You Can Eat & Drink Vegan at Starbucks – Here’s How!

Have you ever been to Starbucks and thought to yourself, ‘I wish that I wasn’t a vegan because everything looks and sounds so good?’ Well, did you know that Starbucks actually has several vegan friendly ingredients that are nondairy? They include almond, coconut, and even soymilk. And yes, you can essentially add them to any drink on the entire menu, whether it is seasonal, secret, or the regular menu. The only catch, however, is that there is going to be a small charge fort the inconvenience.

Just being put into effect on April 16 of this year, the brand new rewards program that was just overhauled is going to allow you to earn rewards for every purchase, and make it even easier to redeem those rewards whenever you order any vegan drink that Starbuck offers. You can send a thank you letter to PETA for making this happen as they have been pushing for this for the past several years. Luckily for all you vegans, all of their hard work has finally paid off in the form of delicious Starbucks coffee.

Included in the re-hauled loyalty program, you will now earn two stars for each and every dollar that you spend at Starbucks. As soon as you have at least 25 stars on the books (which equates to roughly $13), you can use them to waive any fees and order the drink that you love the most that is made with oat, soy, almond or coconut milk. The best part about this is that there will not be any type of extra charge for you at all.

If you eat or drink any kind of dairy, there is a good chance that you know it comes from animals, those being cows. But when you decide to become vegan, you are going to be saving over 200 of them each and every year! That is exactly why PETA is continuously pushing the entire Starbucks brand to eliminate any additional fees that may be associated with their nondairy milks. And you know what, you should too.

Here Is Exactly How You Are Going To Order Your Vegan Starbucks Drinks From Now On

The good news about Starbucks and coffee is that the absolute basic drinks are already vegan. So feel free to get yourself a nice hot coffee or even an iced version with almond, coconut, or soy milk, as well as any of the flavored syrup sweeteners that they offer. All of these ingredients are vegan and will not break your vegan ways. Also available are the iced and hot teas that are very popular. And even if you are looking for a drink that is ‘more involved’, here are some simple guidelines that you can follow to make sure that you are always walking out of Starbucks with a vegan friendly drink in your hands.

Replace the Dairy

Always remember to replace any drink that you get from Starbucks with almond, coconut, or soy milk. Every single Starbucks store carries these options and they are one of the best substitutes to regular cow’s milk that you can do, granted there is going to be a small price for the change.

Hold the Following Ingredients Out of Your Drinks

Whenever you order any drink from Starbucks, always be sure to ask the barista to hold all of these different non-vegan friendly ingredients, no matter what:

Any java chips (these are used in various different drinks and are made with non-vegan ingredients)

The caramel drizzle (this is not a vegan friendly ingredient, no matter how good it tastes)

Whipped cream

Any protein powder (this is mainly reserved for the smoothies that they offer)

The cinnamon dolce topping (this actually has a ton of butter in it)

So if you do go to Starbucks, just make sure that you ask your barista to make sure that none of these ingredients are added to whatever drink it is that you ordered. If you can do this, you will be able to enjoy some amazing Starbucks, but without violating your vegan diet.

Avoid these Drinks at all Costs

Now that you know what ingredients to avoid, there are actually some drinks that you are going to need to avoid as well. While you would think that these particular drinks would simply be able to have their ingredients switched out, you would be mistaken. These drinks are unable to be made vegan as they all contain either cow’s milk or honey in their recipe, or the syrup they use in their recipe. This means that if you are vegan, you need to completely avoid:

Any drink that has pumpkin spice in it

Any drink that has any white mocha in it

Any drink that has any caramel brulee in it

Any Chai lattes (do not drink any of them except for the Teavana brewed chai tea as that is the only vegan one on the menu)

On a side note, just remember that most of the clear syrups that Starbucks uses are going to be vegan, however, most of the sauces that they use are not going to be vegan. The only exception to this is going got be the mocha syrup, which is vegan.

Now you know exactly what to avoid or skip the next time you are at Starbucks, what exactly can you have? Here are some of the best vegan drinks available at Starbucks that you are going to absolutely love.

Vegan Drinks you will Love

Fresh coffee

Caffe Americanos

Caffe latte made with almond, coconut or soy milk

Caffe mocha with almond, coconut or soy milk, and without any whipped cream

Strawberry or chocolate smoothie made with almond, coconut, or soy milk and no protein powder

Ombre iced coffee that is made with almond, coconut or soy milk

Now that you know exactly how to order vegan at Starbucks, you can go there confidently and order anything off their main menu, or make it a little spicy and create accustom drink that you know you are going to love.