Vegan Drinks at Scooter’s – that right, today I am going to be talking about Scooter’s and I am not talking about the two-wheeled kind. Okay, that was a horrendous joke and I apologize. That said, I will still be talking about Scooter’s … that is Scooter’s Coffee. Nebraska’s coffee chain is known for its quick in and out of Drive-Thru Coffee hut locations. Hence the name “Scooter’s” – you know because they aim to scoot people in and out quickly all while offering friendly (and fast) service. It currently has around 400 stores in the US and is growing. If you need a comparison the concept is a little like Dutch Bros in how they also focus on drive-thru coffee huts – albeit the two offer different styles of coffee. If you want to learn about Dutch Bros I covered them separately in my piece: Which Dutch Bros Drinks Are Vegan? The Complete Guide. With Scooter’s Coffee growing it means only one thing – I had to give it the Vegan Bev HQ once over and find out what exactly are the vegan drinks at Scooter’s Coffee.
What Drinks Are Vegan At Scooter’s?
There are some drinks that are already vegan on the Scooter’s menu such as their black coffees, Scooters Shooters, and Fruit n Ice Smoothies. Some other drinks can be made vegan by substituting dairy milk for a vegan alternative, swapping sauce for syrup, and holding whipped cream. Scooter’s Coffee sauces contain dairy so any drinks containing mocha, white mocha, or pumpkin sauce cannot be made vegan.
Scooter’s Official Vegan Statement
Scooter’s Coffee does provide an official statement on how to drink vegan at Scooter’s. It goes like this:
All drinks can be made vegan if a coconut, almond or oat milk base is used, and sauces are substituted with syrups.
Many of our drinks such as our Brewed Coffee, Scooter Shooter, Red Bull Infusions, Cold Brew, Americanos, Fruit ‘N’ Ice Smoothies, Teas, or Ready to Drink Almond Milk Lattes are all dairy-free with no substitutions required.
We offer three dairy-free milk substitutions at this time: almond, coconut, oat and soy (availability varies). When ordering, you can make many drinks dairy-free by requesting one of our dairy-free milk alternatives, as long as the drink does not contain a sauce (caramel, mocha, white mocha, pumpkin) or whipped cream. Our flavored syrups do not contain dairy, but all of our sauces do. Additionally, all of our blenders use ice cream base, but can be made with a dairy-free milk substitution. Please note: blenders are made using shared equipment.”
As “statements” go, and have I come across a few (my personal favorite is the PepsiCo one which says that Diet Pepsi in the UK is not-vegan but they cannot tell us why – you can check that out at Is Pepsi Vegan? Secrets To Know About Pepsi Drinks) this one from Scooter’s is helpful. I am encouraged – so let’s dig a little deeper.
Do You Love Coffee?
Do you love coffee and just want an easy and complete guide that tells you all the rules of thumb on how to order vegan coffee or drinks at any coffee chain or restaurant? If you do – great then check out my complete guide to ordering vegan coffee below:
Let’s start by looking at the drinks that are vegan as-is, followed by the drinks that need substitutions.
1. Vegan Drinks “As-Is” at Scooter’s Coffee
The following drinks are vegan “AS IS” at Scooter’s Coffee:
| Vegan Drinks at Scooter’s Coffee |
|---|
| Brewed Coffee |
| Scooter Shooter |
| Cold Brew |
| Americano |
| Fruit n Ice Smoothies |
| Vertigo Smoothies |
| All Teas |
Is Brewed Coffee Vegan
Black coffee is almost always vegan (with one exception – you can read more about it in the post I wrote – Is Coffee Vegan? How To Find Out The Truth).
Is Scooter’s Shooter Vegan?
A Scooter Shooter is your choice of freshly brewed coffee with a shot of espresso added. It is essentially black coffee so is vegan. These types of coffee drinks are also known as “Red Eyes” at other coffee locations because they are just strong and get you going.
Are Red Bull Infusions Vegan?
Scooter’s Red Bull infusions are iced drinks of Red Bull infused with flavors (for example prickly pear or tropical). Scooter’s Coffee has clarified that Red Bull Infusions are dairy-free but are they vegan?
The first thing to look at is Red Bull itself – is this vegan? The answer is yes. Red Bull is vegan (so long as you are comfortable with artificial colors) – you can read more about it in the post I wrote – Are Energy Drinks Vegan? Complete Guide To Finding Out.
The ingredients for the added flavors are not available but it is possible the flavor could contain cane sugar which could have been processed with bone char. Some vegans are comfortable with sugar whilst some avoid it. This is a question for your barista if you do not like to consume sugar which could have been processed with bone char. Note – the sugar in Red Bull is beet sugar so nothing to worry about there (it is just cane sugar that is sometimes processed with bone char – not beet sugar).
Is Cold Brew Vegan?
Cold Brew coffee is vegan if no milk is added. Cold Brew black coffee just undergoes a different brewing process.
Are Americanos Vegan?
