Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Two years ago, we told you about an issue of Starbucks allegedly underfilling cups of its latte because it was counting the height of the milk foam in its calculations of the number of fluid ounces in each cup.

Well, a United States district court judge in California just ruled in the company’s favor. In her ruling, she deflated each of the consumer plaintiffs’ legal theories.

They first claimed that only if the cups were filled to the brim, which they tended not to be, did they hold the promised 12 ounces, 16 ounces, or 20 ounces. However, the consumers’ own expert testified that in fact the capacity of each of the cups was 14.5 fl. oz. for a Tall, 18.5 for a Grande, and 22.8 for a Venti beverage — more than enough room for the promised amount.

The consumers’ lawyers next claimed that the foam and its height should not be used to calculate the total volume of the beverage. The judge disagreed saying that since the plaintiffs themselves say that lattes are composed of three ingredients, expresso, steamed milk, and milk foam, that all three ingredients count in determining the total measure.

The plaintiffs’ final theory was that the Starbucks recipe cards themselves don’t call for enough ingredients when added together to meet the promised size of the finished drinks. The judge pointed out the recipe calls for cold milk which expands when heated, and when coupled with the required foam, does in fact come out to the promised total.

The judge seemed to have ignored Handbook 133 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which says you have to first dissipate the foam, and then you measure the quantity of liquid in the cup. Under the judge’s reasoning, some smart aleck coffee seller could half fill a cup with foam and possibly get away with it.