Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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chai help please! (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by existentialmacchiato
Hey you guys! I’ve worked at my licensed store for the past 5 years, and the entire time I’ve been here we’ve had issues with our chai! Not every time, but on a pretty regular basis, when we open a new carton of the chai concentrate, after a couple hours the concentrate in the container gets super gross and foamy and smells absolutely disgusting - even though it looks/tastes/smells normal right out of the carton. When this happens it also begins dripping out of the pump, and will continue dripping all over our counters (it can be quite the mess if it happens over night). We’ve tried everything we can think of - getting new containers and pumps, cleaning them like crazy, checking dates obsessively, but nothing ever works and it’s been like this here for at least 5 years if not longer.
Has anyone else ever had this problem?/Any ideas on what we can do about it? It gets so bad I don’t really feel comfortable selling it even though it’s nowhere near expired.
Has anyone else ever had this problem?/Any ideas on what we can do about it? It gets so bad I don’t really feel comfortable selling it even though it’s nowhere near expired.
Not_Another_Karen 4 points 11m ago
You leave the chai out overnight?
Licensed store here. We keep chai on the counter from the start until close then we dump it. But we only put about quarter to half a box in the pump.
The rest of the box we keep in the fridge. It's good in the fridge up to 5 days.
If it isn't keeping it's shelf life at room temp for 24 hours, I highly suggest keeping it in the fridge to prevent the fermentation process.
Licensed store here. We keep chai on the counter from the start until close then we dump it. But we only put about quarter to half a box in the pump.
The rest of the box we keep in the fridge. It's good in the fridge up to 5 days.
If it isn't keeping it's shelf life at room temp for 24 hours, I highly suggest keeping it in the fridge to prevent the fermentation process.
existentialmacchiato [OP] 2 points 11m ago
We usually go through quite a few cartons in a day, so there shouldn’t be a need to throw out chai that has been opened at 7 or 8 PM and is nowhere close to expiring. Though maybe storing it the fridge could help with our issue - we’ll have to try that.
However, when we open a “bad” carton of chai it starts giving us issues almost immediately (definitely within a couple hours), so it’s definitely not a leaving-it-out-overnight issue.
Thanks for the idea though! I think I’ll try keeping it in the fridge in the future and see if we notice an improvement!
However, when we open a “bad” carton of chai it starts giving us issues almost immediately (definitely within a couple hours), so it’s definitely not a leaving-it-out-overnight issue.
Thanks for the idea though! I think I’ll try keeping it in the fridge in the future and see if we notice an improvement!
Not_Another_Karen 2 points 11m ago
We definitely don't sell a lot of chai, so thought that may be the issue. Otherwise I have no idea! Sounds terrible.
It does say on the box it can be refrigerated up to 5 days, even if you go through it before that, it may help! Best of luck.
It does say on the box it can be refrigerated up to 5 days, even if you go through it before that, it may help! Best of luck.
rositalagata 2 points 11m ago
How often do you take apart the pump? If it's not getting cleaned thoroughly or even just if any of the parts are worn out, that can make things pump weirdly. There's a seal at the bottom of the plunger that causes problems for me.
newday2001 2 points 11m ago
maybe the delivery process is messing with the quality ?
existentialmacchiato [OP] 1 points 11m ago
hmmmm. maybe I should check with some stores on the same delivery schedule as me.
accountedthrowaway5 2 points 11m ago
if im not mistaken, i think the chai is fermenting?
existentialmacchiato [OP] 1 points 11m ago
it definitely has a similar smell that could suggest this, but I don’t see how it’s possible in a matter of an hour or two, and especially considering it’s usually only 1-5 bad ones in a case, EVERY case.
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