Is Starbucks Caffè Latte ultra-processed?

330ml Coffee drinks Sold in the United Kingdom and Germany

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E407 Carrageenan
E418 Gellan gum

10 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed coffee drinks

Decaff Gold Roast Coffee Alcafe 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Jimmy’s Iced Coffee High Protein Jimmy's 7 ingredients · 2 additives NOVA group 1
Instant coffee Espresso Gold Blend Nescafé 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Colombian freeze dried instant coffee Deluxe 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

fat milk 3.1%, Starbucks Arabica coffee (water, coffee extact), sugar (processing marker) 4.2%, chicory inulin, acidity regulator, potassium carbonate, gellan gum (ultra-processing marker), carrageenan (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E407 Carrageenan , E418 Gellan gum , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501i Potassium carbonate

As written on the pack

3.1 % fat milk (75 %), Starbucks Arabica coffee (water, coffee extact) (19.8%), sugar (4.2 %), chicory inulin, acidity regulator (potassium carbonate, stabilisers (gellan gum, carrageenan).

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
E418 Gellan gum Stabilisers are substances which make it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a foodstuff; stabilisers include substances which enable the maintenance of a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a foodstuff, substances which stabilise, retain or intensify an existing colour of a foodstuff and substances which increase the binding capacity of the food, including the formation of cross-links between proteins enabling the binding of food pieces into re-constituted food.

1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 97 coffee drinks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 55th. 72% of the coffee drinks here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 97 coffee drinks, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5711953149764, last edited 1 September 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.