- Sophie Greenfield, from Berkhamsted, was charged £6.75 for a Starbucks coffee
- Read More: Starbucks barista reveals most common mistakes customers make
A student claimed she 'nearly had a heart attack' when told her Starbucks was £6.75 - only to be slammed by social media users for buying from the chain in the first place.
Sophie Greenfield, who lives in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, was 'shocked' after being charged £6.75 for a large Crème Brulée Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso from a Starbucks in Wellingborough, North Northamptonshire, last week.
The 25-year-old popped out for a takeaway drink while she was house sitting and decided to try a coffee from the Starbucks summer menu which launched in April.
Forgetting to check the price, the student was surprised to discover the 'ridiculous' cost but felt too 'embarrassed' to change her order so forked out the money anyway.
Taking to TikTok, Sophie filmed herself sitting in her car with the takeaway espresso captioned '£6.75 for a drink is disgusting', which has now gone viral with 93,300 views.
Sophie Greenfield, who lives in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, claimed she 'nearly had a heart attack' when told her Starbucks was £6.75 - only to be slammed by social media users for buying from the chain in the first place
In the clip, the 25-year-old holds up the drink and can be heard saying 'that is ridiculous. I almost had a heart attack'.
Many users branded the student 'embarrassing' in the comments and blamed her for not checking the price before she paid - though others agreed the high cost was 'shocking'.
However dozens of commenters piled in to slam Sophie for even buying from Starbucks in the first place, following customer boycotts linked to Israel's war in Gaza.
Sophie said: 'It's crazy. It was ridiculously priced. I've never paid anything like that before.
'I hadn't tried the drink since it first came out. I didn't look at the price and just ordered the drink. When the price came up, I was shocked. I nearly had a heart attack.
'I almost asked to change my drink because that's a lot of money for a coffee. But I felt like I couldn't because the server had already put it through the till. I felt a bit embarrassed.
'Starbucks all charge different prices for their drinks but that's the most expensive one I've ever had. I can't believe people are going to spend that much.'
Sophie was 'shocked' after being charged £6.75 for a large Crème Brulée Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso from a Starbucks in Wellingborough, North Northamptonshire, last week
Dozens of commenters piled in to slam Sophie for even buying from Starbucks in the first place, following customer boycotts linked to Israel's war in Gaza
Many users branded the student 'embarrassing' in the comments and blamed her for not checking the price before she paid - though others agreed the high cost was 'shocking'
The 25-year-old, who has always been a Starbucks fan, revealed she is no longer able to factor the rising coffee costs into her student budget and now makes her own caffeinated drinks at home.
Sophie said: 'I haven't been back since. I've just been making my coffee at home. I invested in a coffee machine and just buy the pods.
'You get so much more for your money that way. It's more of a treat now than a regular occurrence.
'It wasn't a case of not being able to afford the drink even though it was a shock. Moving forward I'll definitely think twice before ordering.
'It's not something that I can factor into the budget anymore. I used to be able to. A lot of students are in a much worse position than I am. It's a once in a blue moon thing.
'I do think Starbucks is the most expensive out of all of the chains. I wouldn't say that their quality is any different. I feel like some people go to Starbucks for the name.
Taking to TikTok , Sophie filmed herself sitting in her car with the takeaway espresso captioned '£6.75 for a drink is disgusting', which has now gone viral with 93,300 views
The 25-year-old, who has always been a Starbucks fan, revealed she is no longer able to factor the rising coffee costs into her student budget and now makes her own caffeinated drinks at home
'I think they use that position and their reputation to put the prices up because they know that young girls and teenagers will still buy it.'
Many users took to the comments to brand the student 'embarrassing' for complaining about the expensive drink.
One user said: 'This is so embarrassing.' Another user said: 'Why do people order things without checking the price first? And the act shocked when they get the bill.'
A third user said: 'That's because you are going to a chain coffee place.'
A large number of commenters suggested it was her own fault as they believed she should be 'boycotting' the chain.
One said: 'Maybe if you boycotted, you'd save that £6.75 like every other person that's boycotting.'
Another added: 'Serves you right for going to Starbucks, hope they charge you more when you go next.'
But other users agreed with her that the price was 'shocking'. One user said: 'The prices are getting insane.'
A second user said: 'Starbucks have gone up so much I used to pay £4.75 for a large.' A third user said: 'It's shocking.'
Sophie said: 'I thought the negative comments were valid but they didn't really phase me to be honest. I just thought 'I'm going to order the drink I want'.
'I just wanted a coffee and it was the first coffee shop near me. I went in for the convenience. I ordered the drink I knew I'd like and didn't think much about it.
'I had some people commenting saying it was because I ordered syrups but I didn't add anything extra. Everything was already included for this order specifically.'
Starbucks said that the drink comes in three sizes with 'tall' being the smallest, while the size of beverage ordered by the customer is their largest offer of a 'venti' at 591 ml [just over one pint].
They said that beverage and food prices reflect local operating costs and factors and will vary by location.
