A US woman complained in court that coffeehouse chain Starbucks puts too much ice in its iced coffee - and wants more than US$5 million in compensation for all affected, US media reported yesterday.

The lawsuit filed last week by Stacy Pincus in Chicago takes issue with a discrepancy between the amount of liquid coffee contained in a typical iced coffee drink and the amount the Seattle-based chain says it contains, the Chicago Tribune reported.

A Starbucks spokesperson told dpa the claims were “frivolous and without merit”.

“Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it,” Starbucks said.

Reports of the lawsuit and the strong negative public reaction to it quickly went viral on social media, with some media and private commentators calling the lawsuit an “ultimate first-world problem.”

“Welcome to America - land of the frivolous lawsuit,” New York television anchor Rob Schmitt wrote on Twitter.

The lawsuit follows fast on the heels of a suit filed in March in California by two customers who alleged Starbucks routinely underfills its latte hot coffee drinks by as much as 25 percent.

The suits are not the first to demand millions for unsatisfactory take-out coffee.

In a celebrated case in 1994, a jury awarded US$2.86 million to a US woman who suffered third-degree burns when she spilled takeout coffee from McDonald’s in her lap. A judge later reduced the award.

- dpa