What’s Kosher at Starbucks (2)

By Yehuda Ceitlin, Editor of COLlive

Like them or not, Howard Schultz‘s Starbucks did to coffee what Steve Jobs‘ Apple did to music and personal technology: Pricey, stylish and ‘in’. And in Jewish circles both of these companies’ products are heavily used.

While its easy to distinguish Jewish melodies from non Jewish tunes, getting the morning coffee has turned out to be a more difficult decision, as questions of kashrus overwhelm even religious Jews when choosing a grande or venti.

Last week, COLlive.com posted a guide for kosher keepers at Starbucks written by Chicago’s cRc rabbonim. From the confusion among the many comments, it became apparent that the list was not clear enough.

So we turned to one of our own – Rabbi Chaim Fogelman, a rabbinic coordinator of the Crown Heights-based OK Kosher Labs for his opinion on how Lubavitchers should be getting their morning caffeine boost.

Q: At Starbucks or any other coffee-shop without kosher supervision, is it permissible to drink a hot, non-dairy drink?
A: Most halachic authorities say you can drink plain, unflavored coffee anywhere and only in disposable cups – provided the coffee is made in a dedicated urn that is only used for unflavored coffee, which is usually the case.

Q: But there isn’t really a way of knowing if the store properly keeps the dairy and pareve dishes separate…
That’s true, however even if the dairy and parve dishes are washed together, it usually isn’t a problem when they are hand-washed with soap because the soap which is usually added right from the start of the washing session and creates a foul taste (“nosen taam lifgam”) and the water is not “yad soledes” (too hot to handle) and therefore even if they are washed together, and in reality even without soap it is halachically permissible to drink beverages made in these keilim.

However, it would be more mehudar if the coffee urn was a large one, causing it to be washed alone. If they are washed in a dishwashers (a machine) it might be a problem since very hot water is possibly used and soap might be added only later on.

Q: How about soy milk for a coffee?
A: You may add soy milk directly from the carton as long as you can verify that it’s kosher and pareve. Many are made on dairy equipment (cholov stam) and some might even have a dairy ingredient (Starbucks employees are usually willing to show you the carton).

Q: And heated soy milk for a latte, for example?
Heated soy milk is where problems begin. I would not use it unless you can verify the following:

1. You are certain that it’s heated in a specially-dedicated pareve equipment. (And they would not use it for dairy even in an emergency – like if the dairy heater breaks down).

2. You are certain that they always use the same kosher company for its soy milk. (The barista [coffee-house employee] cannot be relied upon to claim so).

Q: What about adding syrups to flavor the coffee?
A: As long as it has a hechsher and its pareve status can be established (many are dairy cholov stam).

Q: How about non-dairy (coffee or tea) cold drinks that are made for you on the spot?
A: Three conditions should be met. 1. Only kosher ingredients are used (they are usually flavored) 2. New or disposable cup 3. That it’s not first heated or boiled in an unforseen way.

Q: Are all teas kosher?
A: Plain raw unflavored tea (i.e. Lipton) is always kosher. However, herbal blends need a hechsher (they can be dairy and consequently not Cholov Yisrael.)

Q: How about bottled iced tea (like Snapple and such)?
A: They all need a reliable hechsher since they are often hot flashed or pasteurized during their production.

Q: In conclusion, would you say Starbucks should be avoided since it has no kashrus supervision?
A: Yes, but for a different reason: you can get a coffee elsewhere for a dollar as opposed to a latte… yiddishe gelt…