If you’ve spent any time on TikTok, you already know: People have a lot of feelings about their coffee cups.
TikToker Alex Roy (@frankieandalex) recently posted a video bemoaning how their Starbucks order was served. The video has over 80,000 views and nearly 3,000 likes.
@frankieandalex The chic plastic ones were right there!!!!!!! This sucks !!! #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #coffee #recycle #VikingRise #fyp ♬ origineel geluid – Tik Toker
“My body was filled with unspeakable rage as I was handed this cup that contained my ICED drink,” the on-screen text reads, as the TikToker holds a paper cup—the kind typically associated with hot drinks.
“The chic plastic ones were right there!!!!!!!” the caption read.
Viewers in the comments section made much ado about the cup.
“I would’ve handed them back the drink and either bought a reusable cup or tell them I didn’t want it anymore,” one person commented.
“But I can’t reuse this at home to make my water feel boujee,” a second said.
Another commenter sympathized: “Welcome to Aruba, they banned the other ones and its been two years my Venti gets soggy halfway through.”
“No I will literally stop going to Starbucks over this,” one viewer declared.
“What is this abomination? How bout no,” another wrote. Roy replied, “I was horrified – I knew it was coming having seen other videos but I never thought it would happen to me.”
There were some naysayers, however, like one commenter who wrote, “bro it’s a cup.”
“It’s deeper than that,” Roy replied.
In response to a comment about the Canadian city’s ban on clear cups, Roy confirmed that their drink was served in Montreal.
According to CBC, a Montreal bylaw banning certain single-use plastic items in restaurants and other food establishments went into effect on March 28.
Even those paper cups might become relics of the past. Last year, Starbucks announced an initiative to move away from disposable cups altogether and embrace reusable cups, including cups provided by the store and ones brought in by customers.
“Our goal by 2025 is to create a cultural movement towards reusables by giving customers easy access to a personal or Starbucks provided reusable cup for every visit making it convenient to reuse,” the coffee chain’s 2022 announcement reads. Starbucks added that it hopes to roll out a personal reusable cup policy for in-store, drive-thru, and mobile orders in every U.S. and Canada location.
Though this may be the company’s goal, it’s certainly not a reality yet. Earlier this month, TikTok viewers defended a Starbucks barista who made a drink in one of the chain’s disposable plastic cups even after a customer brought their own.
The Daily Dot contacted Alex Roy via TikTok and Starbucks via email for further information.
