‘It’s basically the new McDonald’s’: Customer calls out Starbucks after seeing how many calories are in their fall drinks

A Starbucks customer is calling out the coffeehouse for promoting sugar-laden drinks on its robust fall menu.

Kelly Klaing (@kellyklaing), who said in her TikTok profile that she’s lost 14 pounds in three months, uploaded the video calling out the chain last week. In her post, which has since amassed more than 25,300 views, Klaing said that Starbucks was “worse than McDonald’s.”

The harsh criticism from the Starbucks customer came after she apparently saw how many calories were in one of its fall drinks. (Starbucks debuted its new fall menu on Aug. 22.)

“Starbucks is trying to sabotage us,” Klaing declared. 

How many calories are in Starbucks’ drinks?

In Klaing’s video, which she recorded while in her car, she showed viewers a picture of Starbucks’ Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai. A grande, which is 16 ounces, contains 470 calories, according to Starbucks’ website. A tall drink, meanwhile, has 340 calories. 

But certain Starbucks drinks have always had a relatively high calorie count. TheStreet previously did a write-up of the chain’s 10 highest-calorie drinks, and the results might surprise you. A Mocha Frappuccino, it said, contains 500 calories in just one 20-ounce cup. It ranked the White Hot Chocolate as having the densest calorie count.

“Strangely one of the highest calorie drinks on this list is also one of the most deceptively simple drinks on the Starbucks menu,” it wrote, noting that a large beverage had a whopping 590 calories. “Starbucks says the drink is ‘creamier than creamy,’ with added ‘buttery white chocolate flavored sauce’ to make for a richer taste. Unfortunately, all of that adds up to a drink with more calories than almost every other drink on the menu.”

Of course, Starbucks drinks are only as high in calories as you allow them to be. Klaing, for instance, said that her go-to order is a “low-calorie, sugar oat shaken espresso,” which she said contains 100 calories. 

There are hacks to getting healthier drinks, too. According to one barista, customers can reduce their caloric intake through measures including ordering plant-based milks, nixing the whipped cream, asking for zero-calorie sweeteners, and ditching drink mix-ins.  

@kellyklaing Starbucks is going downhill.. ☕️ #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #girltok #girltiktok #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #fypp #starbuckscups #starbucksgirl #pumpkinspice #pumpkinspiceseason ♬ original sound - KELLY FROM TIKTOK

What drinks are on Starbucks' fall menu?

It starts with the classic pumpkin spice latte (390 calories). And then the following drinks and their calorie count measured in the standard recipe and grande serving:

• Pumpkin cream cold brew (259 calories)
• Iced pumpkin cream chai (303 calories)
• Chai latte (160 calories)
• Iced apple crisp nondairy cream chai (180 calories)
• Apple crisp oatmilk macchiato (320 calories)
• Apple crisp oatmilk shaken espresso (180 calories)

Customers react to new fall menu

Klaing, at least, wasn’t too happy about Starbucks’ newest, sugary drinks. In addition to calling out the calorie count of one new menu  item, she counted all of the fast food items that she said contain less calories, including a McDonald’s McDouble (400 calories) and a Krispy Kreme glazed donut (190 calories). 

But, perhaps even more daunting, she explained how much exercise it would take to burn off the calories from one of Starbucks’ new drinks. 

Klaing said it would take “two hours of walking, or running for 50 minutes, or cycling for one hour… just to sweat out that Starbucks drink.”

“I mean, I will still go there to get a drink,” she said, but she noted that preferred a lower-calorie option. 

Other viewers agreed. 

“This is why I go to local coffee shops,” one woman said. 

“And the amount of SUGAR is insane,” another wrote. 

“That’s why I get one maybe once a month and it’s a treat lol not a daily,” a third person added. 

The Daily Dot has reached out to Klaing via TikTok comment and to Starbucks by email.

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