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Don’t have a meltdown, Starbucks fans: Coffee chain to change its ice

Starbucks File photo. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images/Getty Images)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Don’t have a meltdown, Starbucks fans, but there’s a big change coming to your favorite iced beverage.

The coffee chain is changing its ice cubes.

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Starbucks locations are slowly trading out its current cubes for “nugget ice.”

According to CNN, initial reactions to the new ice on Reddit are mixed, but passionate. Some said that the new ice is chewier or flakier and claim it’s similar to the ice used at Sonic and the Coffee Bean. CNN reported that the so-called “pellet ice” has some fans, but other people are worried that it will water down the drinks or change the texture of their Frappuccinos.

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The company told CNN that the nuggets don’t melt any faster and the switch to nuggets doesn’t mean customers will get any less ice since baristas are using the same ice scoop.

The company’s new iteration of ice has had a “resoundingly positive response” in its tests, it said.

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Starbucks said in a statement to CNN that the new ice machines use less water and will be rolled out to all its stores over the next several years.

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Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

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