An Americano is an espresso with hot water added and is vegan.
Are Scooter’s Fruit n Ice Smoothies Vegan?
Scooter’sFruit n Ice smoothies come in mango, peach, strawberry, strawberry banana, and wild berry, and consist of real fruit mix blended with ice. Scooters Fruit n Ices are vegan.
Are Scooter’s Vertigo Smoothies Vegan?
Vertigo smoothies were not included on the above list of Scooter’s dairy-free drinks (presumably because these smoothies were released after the above statement). Vertigo smoothies are dairy-free as they are made up of Scooter’s Fruit n Ice smoothies blended with Red Bull. Vertigo Smoothies do not contain any animal-derived ingredients and are vegan. As noted above there are some artificial colors in Red Bull that could have been tested on animals – this may be an issue for strict vegans.
Is Tea Vegan?
You can read more about whether tea is vegan in the post I wrote about it – Is Tea Vegan? Time To Know The Complete Facts. All the tea at Scooter’s is vegan. The tea available at Scooter’s consists of black, green, white, and herbal (Moroccan mint, chamomile lemon, and Rooibos chai).
The classic black iced tea and citrus green iced tea at Scooter’s Coffee is also vegan. Iced tea can sometimes be sweetened with honey but the sugar content of Scooter’s iced teas is 0g so clearly, there is no honey added.
2. Scooter’s Drinks That Can Be Made Vegan
In this section, I break down the Scooter’s Coffee drinks that can be made vegan with some substitutions or holds. I think the obvious place to start in this section is with what dairy-free milk alternatives Scooter’s has as these will be the main substitutions for most drinks.
Does Scooter’s Coffee Have Oat Milk?
Scooter’s Coffee introduced oat milk to their lineup of non-dairy milk alternatives in Winter 2021.
What Other Dairy-Free Milks Does Scooter’s Have?
Although in the official dairy-free Scooter’s Coffee statement they say they have almond, coconut, and soy available. Looking at their website it appears that the soy has been swapped out for the newly added oat. That means the current dairy-free alternatives look to be oat, almond, and coconut.
What Vegan Syrups Does Scooter’s Have?
Scooter’s Coffee has already clarified that all their sauces (caramel, mocha, white mocha, and pumpkin) are not vegan as they contain dairy but that their syrups are dairy-free. This isn’t uncommon, and in fact, is the usual rule of thumb for most coffee shops. For example, it is the same at Starbucks except their mocha sauce is dairy-free (see my post How To Actually Order Vegan Starbucks Drinks)
Please note that these syrups do contain sugar which may be an issue for some vegans due to potential bone char processing. If this is you, then fear not, Scooters do have three sugar-free syrups available: sugar-free caramel, sugar-free vanilla, and sugar-free hazelnut.
I have summarized the vegan syrup options at Scooter’s Coffee for you in the table below:
| Vegan Syrups at Scooter’s Coffee |
|---|
| Almond |
| Caramel |
| Coconut |
| Pricky Pear |
| Raspberry |
| Hazelnut |
| Toffee Nut |
| Vanilla |
| Sugar-Free Caramel |
| Sugar-Free Vanilla |
| Sugar-Free Hazelnut |
Other Common Questions – Scooter’s Coffee
Before I go into the drinks that can be made vegan at Scooter’s with substitutions let’s answer some of the most common questions about Scooter’s Coffee.
Is the Scooter’s Pumpkin Spice Latte Vegan?
It is, at the time of writing it is Fall which means we all have one thing on our mind – Pumpkin Spice. The pumpkin spice latte at Scooter’s Coffee, along with the pumpkin caramelicious, is not vegan and cannot be made vegan. This is because Scooter’s pumpkin sauce contains dairy.
Most pumpkin spice lattes are not vegan at most coffee chains, although there is one exception – you can find out which one here in my post literally dedicated to Pumpkin Spice Lattes: Is Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Vegan? The Amazing Truth.
Can the Candy Bar Lattes Be Made Vegan?
Scooter’s Coffee famous Candy Bar Lattes are essentially lattes flavored with several sauces and/ or syrups and with cream on top (think white chocolate mocha, caramel, hazelnut all in one latte). The concept is to make you think you are in a candy shop. Even if you are vegan, you can still order a vegan take on a candy bar latte. Just do as follows:
- Order a latte with oat, almond, or coconut;
- Avoid any sauces (mocha, white mocha, caramel, and pumpkin)
- Add as many syrups as you like; and
- Hold whipped cream.
Even if you are a non-sugar drinking vegan you could still order a plant-based milk latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup, sugar-free hazelnut syrup, and sugar-free caramel syrup – okay, it won’t be exactly the same, but it still is pretty close.
Are Scooter’s Smoothies Vegan?
We established above that Scooter’s Coffee Fruit n Ice and Vertigo Smoothies are vegan. The remaining smoothies on the menu are not vegan as they contain milk. You can, however, ask your barista if they are able to sub the milk for plant-based milk.
