by Rabbi Tsvi Heber
Question: What kind of coffee is kosher to buy at a Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, Second Cup and other coffee shops?
Answer: Treat Timmie’s, Starbucks and Second Cup like McDonald’s or any other non-kosher restaurant and buy only unflavoured coffee. As a rule, it is permitted to purchase unflavoured coffee, both regular and decaffeinated, after it has been brewed, while still hot from a pot/carafe or after it has been cooled off in a pitcher or container, from Starbucks or even from McDonald’s. Unflavoured tea is similarly permitted.¹ The reason to be lenient is that although coffee and tea are made using equipment which was washed together with treif, we can assume that the treif taste that was absorbed into the equipment is older than twenty-four hours and does not prohibit the coffee, bidieved.² Once the coffee is not prohibited it is acceptable to purchase from the store, l’chatchila!³ All other drinks should be avoided because they are made to order on treif equipment.⁴ Even unflavoured coffee should not be ordered and brewed specially for you. Therefore, you should not make a special order for a container full of coffee. Almond milk must be checked for a hechsher. Cholov Yisroel milk can be used but only if the seal is broken in front of you.⁵
Question: If only unflavoured coffee can be purchased from Starbucks why are my friends buying so many other drinks, including lattes and cappuccinos?
Answer: Historically people were more lenient but for good reason. In the past, some coffee shops did not offer sophisticated treif menus. People went into these shops bought coffee and possibly other types of coffee-based drinks, like lattes and cappuccinos, thinking that the equipment used for such drinks were not “treifed up”. However, stores like Timmie’s and Starbucks are much more than coffee shops; they are treif restaurants; and the equipment used for making coffee is washed constantly with treif. While in the past it may have been possible to classify some of the coffee shops as “quasi-kosher” today they are mostly treif. People keep buying coffee-based drinks and other products even though they are not kosher because they always thought they were ok.
Question: How did this happen?
Answer: The kashrus industry should share some of the responsibility. Consumers were asking many questions from kashrus rabbis. Well-meaning kashrus organizations and others published lists as a helpful response; lists that isolated products that could be presumed kosher.⁶ However, just like we do not have lists of products that can be bought at McDonald’s, we similarly should not have lists of kosher products that can be bought at Starbucks. My perspective is that such lists send us down a slippery slope as they are subject to constant changes that are not closely followed by consumers who ultimately purchase the wrong products, or just do what they were accustomed to do yesterday.⁷ Starbucks lists no longer serve a constructive function.
Question: So, if Starbucks and Timmie’s are the same as McDonald’s, why are you saying the unflavoured coffee is kosher to buy? Some of the lists you refer to are recommending avoiding regular coffee!
Answer: Because regular unflavoured coffee can be purchased no matter where and when you buy it. While the heter to allow coffee that is already made on treif equipment is somewhat complicated (see endnote #2), it is founded on strong halachic principles. It is not considered placing a stumbling block in front of a blind person to recommend coffee since it can be purchased anywhere in the world, including McDonald’s. This has been the approach of the Poskim for many generations.⁸
Question: One last question; is there any way to buy plain coffee on Shabbos from a coffee shop like Starbucks that is situated inside a hotel or hospital?
Answer: This can be achieved in a hospital. In a hotel, however, it is best to avoid. Assuming that arrangements can be made so that payment is made before or after Shabbos and that no mention of payment is made at the time of purchase,⁹ coffee that is freshly brewed on Shabbos can be purchased in a hospital since coffee is brewed for gentiles who represent the majority of the people who frequent the establishment on Shabbos.¹⁰ In a hotel, however, it is best to avoid drinking coffee on Shabbos. This is because coffee is brewed specifically for the guests of the hotel – which includes you – amongst other patrons of the establishment. Since coffee is brewed with you in mind, it should not be used on Shabbos.¹¹ In a case of necessity, a rov should be consulted.
Rabbi Tsvi Heber
Director of Community Kosher
Kashruth Council of Canada | www.cor.ca — 2024 Kosher CORner, pp. 52–54
COR, the Kashruth Council of Canada, is one of the world’s largest kosher certification agencies, certifying thousands of products, restaurants, and facilities. Learn more at cor.ca, or read about our certification services at corkosher.com.