Hi everyone,

I thought I would share some information I got from Starbucks about gluten in their products as I have been searching around and couldn't find anything. I thought I could offer some info to anyone looking!

I was worries about the gluten content of their drinks as:
- The mocha syrup (in mochas, hot chocolates, chocolate frappucinos) is made from a powder which hot water is added to
- Cream frappuccinos are made from a powder which milk is added to
- Coffee frappucinos and chai tea lattes are made from a pre-mix which milk is then added to

I asked these specific questions and got the following reply:

"Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company regarding gluten-free products. None of our beverages, with the exception of our Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino,
are made with ingredients that contain gluten. However, the vanilla sprinkles
provided at the condiment bar for customer use does contain gluten. The remaining
toppings do not contain gluten."

So good news!

This was from the UK Starbucks customer care team, though I used to have a summer job at Starbucks and can confirm that they use the exact same pre-mix packs as they do in the US (it is all imported to the UK).

She is also talking only about drinks currently available - so any seasonal things like malt frappucinos or anything with chips in (cookie chips) won't be gluten-free. Also, the US probably have different frappuccinos available, but as the mix is the same, the plain coffee and cream frappucinos and those with syrup/sauce (caramel, vanilla, chocolate, espresso) will be gluten-free.

thanks Hannah!

When I called here in the US, I was told the carmel sauce contained gluten also. Maybe a mistake? I have been avoiding the Carmel Macchiato so if this is incorrect I would REALLY like to start drinking it again!

In the US all drinks are gluten-free EXCEPT the frapps with chips. The chips have gluten. So does the vanilla powder.

When I called them a couple months ago they said that the only drinks that contain gluten are the blended frappachinos (?), the ones with malt. They do not use separate blenders for malt drinks, so basically any drink that is placed in their blenders could be contaminated with malt.

I called Starbucks Customer Service line a few weeks ago and was told that the only beverages that contain gluten are those that include java chips. Everything else is gluten free.

All of this is making me glad I pretty much stick with cafe mocha, mocha, mocha (extra mocha anyone?) or iced tea. Sigh!

I've been bitten by the malt contamination before, and all I see them do to clean the blenders is swish and rinse. Of course, they don't think of it as cleaning away toxic residue.

Regarding the malt powder and chips: At Starbucks they will only put the frappucino blenders in the dishwasher at the end of the day, so everything is just rinsed with hot water throughout the day.

So if they currently have malt or chip frappucinos on the menu, I guess there are no guarantees. You could ask them to run a blender pot through the dishwasher or use an unused one .

the carmel sauce def does NOT contain gluten, when Ive talked to them, its always been the chips and malt in the frapps. Also i get the carmel macch. all the time!!! they dont bother me one bit!

I get iced tea shaken lemonade. I am a tea drinker so I usually stick with those drinks.

One more thing to add to this topic.

I got sick, so I called the customer care line. ALL of the Christmas drinks have gluten (egg nog latte, gingerbread latte, creme brulee latte).

It was my own stupid fault for not checking and assuming the gingerbread latte is ok because the rest of their syrups are fine....!

I am wondering why they told you that .... I've read the bottles before and saw no suspicious ingredients ... I had a celiac who works there tell me they were okay.

Is it a CYA thing? Is it because the person did not know? Is it because you are in Europe? Is Starbucks just not wanting to guarantee anything in light of recent lawsuits other companies have had?

I would recommend reading the ingredient list yourself and decide if the risk of contamination is worth it .... there are a lot of products there with lots of crumbs, so the risk of contamination is always there.

Do any of you have a love hate thing for Starbucks? I do for the fact is the coffee isn't good coffee and they take over the land.
Do you know they target areas where smaller cafes/coffee houses are doing good and move in the neighborhood. Heck if you want to open a cafe, beware the starbucks.
My fav line is friends don't let friends drink starbucks! LOL
That said I am happy to know that if I want a coffee from them I can have one. There are hundreds of coffee stands but nothing uniform which is where starbucks comes in. At least I know it is the same from one place to the next.
Can you see me at a drive through of a small coffee stand with 3 cars behind me asking them to check if they have gluten in the mix! HUH

Hello. Turns out it isn't the syrup, it's the sugar topping! Plus the eggnog mix has gluten .

That makes sense. In the US they use eggnog .... not eggnog mix .... last year it was gluten-free here ... but I know things aren't necessarily the same in other countries.

I swear that the Soy Milk they use (at least in Canada) is NOT gluten free! I usually order a Chai Latte with soy. Does anyone know anything about this?

Even though this is an old thread you've brought up, the soy milk they use here at my Starbucks, and every one I have been to in Ontario, is silk, which is gluten-free.

How about a Casein-free Starbucks?

I order my Soy Tazo-Chai...and they "rinse" the steamer cup...and yet a cup of that stuff always gives me a gut-full of discomfort!

My question:

Would it be too out of line for me to ask the barista to wash the cup with soap before using it to make my drink? Do they keep freshly washed steamer cups handy under the counter? Does anyone know about this?

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It won't do you any good- the Tazo brand of tea, some of the flavors contain gluten. And the soy milk ..... some brands of soy milk have calcium carbonate, which can also cause stomach upset, or worse, they're made with a form of rice syrup sweetener that was processed with barley, so they while "technically" gluten free, they may upset sensitive individuals.

I don't drink any of the that flavored junk from Starbucks. I've even ordered a plain cup of green tea from them and the server gave me a FLAVORED tea bag which I did not discover at first until I went to drink it in the car- and it smelled like it so I looked at the tag and it was one of the Tazo flavors, so No Go.

If I want tea I carry my own teabags just in case. And a hot beverage carry mug for the car is really the way to go with this, so you can just get hot water when necessary. It is also super easy to mix your own chai spice mix, store it in a jar, and put a little bit (it doesn't take much) in the cup with a tea bag before you go out the door.

I'm not very sensitive but whatever is in the chai soy mix tea at Starbucks has really made me sick, including a migraine, so I avoid it like the plague.

SILK is definitely gluten-free. I have contacted them many times to make sure.

I posted this on another thread, but in Texas and Illinois Starbucks has switched from Silk. I suspect it is nationwide. I read the label but it wasn't clear that it was gluten-free. There were natural flavors. I need to contact them on Monday.


Also, some Tazo flavors are gluten-free. In fact most of them. However some are not --2 or 3. One unsafe variety is honeybush.

Silk soy milk is definitely gluten-free.....I have verified it with the company directly and read the ingredients listing myself. This is for the US.
The mix used to make Chai latte's is also gluten-free....again, I contacted Starbuck's directly and read the ingredients listing.

As for the way it is steamed, the Starbuck's around here use separate pitchers for mlk and soy milk so no cross contamination and clean the steamers before steaming soy. I have watched them do this. I guess it all depends on the staff working each store....some are more careful than others.

I have had absolutely no problems with their soy latte's at all and I would be sick if they contained gluten.

Oklahoma Starbucks also use a random brand of soymilk. I'm not sure what is in the new brand, but it's not good.

They use separate pitchers for soy or milk in Canada too. I am very sensitive to gluten and I have never been sick from one of their soy latte's either.

sorry I'm a bit confused, I just moved from Europe to US, two weeks ago I asked at Starbucks (a girl in the counter not on the phone) what beverages were gluten free, the answer was: "only the coffee and the unflavored teas"

I have to say that I was very disappointed... and now it seems that the girl was wrong???

If I got it right in US I can have everything except the Christmas beverages and the java chips (which we don't have in Europe and don't know what they are...)

help!!

thank you,

alba.