Since its 2003 debut, Starbucks's Pumpkin Spice Latte has been served over 200 million times even though nobody seems to know what's in it.
When asked for nutritional details, Starbucks said they are "unable to provide this level of detail for every beverage customization."
Representatives instead refer to an official "pumpkin sauce" available for purchase, but it is not the same used by Starbucks baristas.
Stolen 63-ounce jugs of the real pumpkin spice reportedly have an astringent chemical taste and extensive use can cause headaches.
Even the official "pumpkin sauce" may have problems... it contains no pumpkin and uses "Caramel Color Level IV," a known carcinogen.
Starbucks claims to support the welfare of farmers in developing countries...
...but a 2005 fight with Ethiopia's coffee growers revealed that Starbucks's socially responsible image is only a marketing tactic.
To protect the value of their unique coffees (sold to Starbucks for only 2-3% of what the company charged consumers)...
...Ethiopia sought to trademark its brands.
During the application process, the country was shocked to find that Starbucks had already applied for their own trademarks on the names.
If successful, Starbucks would have been able to use the names on any coffee that they sold...
...cutting out the Ethiopian farmers they claimed to support and depriving them of $80 million annually.
When first opening its doors in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks chose a curious corporate mascot to sit at the center of its logo...
The original symbol featured a bare-breasted siren with a mysterious twin fish-tail intended to represent the nautical history of the city.
Later marketing-friendly versions of the logo eliminated the bare breasts and obfuscated the siren's odd tail.
Conspiracy theorists believe that the changes were made to hide Starbucks's true intent...
Rotated upside-down, the siren's out-of-place tail appears more at home as the horns of Baphomet...
...the Sabbatic Goat god worshiped by the Knights Templar.
...a possible allusion to Starbucks's inspiration for global expansion and financial domination.
In 2012, Starbucks decided to boost the variety of teas it offered by acquiring Teavana, a specialty retailer of loose-leaf teas.
With Starbucks spending $620 million on the purchase, investors looked very closely at Teavana and were shocked with what they found.
Lab tests of Teavana's most popular teas were positive for pesticide residue, and despite being labeled as such, none were "organic."
77% of the samples tested would have failed European Union pesticide import standards, with one variety containing 23 different pesticides.
Most concerning was the finding that 62% of the teas showed traces of Endosulfan, a chemical known to cause infertility and birth defects.
Despite the concerns, Starbucks pushed through the acquisition and proudly serves Teavana teas today.
Responding to growing community discontent over its rapid global brand expansion, Starbucks turned to opening "stealth" locations in 2009.
15th Street Coffee and Tea and Roy Street Coffee and Tea were both opened in Seattle as secret de-branded Starbucks.
Gone were the siren logo, green aprons, and "tall, grande, and venti" designations – all replaced to portray the shops as independent.
The stores were proclaimed to be laboratories for new Starbucks concepts, but independent coffee shop owners suspected a stealth attack.
Starbucks's move to squeeze local businesses came after their 2008 purchase of Clover, a brewing machine used by many independent cafes.
The equipment is no longer available for purchase and owners of existing Clovers have complained of deliberately slow service repairs.