Eight sips.
That’s what a local coffee shop customer claimed she got when she went through the drive-thru and ordered an iced coffee drink that turned out to be mostly ice.
Creator @jexxss put the video up on Wednesday, getting more than 527,000 views in just the first 20 hours on the platform. While she wouldn’t call out the business that made the coffee and doesn’t have any location info in her bio, the complaint seemed to strike a universal chord in viewers.
@jexxss #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Jess
“I’m all for supporting small businesses and local coffee shops and whatever,” she started, explaining that she went to her local spot and ordered “a medium iced latte with almond milk and vanilla.”
But she then revealed, after tipping a dollar and getting the drink—shelling out a little more than $8 total—that the drink was filled all the way to the lid with ice.
As a result, as she exclaimed, “I get a total of eight sips. This is how much ice they put in my drink at this local coffee shop. One dollar a sip is basically what I paid. How? How is this acceptable?”
“I was not taking large sips,” she asserted. “I was taking small to average-size sips trying to make this drink last a while. I got eight.”
“This is robbery,” she then declared. “I’m sorry, but Dunkin’ does not do me dirty like that.”
She goes on to talk about getting a $500 espresso machine, and noting that while some people in her life said, “It’s such a waste of money,” she made the case that an $8 drink a day—even one that doesn’t rob its customers—adds up to $500 over the course of just two months.
She ended by grappling about giving the place a negative review, remarking, “I literally paid $8 for ice.”
It appeared to tap into something some viewers were experiencing with their own local coffee shops
“Support local!” someone quoted, before adding, “I’d love to, but god damn they make it hard.”
“Starbucks used to be the expensive option,” another reflected. “Now it’s literally the cheap option.”
The creator agreed with that sentiment, saying, “Right!”
One unlucky commenter shared, “Paid $8 for an iced coffee today too. Went there with my laptop to find out they don’t have WiFi lol.”
“I asked for no ice at a small shop once and they charged me $5 extra for no ice,” another groused. “How much product are you jipping me that it’s $5 extra without it??!”
Someone else indicated the barista was doing it wrong, saying, “I worked at Starbucks and most places its like maybe half the cup with ice. THATS THE WHOLE CUP.”
“I literally tell them PUT ONLY 4 CUBES for that specific reason,” said another.
One revealed, “I used to work at a local coffee shop and the owner was always like ‘you need to put more ice so we don’t waste coffee.’ I felt so bad for [customers].”
“Sometimes constructive criticism is the best way to support small businesses,” suggested another. “The next person might not be as kind so talk to them!!”
But one was ready to give up, expressing, “2023 is the year we start making coffee at home.”
In response to queries about which espresso maker she splashed for, the creator made a separate TikTok video showing off the Breville Barista Express.
@jexxss Replying to @<3 ♬ original sound – Jess
As one commenter put it, agreeing with the creator’s math, “My espresso machine has paid for itself at this point. Coffee shops are out of hand with these prices lately.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via the email address shared in her bio.