Starbucks' "non fat" milk is really not?

[ewatkins]

I like to get steamed milk at Starbucks and other coffee places, sometimes with a little flavored syrup. Yesterday I asked about the milk, as some places use whole unless you ask. They said they only use 2 percent, so I said ok. Then she called out for a "non fat" steamer. When I asked why, she said "Oh we just call it that, but it's not non fat". Is that true for all Starbucks? Isn't that false advertising? If they call it non fat, shouldn't it be in fact non fat?

[BethR]

Many times I had a good view of the actual gallon milk jugs that my then-nearby Starbucks used... and the "non-fat" milk they used was always labled non-fat or skim by the dairy, so I have to assume it really was non-fat. How annoying that your location would have the gall to use 2% milk and call it non-fat -- sounds like false advertising to me!

[matt]

I work for starbucks and we give whole milk, unless you state otherwiswe. The store i work at has whole, nonfat, organic it all depends on the area you live in. Some markets carry skim or whole. It all depends. Some areas that do not sell soy very often have a lot of it on hand.


matt

[LGBurns]

Sounds to me like the store has it's own code--perhaps for actual non-fat they say "skim" (which is the term most Starbucks use). I'm surprised that their regular milk is 2%. All the Starbucks I've been to have whole and skim and if you want low-fat you have to ask them to mix (which is what I do). I have noticed that different Starbucks use different terms for the same thing. For example, when I order 1/2 whole, 1/2 skim milk, some places call this 1/2 skim and some call it 2%. In England they called it yet something else but I don't remember what now. Anyway, I know that I have watched them make my drinks many times and the jug they pour from for the skim always has a skim or non-fat label on it. If you're concerned just watch them make the drink to confirm you're actually getting skim.

[Tiger]

Considering whole milk is 3% fat, using 2% isn't really that much better. But I guess a percent is a percent!

[Beth]

The millk info I read when my boys were starting to drink milk said that milkfat varied somewhat but they considered whole milke to be closer to 4%. Maybe you have cows that are on a leaner diet. :D