There are more than 30,000 Starbucks locations worldwide — in grocery stores, airports,
and, of course, its many standalone locations. Chances are, you've stopped into a Starbucks
with your stomach grumbling and picked up one of the hearty breakfast options. But perhaps
that isn't the best idea at the end of the day.
If you stop to consider how quickly Starbucks serves up its meals, it becomes obvious that
the cafe could almost be considered a fast-food restaurant. Many fast-food establishments
rely on frozen food, and Starbucks is really no different. Many of us keep frozen meals
in our freezers, but perhaps it's not terribly wise to pay nearly $5 for a frozen sandwich
when you could microwave your own at home for less than a dollar.
Beyond the cost issue, some freshly heated Starbucks sandwiches can stay frozen for a
while. In a small Listeria recall in March 2016, it was noted that one type of sandwich
was marked "best by" August, so, that's 5 months later.
"The item in question is the Sausage, Egg, and Cheddar Cheese English McMuffin called
The Sausage Classic on the menu."
If that's somehow not enough to make you stop eating breakfast at Starbucks, there are other
troubling factoids to consider. Panera wanted to crush its breakfast competition and did
some investigating into how Starbucks cooks its eggs. What they found might finally turn
you off from Starbucks breakfast for good.
According to Business Insider, Panera asked the FDA to create an official definition of
eggs after finding additives like artificial butter flavors, gums, and fake colors in the
so-called "eggs" served at various restaurants, and yes, Starbucks happened to be one of them.
Apparently when Starbucks serves up those unusually fluffy and suspiciously perfect
eggs, it's because they're really serving up eggs, soybean oil, modified food starch,
whey solids, salt, nonfat dry milk, and citric acid. Yes, Starbucks' breakfast sandwiches
do contain some real eggs, but all those added ingredients should make you pause and consider
what you're actually eating.
Starbucks breakfast items like the Spicy Chorizo, Monterey Jack & Egg Breakfast Sandwich can
certainly be tempting, but according to Eat This Not That, you'd be better off eating
17 strips of bacon than one of these sandwiches. That's because — believe it or not — the
Spicy Chorizo breakfast sandwich somehow contains more fat. The takeaway here? The next time
you visit Starbucks, you might want to stick with its decidedly burnt-tasting coffee.
Starbucks has quite a dilemma, and it might be hard to remedy. Only 20 percent of the
company's sales come from food, so there's not a whole lot of incentive to change the
way it operates. Its many locations are often too small to accommodate a full-sized kitchen
like other chain bakeries like Panera. Instead, Starbucks defrosts and reheats frozen food…
and frozen food will never hold a candle to fresh food, will it? In theory, the company
could invest in chefs and huge kitchens, but Starbucks is known for its coffee more than
its snacks, and so the stores are obviously designed for baristas.
Starbucks' baked goods aren't particularly healthy, either. Sugar makes everything taste
better, but the coffee company is a little heavy-handed with the sweet stuff when it
comes to making pastries like croissants, coffee cakes, and muffins.
According to the Eating Well website, some of Starbucks' breakfast pastries contain more
than the 24 grams of added sugar that women can consume daily… and even more than the
36 grams of added sugar per day that men can safely eat. For example, Starbucks' chocolate
muffin packs an incredible 39 grams of sugar. If you're trying to eat healthy, Starbucks'
pastries and breakfast sandwiches really aren't the way to go.
Critics have gone after the company's croissants, too. According to OC Weekly, one unsatisfied
customer noted that the croissants are way too buttery. Of course butter tastes good,
but it's certainly not the healthiest choice, especially considering that half the calories
from this morning munch comes from fat.
In the end, as much as you may love Starbucks' coffee, the chain seems to be struggling to
find healthy breakfast options to serve alongside your favorite morning cup. Until they make
some changes, maybe you should stick to a Venti of your preferred cup of Joe and pick
up your breakfast elsewhere.
"Venti is a large coffee."
"Really, says who? Fellini?"
"How much is that? Here's a ten."
"Do you accept lira, or is it all euros now?"
"Keep the change."
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