A family is suing Starbucks after finding blood in their drinks, and we don’t want any part of this secret menu
We’re always here for a new Starbucks drink, but not so much the Frappuccino a California family once received. You know, the one that came with a dash or two of blood.
According to San Bernardino couple Amanda and Louis Vice, a drink they ordered back in 2016 had a smear of blood in the whipped cream. (Before you ask, this is not a new version of the Vampire Frappuccino, the “bloody” strawberry drink the coffee chain rolled out in October. Nor it is the Zombie Frappuccino.)
The family noticed a questionable red smear when their 2-year-old daughter began licking whipped cream off a Java Chip Frappuccino. The blood was on the outside of the cup and had a “strong metallic smell,” according to the lawsuit.
"Once we drank it, then we could see on the inside of the rim that there was blood," Amanda Vice told KTLA in Los Angeles. “She was licking the whipped cream where it had been sitting on top.
When the couple raised concerns, the staff reportedly admitted one of the baristas had cut herself. The manager asked the employee to stop making drinks. The Vice family’s lawyer said the manager also offered the family free drinks for a week, which they declined.
Starbucks sued by IE family after blood allegedly found in drinks https://t.co/F7JWeWyRWn pic.twitter.com/pD9ztuE0fx
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 9, 2018
However, the family later grew worried about health issues and requested the Starbucks barista undergo blood tests to rule out diseases. The employee never took the tests, according to the suit.
“The family was then left to schedule their own blood tests, causing extreme distress for the parents as they had to watch their daughter be poked with a needle and agonizingly wait for the results, a news release from the law firm states.
As a result, the family has decided to sue for damages two years after the incident. In response, Starbucks reportedly offered the family $1,000 each, which they again turned down.
Starbucks has issued a response to the lawsuit.
"We've been working directly with [the family] to find a resolution since this allegedly happened almost two years ago, so we were surprised that they filed a lawsuit last week," Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges told People. "We'll continue to try to work with the family to try to come to a resolution and get a better understanding of what they feel is fair based on these allegations. But now that it's become a lawsuit, we are fully prepared to make our case on this matter."
Yikes. We’re just glad everyone is safe and healthy. And from now on, we’ll be sure to take a second look at our coffee before drinking.