surcharge.
As wasteful as it sounds, I sort-of understand why baristas use disposable cups to transfer milk. It probably helps them measure better than pouring directly and if they used a reusable cup they’d have to wash it out. That doesn’t make it right, but I can see where they’re going for convenience and trying to save time. There may be some kind of hack for that which will work with the existing system, Starbucks would just need to have someone observe in their shops for a few days to figure it out.
There aren’t any Starbucks in my town and I rarely go to the local coffee shop because I work from home. Sometimes I get coffee from Sheetz (a chain gas station) and I use a reusable Sheetz coffee cup because it’s less wasteful and also cheaper. That’s the real motivator for me. Sheetz has a creamer dispenser which lets you choose a flavor and press a button so it dispenses a serving into your cup. Maybe Starbucks could use something similar with their non-milks. It makes sense that the more expensive milk alternatives cost more if they’re used in larger quantities.
I take almond milk in my coffee because it’s more readily available than other milk alternatives and you can get it at the convenience store near my house. (I’m not a fan of real milk except in ice cream.) In Alicia’s twitter thread there’s a discussion about how much water almond milk takes to produce. I’ve heard this before but haven’t paid that much attention to it, sorry! I’ve been meaning to try cashew milk as I’ve heard it both tastes better than almond milk and uses less resources. So after reporting on this story I’m going to try cashew milk!
Here’s Alicia showing off her fridge. This isn’t the video I reported on earlier this year. She loves showing her kitchen and fridge!
photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
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