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Woman thinks Starbucks iced coffee has too many ice cubes: claim for $5 million

Published: 2026-02-23 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/02/23, This is the argument of prosecution lawyers in a current case against Starbucks, Quartz reported. Of course, the focus of the case is not ice cream, but iced drinks such as iced coffee. Stacy Pincus, a Chicago woman, filed a class action lawsuit against the coffee chain, accusing Starbucks of false advertising and overcharging consumers for its iced drinks.

This is the argument of prosecution lawyers in a current case against Starbucks, Quartz reported. Of course, the focus of the case is not ice cream, but iced drinks such as iced coffee. Stacy Pincus, a Chicago woman, has filed a class action lawsuit against the coffee chain, accusing Starbucks of false advertising and overcharging consumers for its iced drinks.

The complaint, filed on April 27, alleges that Starbucks clerks deliberately did not give enough drinks. They asked for an oversized cup of iced coffee. Starbucks advertised that it was a cup with 24 liquid ounces, but in fact it had only 14 liquid ounces, and the rest was filled with ice.

In fact, everyone who goes to Starbucks to order iced coffee knows this, but they can only pray that baristas who serve themselves can use ice cubes carefully so that they can drink more coffee.

"Ice cubes are not 'liquid'." According to the indictment, "the volume of water expands when it freezes." Starbucks fills iced coffee cubes with large ice cubes. The problem is that when the ice melts, the total amount of liquid in the cup will be reduced. Pincus stressed that, like the ice cream logic, when people order an oversized iced coffee at Starbucks, they don't want to wait for the ice to melt, but to have a 24-ounce cold drink.

"in essence, Starbucks is not only the problem of ice drinks less than advertising, but also the problem of overcharging."

Pincus' class action covers a frighteningly large group, including every consumer who has ordered a cold drink at Starbucks since April 2006. Because of this, Pincus' lawyer said the plaintiff did not know how many people there would be.

A spokesman for Starbucks said: "We fully understand the plaintiff's logic, and we firmly believe that this does not make sense." Our consumers understand and foresee that ice will be a significant part of the 'chilled' drinks they get. If there are consumers who are not satisfied with the drink they get, we will be more than happy to remix one. "

But what if Pincus (plus other people who have drunk iced coffee) wins the case? How should Starbucks adjust? Pincus' lawyer offers some solutions, the simplest of which is to use a bigger cup.