"frappuccino" news and stories

I stopped at my local Starbucks yesterday and found out that they have released their latest flavor of cappuccino/frappuccino/latte goodness - Dulce de Leche. I ordered the venti latte and received 5 squirts of flavoring, whipped cream, plus a sprinkled topping that reminded me of crumbled, sweetened pie crust, though I was out of the shop before I could ask them to confirm what it was.

As we showed you last week, Dulce de Leche is sweetened condensed milk that has literally been cooked in the can over low heat, producing a rich, milky, caramel toffee-like flavor. If you are so inclined you can make your own at home and save the $5 a cup, but for those who can't be bothered - the Starbucks version is absolutely delicious.

You know how Starbucks (and other coffee shops, pizza places and other food outlets) ask for your name when you order? Do you give them a real name or do you make one up?

Giving fake names seems to be a growing trend, especially at the coffee giant's many outlets. Instead of giving their real name, people are being pretty darn creative: Frankenstein, Ben Affleck, Bartholomew, even Darth Vader and Chewbacca have all been given as names from customers. Some girls go by the name "Bob" (hey!), and one man just goes by "The Man."

I usually give my real name at places like this, mainly because I don't want any screw up in my order, especially if they're busy. Though I do admit that one time at a restaurant I used the name "Larry Tate." That's Darrin's boss on Bewitched.

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Starbucks is the latest chain to try to jump on the no-trans fats bandwagon, trying to demonstrate to customers how much they care about health and nutrition. Starting this week, approximately half of the stores in the US, including those in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon, will have zero trans fats on their menus.

The company says that they have been planning the switch for two years now and that their nationally distributed pastries, primarily seasonal items like the Gingerbread loaf cake, are already trans-fat free. The rest of their pastries are baked by regional bakeries, which Starbucks contracts to provide pastries for their stores. These pastries vary from region to region, as do the recipes for them, so not every supplier has yet made a switch, but Starbucks seems to anticipate that it will not be long before they do.

So, if you're not located in one of the aforementioned areas of the country, does that mean you need to worry about trans fats at Starbucks? Not where drinks are concerned. According to the nutritional information on their website, very few of their drink products contain trans fats and those that do have only a very minimal amount. The pastries, on the other hand, vary widely by region, but judging from a random sampling of regional nutritional data (offered by zip code on the Starbucks website) your best bet will be a muffin or loaf cake if you want to minimize your trans-fat intake without cutting out pastries all together, at least until your area is declared trans-fat free, too.

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Naturally, water gives you the most bang for your buck when it comes to hydration (unless you're spending a lot of bucks on fancy bottled waters), but what about the rest of the beverages out there?

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has just published Healthy Beverage Guidelines, and while they urge 20 to 50 ounces of water per day, the rest of the guidelines are limitations, so that we're not drinking too much. Tea and coffee? Not more than 40 oz of tea and 32 oz coffee because the caffeine dehydrates you. Lowfat and soy milks are good for hydration, but make sure that you're not relying solely on them for calcium. The guidelines say that up to 32 oz of sugar-free drinks are acceptable, and that juice and sports drinks are next, limited to 8 oz a day. Last on the list? Starbucks Frappuccino and Red Bull. Really now, no one should be depending on those for hydration.

Attention everyone who either doesn't drink dairy or simply prefers soy milk: Starbucks is test marketing their new soy-based blended drinks in some California markets right now. Of course, this is good news for me since I live in California, but it shouldn't be a problem to get them at your local Starbucks even before they're released.

From what I can tell, the drinks they're offering right now are basically the Pomegranate and Tangerine frappuccinos, but instead of being made with tea, they're being made with soy milk. Since this is a simple change, it means that if you ask your neighborhood Starbucks baristas very nicely, they should be able to make one up for you even if you're not in the current test market!

Since I like the Tangerine tea blends, it's no surprise that I also like the Tangerine Soy. I have to go back to taste the Pomegranate, but I hear that it is even better than the Pomegranate tea frappuccino. I still can't wait to try the soy coffee frappuccinos that Starbucks has had in the works for ages now. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see those on the menu boards, too.

Another drink being tested right now was brought to my attention courtesy of some friends in Texas. Apparently, there is an Acai frappuccino at some stores. Acai is the newest "superfood" of the moment, so there is little doubt that this drink will have a few potential health benefits touted if it hits the rest of the country.