Starbucks faces backlash after barista allegedly writes 'yellow' on Asian customer's drink

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Starbucks faces backlash after barista allegedly writes 'yellow' on Asian customer's drink

Published: 28 Feb. 2026, 16:46

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The word “yellow” is written in English on a cup served to a Korean customer at a Starbucks store in California. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A Starbucks store in California is facing backlash after a Korean customer was served a drink on which what has been described as a racially offensive term was written on the cup.

On the social media platform X, one user claimed on Friday that a Korean colleague had experienced racism after ordering a black coffee at Starbucks.

“My Korean coworker ordered a black coffee at Starbucks today. He wasn’t wearing anything yellow [...] but his cup said ‘yellow’! He didn’t even notice until he took a sip,” read the post that generated over 1,000 comments, most of them criticizing the incident as racist.

The video in the post shows the word “yellow” written in English across the upper front of a disposable Starbucks cup. A receipt attached to the back of the cup displays what appears to be a Korean name as the customer’s name.

In Western countries, “yellow” has long been recognized as a discriminatory and inappropriate reference to Asians.

A commenter identifying as a former Starbucks barista wrote, “That’s not a secret code. It is racism.”

Starbucks has not issued an official statement as of press time.

This is not the first time that the company has faced allegations of racial discrimination. In 2018, two Black men waiting for an acquaintance at a Starbucks store in Philadelphia were reported by staff for not placing an order and were later escorted out in handcuffs by police.

Amid widespread outrage at the time, then-Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson issued a statement apologizing to the individuals involved and emphasized that “Starbucks stands firmly against racial discrimination.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]