Starbucks Sued For Putting Too Much Ice In Drinks

Now most of you might be getting hot under the collar about the amount of ice in Starbucks, so you could understand what an Illinois woman is going through.

Lead plaintiff Stacey Pincus has sued Starbucks for $5 million. The company puts too much ice in its cold drinks, she charged. She added that the federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of "any Starbucks customer" who had bought a cold drink in the past decade.

Pincus charged the coffee giant of having added extra ice in order to cover up underfilled drinks. A class action lawsuit was filed with the Northern District Court of Illinois.

The court document suit alleged that although Starbucks advertises drink sizes by fluid ounces, it dilutes the amount with ice. That leaves the user with just half the drink, which seems to make the company advertise the size of the cup, rather than the amount of liquid in the cup.

Hence, court documents recorded that if you buy a Venti cold drink, or 24 fluid ounces, you have managed to get just 14 fluid ounces of the drink, with the rest being ice.

Stripped of the numbers, the simple fact is that Starbucks adds just "too much ice" to cold drinks.

"Starbucks' Cold Drinks are underfilled to make more money and higher profits, to the detriment of consumers who are misled by Starbucks' intentionally misleading advertising practices," the lawsuit stated.

However, Starbucks countered the claims. The company is aware of the charge but it is "without merit," said a spokesperson.

"Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any 'iced' beverage," Jamie Riley, the spokesperson for Starbucks, said. "If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it."