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Home » Drinks » Starbucks

Is Starbucks Really Charging for Light Ice? No, But They Are Charging for This

By Rebecca Swanner | May 11, 2023 | Updated on June 19, 2023 | Leave a Comment
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Starbucks Charging for Light Ice

This week, the giant coffee chain Starbucks managed to both delight and irritate customers. Their new summer menu featuring a Bumblebee cake pop that more resembles an annoyed cat and the delicious Chocolate Java Mint Frappuccino? Win.

Starbucks charging a $1 for asking for “no water” in your Refresher? Not so much.

What about light ice? Is there a charge for that? Well…
Starbucks Charging for Light Ice

What Is Starbucks Charging For?

On Tuesday, May 9th, the same day the seasonal menu launched, Starbucks began charging customers who order a Refresher and ask for “no water.” The reason, according to what Starbucks told CBS News about the whole drama, is because the “charge is necessary because the juice drinks are more expensive to make when they’re not diluted.”

Considering a variety of other secret menu customizations like added syrup and different milks also result in charges, this isn’t a huge surprise.

A rep told Today.com that “This change allows us to provide a more consistent approach to customization, similar to other beverage customizations such as adding an espresso shot or syrup which incur an additional charge.”

But, on the heels of discontinuing raspberry syrup and not bringing the S’mores Frappuccino back yet again, it’s not impressing brand fans.

Im about to boycott Starbucks Fr this time. Like I ask for light ice for my Frappes so that I’m not CRUNCHIN on my drink and 90% of the time they somehow forget OR put EXTRA ICE 😡 pic.twitter.com/bPVS7zTMye

— Alicia Florrick’s Wig 🦄 🦅 (@kaylaKNC) May 5, 2023

What About Light Ice?

To make matters worse, some stores misunderstood the official change and started charging customers who asked for light ice.

Others, as shown in the image below from Reddit, removed the option from light ice entirely. And we thought our listening skills were bad sometimes.
Starbucks Charging for Light Ice - Reddit sign

To make it clear, Starbucks is not currently charging for light ice. Light ice is still available. They are, however, charging $1 for no water in your Refresher.

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Rebecca Swanner
Rebecca Swanner
Founder + Editor-in-Chief at Let's Eat Cake
Pleased to meet you. I'm the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Let's Eat Cake: The world's first smart, funny lifestyle site for women.

I've written or worked for a wide range of lifestyle sites and magazines, including Billboard, Nylon, Parade, Men's Journal, Us Weekly, Stuff, Blender, Beachbody, Alternative Press, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and more. See more on my LinkedIn.

On the baking side of things, I've run my own baking company and competed on Cupcake Wars, so hit me up with your baking questions! I respond fastest on Instagram where you can find me @letseatcakeblog

Want to know more? Here's my full bio.
Rebecca Swanner
Latest posts by Rebecca Swanner (see all)
  • Your First Look at the Rumored Starbucks Holiday Menu for 2023 - September 23, 2023
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  • Starbucks Just Revealed Their Halloween Cups for 2023 - September 12, 2023
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links from Amazon and other sites that we collect a share of sales from.
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