When I was a boy, you could get coffee at three places: Diners, gas stations, and church. Wherever you went, the coffee was brewed first thing in the morning in a Pyrex pot with a brown plastic handle (orange if it was decaf) and sat on an electric burner all day long. A shaker of powdered non-dairy creamer sat next to the pot, or if you were lucky a bowl of unrefrigerated single-serve doses of half 'n' half in little crinkly plastic cups. And you liked it.

Since then, we've come a long way. So far, in fact, that Starbucks finds itself facing a backlash over its decision to end free soy milk and flavored syrups for its most loyal customers. Those rewards, as well as a free coffee with the purchase of a pound of beans, went to anyone who made five purchases using their registered Starbucks card or mobile app. Starting Oct. 16, those all go away.

In a recent blog post, Starbucks boasted that Gold-level members of its loyalty program (those who make at least 30 purchases per year) will earn a free drink or food every 12 transactions instead of every 15. But for a whole lot of ticked-off caffeine addicts, Starbucks buried the lede. Free soy and syrup, each around 50 cents extra for regular customers, apparently were the price of loyalty for many.

A sampling from the ensuing comments on Starbucks' blog:

NikkiFL: "It's not 'what kind of milk I'd like,' it's 'what kind of milk I NEED.' Thanks to my lovely allergies, I don't have a choice of milk type. Alison: This is a bogus reduction of benefits. I only purchased my way up to Gold for the free soy milk and syrups, so without those I guess I'll be drinking work coffee every morning. Cando8: Why should people have to pay more just because they're lactose intolerant? Makes absolutely no sense.

Starbucks did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking further explanation of why soy and syrup were specifically targeted. In its blog post, Starbucks writes: "While more members will receive more value overall with the new program, we know losing certain benefits will be disappointing to some customers. The benefit of this new structure gives members the ability to earn rewards 20 percent faster and provides more choices in their rewards."

The decision to tweak the benefits of its loyalty program comes at a curious time for Starbucks. The company is making a big push to get customers to pay with their smartphones � most visibly in its deal with mobile payments service Square. Its mobile app is popular, and Apple has promised that Starbucks gift cards will be part of the new iOS 6 Passbook digital wallet app (though apparently not yet). Loyalty programs are a key part of the strategy to persuade coffee drinkers to abandon credit, debit, and cash � all fairly convenient payment methods themselves. As part of their marketing strategies, companies are hoping you'll be willing to trade a little personal data for perks. But apparently your info is no longer worth a free shot of soy or a squirt of pumpkin caramel.*

* *Commenter jemiard points out below that pumpkin flavoring was never free. Drilling down into the Starbucks rewards program page confirms that the free option "doesn’t apply to seasonal or promotional beverages and syrups." *