Kosher Summer: Starbucks Frappuccino®

Well now that summer is here it's out with the iced drinks. It's important when purchasing drinks to make sure they are kosher and not just drink what you may have seen some dude with a yarmulka drinking. Many people are under the impression that Starbucks Frappuccinos are kosher, which they are if purchased in a bottle. Buy one from a store and it's another story entirely. I found a great site that goes through a lot of information:kosherstarbucks.com. For some other information be sure to check out this pdf from the CRC. Kosherstabucks maintains the following:

Frappuccino® is made with the following: base, flavoring, ice. There are two kind of bases, crème base and coffee base. Coffee base is not kosher and Crème base is kosher. Some flavors are made with coffee base by default, and some with creme base by default. We formulated our list based on how the drink is made by default. Therefore, if you request a kosher syrup(see Syrups) and you specificly ask for a creme based Frappuccino® it will be kosher. For example, a creme based Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccino® is kosher even though it's on the "not recommended list" because by default it's made with coffee base. The site goes on to explain it further and is very informative and as always be sure to check with your local Rabbi for confirmation.