Is Scooter’s Chai Tea Latte Vegan?
Some chai tea lattes contain honey (like Starbucks – How To Actually Order Vegan Starbucks Drinks). Other coffee chains’ chai tea lattes do not contain honey (like Dunkin’s – Vegan Drinks at Dunkin’ Donuts – How To Actually Order Vegan). It looks like the chai tea latte at Scooter’s Coffee is vegan. It is described as being made up of cinnamon, clove, orange blossom, and ginger. See it is possible.
Are Scooter’s Blenders Vegan?
None of Scooter’s Blenders are vegan as-is. That said, you can substitute the ice cream base for dairy-free milk, replace the sauce for syrup and hold the whip for a vegan Scooter’s Blender.
Please note the warning in the Scooter’s statement regarding shared equipment for their Blender drinks. This may present potential cross-contamination issues with non-vegan food substances.
Summary of Drinks that can be Ordered Vegan is Substitutions
The below table is a summary of all the drinks that can be made vegan at Scooter’s Coffee with some substitutions. Most involve replacing milk with plant-based milk, holding the whipped cream, and replacing any sauces.
| Scooter’s Coffee Drinks that can be ordered Vegan |
|---|
| Caramelicious (with plant-based milk, no whip, and swap caramel sauce for caramel syrup) |
| Candy Bar Latte (with plant-based milk, no whip, and just with syrups) |
| Latte (with plant-based milk) |
| Flavored Latte (with plant-based milk) |
| Cappuccino (with plant-based milk) |
| Cafe au Lait (with plant-based milk) |
| Maple Spiced Cold Brew (no cream) |
| Caramelicious Blender ( (with plant-based milk, no whip, and swap caramel sauce for caramel syrup) |
| Cappuccino Blender (with plant-based milk and no whip) |
| Candy Bar Blender (with plant-based milk, no whip, and just with syrups) |
| Matcha Green Latte (with plant-based milk) |
| Chai Tea Latte (with plant-based milk) |
| Flavored Chai Tea Latte (with plant-based milk) |
| Smoothie (with plant-based milk) |
3. Scooter’s Drinks That Cannot Be Made Vegan
For all the drinks at Scooter’s Coffee that cannot be made vegan (such as the pumpkin, mocha, or white mocha) the issue is the presence of a sauce for which there is no equivalent dairy-free syrup. However, the one exception is caramel. If you are a caramel fan, then you can just swap the caramel sauce for some caramel syrup. On the flip side, if you are a mocha or pumpkin fan there are no pumpkin or white mocha syrups you can replace it with.
The below table summarizes all the non-vegan drinks at Scooter’s Coffee:
| Non-Vegan Drinks at Scooter’s Coffee |
|---|
| Pumpkin Caramelicious |
| Pumpkin Spice Latte |
| Hot Chocolate |
| Mocha |
| White Mocha |
| Turtle Latte |
| Mocha Blender |
| White Mocha Blender |
| Turtle Blender |
Vegan Drinks at Scooter’s Coffee – The Final Sip
Okay, so doing this article I spent a lot of time on the internet getting results for two-wheeled scooters. So, if you want to learn more about Scooter’s Coffee or just find the nearest location to you just make sure you search for “Scooter’s Coffee” and not “Scooter’s”. Aside from the potentially unfriendly internet search name – Scooter’s Coffee is refreshingly helpful in providing vegans with a clear and easily understandable statement on what is and what isn’t vegan at their coffee stores. For that, I must give them a big thumbs up. On the topic of a vegan-friendly menu, you should check out Costa Coffee (see my post: Vegan Drinks at Costa – How To Order Vegan) which has a fully interactive online menu. This means you don’t even have to rely on the server anymore to answer your vegan questions. Ah, technology.
…now you know.
Beverage makers may change ingredients and/or manufacturing processes. Always double-check ingredients before purchasing any beverages.
Like What You Are Reading
Want to know what is and is not vegan at other coffee chains and restaurants, such as Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Dunkin’ Donuts, Peet’s, Philz’s, or Dutch Bros. If you do, then check out my other posts below:
- How To Order Vegan Coffee? What Every Vegan Must Know
- How to Actually Order Vegan Starbucks Drinks
- Vegan Drinks at Dunkin’ Donuts – How to Actually Order Vegan
- Which Dutch Bros Drinks Are Vegan? The Complete Guide
- Vegan Drinks at Gloria Jean’s – How To Know What’s Vegan
- Vegan Drinks at Peet’s – How to Know What’s Vegan
- Vegan Drinks at Philz – How to Actually Order Vegan
- Vegan Drinks at Panera – How to Know What Is Vegan
- Vegan Drinks at Coffee Bean – How to Order Vegan
- Vegan Drinks at Biggby Coffee – How To Really Order Vegan
- Vegan Drinks at Costa – How To Order Vegan
- Is Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte Vegan? The Amazing Truth
