Eat & Drink
Say No to the Soy Milk Surcharge. 50 Local Cafes that Won't Charge Extra for Those Who Don't Do Cow
Does it make sense to charge someone 50 cents extra just for soy milk?
Like many new graduates, I was working as a barista in Starbucks waiting for my first reporting gig to show up. My gainfully employed friends, many of whom had dietary restrictions, would come visit and order those sugary-sweet drinks with soy or lactose-free milk. I went against company policy each and every time and refused to charge them the extra coin for soy.
What I thought was a personal stand at the time has morphed into a wider issue in cafes across Toronto. Earlier this year Toronto vegetarian Sarah Veale made a post she called the Soy Latte Project to catalogue cafes that don't charge for soy or lactose-free milk.
It was a good idea but she must have gotten sidetracked as this list remains small and somewhat abandoned. So this week I called all the cafes listed on this site to see who's charging extra for soy milk in our lattes.
So what did I find out? Looking at the independents only, 34 currently apply an extra charge for soy milk - the price varies from 15 to 50 cents. Many baristas and owners who I talked to said they did so because soy milk costs more than the regular dairy stuff. But just over 50 of the cafes find a way to not add the soy milk surcharge and believe strongly that their customers should have their choice of milk regardless of the price.
"Never have, never will," remarked someone I spoke with at Tango Palace Coffee Company in Leslieville.
As for Veale, she contacted Starbucks' corporate office to ask why they charge so much for soy, especially when a carton has a fairly long shelf life and runs less than $4 retail (Starbucks probably pays under $2) which is less than the price of one latte. She received a standard press release back citing the price of soy milk as the reason.
It doesn't take an economist to figure out this is really just a money grab. If a massive chain like Starbucks that charges more for a latte than almost any cafe in the city doesn't have the margins to absorb the extra costs of soy then they're in more trouble than Wall Street thinks.
Consider that Jet Fuel's better tasting and bigger latte only runs 3 bucks. And they don't charge extra for soy. The numbers just don't add up.
"Finding soy-friendly venues is one option that puts the power back in consumers' hands," Veale says. "We can go elsewhere. If some shops want to alienate soy drinkers, there are other entrepreneurs eager to step in and cater to that clientele."
And who are those entrepreneurs? Here's a map of 50 Toronto cafes that don't charge extra for soy.
Writing by Lyndsie Bourgon. Photo by Adam Fick on Flickr
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Proportionally speaking, less of Starbucks' customers on average will opt for soymilk. Also the bigger chain will buy in bigger quantities, so ingredient turnover can have a huge impact.
On the other hand, a place like Tango in Lesieville, probably sees a greater percentage of customers with a preference for soymilk. Without getting too deep into social norms and attitudes; i think you are trying to equate 2 very different client profiles. (legitimate arguments like lactose intolerance are an exception and that population is not the majority)
Yes at Sbux there are less soy drinkers but the very fact that they allow registered card customers that discount proves that they view the extra revenue as non-essential. People are paying for their complacency.
If enough people demand that Starbucks stop charging a premium for soy milk perhaps it will change. Perhaps not.
And Jordan, the idea that a barista would reuse regular milk once it is already steamed would discourage me from returning to that shop far more than if they charged a premium for soy. It is a particular concern of mine that people think it acceptable to reuse steamed milk. It burns it and makes the whole drink taste off.
I worked at an independent coffee shop once that charged 75 cents to add soy--it was ridiculous (the owners were very sketchy though...).
Anyways thanks for a map of coffee shops to avoid so I won't be overcharged to pay for some vegan's preferences and to encourage gender dysmorphia in children. Soy is far more dangerous than BPA and should be avoided by all men (if you can't drink real milk, go for almond or coconut, don't ingest all the estrogen mimic chemicals of soy).
Also, if lactose intolerant people aren't a majority in Toronto, they must be approaching it, given the city's shifting demographics. Most of the world's population, aside from a large share of Europeans and North Indians, can't digest lactose.
@RealityCheck - Lol at your soy myths.
Thanks for enlightening me with this new consumerism where we boycott companies that charge in proportion to their costs. Or, in the author's case, simply steal the difference. What else can we complain about and not pay for?
There is a BIG difference between 'not digesting lactose well' and actually having full blown lactose intolerance.The former is associated with maybe some gastric discomfort...the latter however, is an experience in agony, may hours on the toilet and pain medications. They are hardly the same.
@ GB
lol. I suffer from the same condition.
That's kinda the definition of the word
1) Starbucks sucks.
2) Soy milk sucks (and there's no such goddam thing as soy milk...it's juice.)
So just go to Jet Fuel anyway, and stop drinking soy juice. While you're at it live on the edge a bit: try HOMOGENIZED milk. 3.5% fat.. Yum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogens
In theory, exposure to high levels of phytoestrogens in males could alter their hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. However, studies have shown that such a hormonal effect is minor. It may have health benefits for males.[19] Isoflavones supplementation has no effect in sperm concentration, count or motility and show no changes in testicular or ejaculate volume.[20][21] Researchers are studying if phytoestrogens can prevent prostate cancer. [22]
And this about females and phytoestrogens:
The generally accepted position on this topic is that phytoestrogens may be beneficial for healthy females and that females with known breast cancer should be aware of potential risks and consider avoiding consumption until more information is available.[20]
and:
While it should be noted that all infant formulas are inferior to human milk, soy formula presents no more risk than cow-milk formula.[34] One of these studies, published at the Journal of Nutrition,[33] concludes that:
"...there is no clinical concerns with respect to nutritional adequacy, sexual development, neurobehavioral development, immune development, or thyroid disease. SBIFs provide complete nutrition that adequately supports normal infant growth and development. FDA has accepted SBIFs as safe for use as the sole source of nutrition"
you are in your 40's, balding, have a shitty corporate gig, your kids and wife hate you, you peruse the craigslist erotic service ads on a daily basis, and jerk off in the shower while crying.
So if <i>you</i> shop for products you want at the prices you want to pay, you're a rugged individualist, but if other people do, they're stupid complainers?