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Big Dairy is trying to get teens hooked on lattes to boost milk sales
Amid decades-long souring of milk sales in the United States, big dairy groups have now turned to sponsoring coffee bars in high schools to help skim profits from the trendy—and milk-heavy—latte drinks popular with teens, according to a report by the Associated Press.
A $5,000 dairy grant to a high school in North Dakota helped buy an espresso machine that makes 150-calorie latte drinks containing 8 ounces of milk, for instance. The school went through 530 gallons of milk just for the lattes this school year, according to the food-service director for the school district.
Likewise, a Florida dairy group offers schools grants worth $6,000 to outfit their coffee bars. The campaign is called "moo-lah for schools," which refers to lattes as "moo brew." The group says the coffee bars are an opportunity to "serve 8 oz. of milk with 2 oz. of coffee and added flavorings that fit into your school wellness policy." One of the explicit goals of the grant program is to get students who "might not normally select milk with their school meals to consume milk."
It's unclear how popular the dairy-sponsored coffee bars will be nationwide—or how successful they'll be at hooking a new generation of dairy drinkers. But it's the latest attempt by the industry to get a grip on its dwindling market. Milk consumption has declined by 40 percent since 1975.
[...] Not everyone is happy with the coffee-bar sponsorship. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages children from caffeine consumption, citing blood pressure and heart-rate effects as well as sleep problems and headaches.
Pediatricians have apparently never heard of decaf.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday July 07 2019, @04:28PM (3 children)
It seems to me that the amount of syrup being put into lattes has increased in the last several years. I now make it a point to ask for half the amount of flavoring usual, but may favorite is actually a 12 oz double latte with 1 packet of sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the espresso and there is no effect on the foam.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday July 07 2019, @06:56PM (2 children)
Agreed, though as I noted, when I order a latte, there should be no syrup. When did syrup even become a default thing in lattes? I recall when the flavored lattes were a novelty drink in Starbucks 20 years ago or so -- something a kid would order or someone who wanted an especially decadent treat. I notice now that there are all these "flavor shot" options too -- it seems no one can get a coffee or iced coffee or whatever without some sweet thing squirted in it.
I'll admit sometimes I add a little sugar to a coffee or iced coffee, depending on my mood and whether the coffee needs it. (If the coffee is actually good coffee, it doesn't need it. Good coffee is coffee that's good enough to drink black.) Regardless, I add a small amount -- always less than the default if you ask for, say, an iced coffee with cream and sugar.
Years ago when Starbucks started really taking over the coffee shop scene across the U.S., I made it a point to try several of the wacky new drinks just out of curiosity. They were mostly sweet oddities, but I rarely ever ordered any of those drinks twice.
A few months back, I pulled over at a rest stop and saw a Dunkin Donuts. I saw the advertisements for "signature lattes," which looked crazy, but I had never ordered a latte of any sort at DD, and in the spirit of my younger self who used to try crazy drinks, I ordered one.
I took literally three sips and threw it immediately in the trash. I expected it to be so full of random flavors that it wouldn't taste anything like a plain latte; I was just being a bit "adventurous" in trying some wacky drink. But the sugar was simply overpowering. And it was topped with whipped cream, which had some sugary mixture even sprinkled on top of the whipped cream. Insane.
Again, if someone likes that drink, let them have it. I'm not judging anyone else's tastes. But I do think the default sweetness level has risen over the decades.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday July 07 2019, @08:09PM
I think syrups first entered my conciousness in the very early 90s. Torani has apparently been around since 1925 ( https://www.torani.com/our-story [torani.com] ) and given that it was started by an Italian immigrant bringing old world syrups to the US, probably even longer. It's just the excessive "would you like some coffee with your syrup" proportions that are likely new.
Anyway, I have always taken cream and sugar in my coffee, but things have gotten out of hand lately.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday July 16 2019, @11:10AM
However, nowadays, I'm noticing the syrup gimmick invade beers (fruit juice, lactose, and even maple syrup in imperial stouts, for example), and as I like beer, it's starting to piss me off, as I can't find a beer that's made of beer any more.
Yet another reason why 100th-term abortions should be not just legal, but compulsory, for hipsters.
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