# Coffee + Milk = Moolatte! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198 "2004-07-09T01:12:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/1 "2004-07-09T01:12:10Z")
Dairy Queen decided to name their new blended frozen coffee drink the “Moolatte”. Get it? Like a mulatto! What dopes in marketing thought that naming a supposedly G-rated drink after after an antiquated and pejorative racial term would be a good idea? No wonder they haven’t gained a national presence yet. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/2 "2004-07-09T01:21:58Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Dairy Queen decided to name their new blended frozen coffee drink the “Moolatte”. Get it? Like a mulatto! What dopes in marketing thought that naming a supposedly G-rated drink after after an antiquated and pejorative racial term would be a good idea? No wonder they haven’t gained a national presence yet. I’m glad I’m not the only one who made that assocation. WTF were they thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/3 "2004-07-09T01:26:05Z")
Don’t you think it was simply stupid? People like myself probably wouldn’t have noticed it. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/4 "2004-07-09T01:35:14Z")
> [@Lillith Fair](#): > > Don’t you think it was simply stupid? People like myself probably wouldn’t have noticed it. Maybe. There are a lot of people in this country who, thankfully, are young enough to have never been exposed to the word. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/5 "2004-07-09T01:47:11Z")
1. I kind of doubt that the two were intended to be connected. 2. How universally bad is mulatto anyway? I swear that when Haiti is discussed in the media that “mulatto” is often used in describing the wealthier ruling class. In a documentary on PBS about Cuban immigrants (1990s), the female term in Spanish was used by one guy to describe his girlfriend in Cuba. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/6 "2004-07-09T01:52:55Z")
Heh. I remember a [New York](http://www.newyorkmetro.com/) magazine, around 1977 or so, with a green-eyed, auburn-afro’ed woman with the caption bold and clear-“Mulatto Pride”. It was about biracial identities and culture, etc. But the folks themselves used it as sort of reclaiming it. I happen to think it’s one of those words that is useful and sort of pretty but I wouldn’t dream of using it nowadays because of the historical baggage. The new coffee thing? Stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/7 "2004-07-09T02:16:56Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > The new coffee thing? Stupid. Well, yeah, but how does it _taste_? I didn’t make the connection until I saw this thread. Now I’ll feel weird ordering one…although I also didn’t even know that it (the real word) was a “bad” thing to say. I guess that’s two scores for fighting ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/8 "2004-07-09T02:29:24Z")
> [@Machetero](#): > > 1. I kind of doubt that the two were intended to be connected. > > 2. How universally bad is mulatto anyway? I swear that when Haiti is discussed in the media that “mulatto” is often used in describing the wealthier ruling class. In a documentary on PBS about Cuban immigrants (1990s), the female term in > Spanish was used by one guy to describe his girlfriend in Cuba. It’s not offensive in Spanish, unless (of course) it’s intended to be offensive. And that can be said of many words. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/9 "2004-07-09T02:30:27Z")
> [@Machetero](#): > > 1. I kind of doubt that the two were intended to be connected. I agree. My point was only that they weren’t thinking. The **OP** may feel differently, of course… ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/10 "2004-07-09T02:53:43Z")
> [@Machetero](#): > > 1. I kind of doubt that the two were intended to be connected. Well, what sense does the title make then? “Latte” already means “milk” so why put “moo” at the beginning (Moolatte! Get it? 'Cause it’s a latte with milk!)? It’s obviously one of those cutsey product names that are supposed to be clever (Frappucino! It’s a frozen cappucino!), so what’s the joke it’s not mulatto? My guess is it was a hillariously stupid marketing faux pas. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/11 "2004-07-09T03:10:22Z")
I doubt the name was intended to sound like mulatto. Although “latte” means milk, most people use it as an abreviated term for “cafe latte”. If you order a latte, your not likely to get a glass of milk. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/12 "2004-07-09T03:14:38Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > I doubt the name was intended to sound like mulatto. Although “latte” means milk, most people use it as an abreviated term for “cafe latte”. If you order a latte, your not likely to get a glass of milk. I know, but: “Moolatte! Get it? 'Cause it’s a **cafe** latte with milk!”, still makes just as little sense. ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/13 "2004-07-09T03:43:37Z")
Dunkin’ Donuts (I think, may be another chain.) has a frozen coffee drink called a “Coolatta.” I just thought that DQ was playing off of a name that already existed. I never equated it with mulatto. They were giving out samples the other day, btw. Not bad, but I don’t think I’d buy one. They’re very, very sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/14 "2004-07-09T03:59:44Z")
What’s next? THE NEW OCTOROON MILKSHAKE: ONLY 1/8 THE CARBS OF A REGULAR MILKSHAKE! GOOD HAIR FRIES: STRAIGHTER AND LONGER THAN REGULAR FRIES. THE HIGH YELLOW BURGER: IT’S JUST BETTER. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/15 "2004-07-09T07:40:50Z")
> [@Green Bean](#): > > What’s next? > > THE NEW OCTOROON MILKSHAKE: ONLY 1/8 THE CARBS OF A REGULAR MILKSHAKE! > > GOOD HAIR FRIES: STRAIGHTER AND LONGER THAN REGULAR FRIES. > > THE HIGH YELLOW BURGER: IT’S JUST BETTER. LOL! Those are just wonderful! I had a Moolatte the other day (btw, it’s made with DQ softserve, not just coffee & milk), it was OK. I never made the mullato connection. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/16 "2004-07-09T13:11:13Z")
This is why you show your new product name or logo to several hundred people and say “what does this word make you think of?” If one person says “its similar to a Serbian word for dog poo” you are good to go. If six people say “it reminds me of a formerly common term for a biracial individual that has negative connotations” you rethink it. AT&Ts corporate logo looks just like the Death Star - you’da thunk someone would have noticed. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/17 "2004-07-09T13:20:20Z")
I’m happy to see I wasn’t the only one who noticed this and thought it was stupid. When I heard it the first time, I wasn’t watching the TV screen and assumed it was spelled “mulatte.” I had to explain it to my husband. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/18 "2004-07-09T13:54:47Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I had a Moolatte the other day (btw, it’s made with DQ softserve, not just coffee & milk), it was OK. Ah, that makes all the difference. I was going to note it sounded just like coffee milk, that staple of 'most every Rhode Island kitchen. Soft serve maketh it a whole different creature. Here’s one to try, folks - molasses and milk. Trust me. It’s goooooood. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/19 "2004-07-09T14:06:34Z")
Wait, what is a cafe latte if it’s not coffee with milk? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198/20 "2004-07-09T14:28:33Z")
There no way on Earth a big corporation is so stupid to purposely make a name that has any kind of racial meaning. It is far, far, more likely it’s an unfortunate accident. Unless… Maybe the guy who came up with it did have ‘mullato’ in mind, but didn’t explain it as such when proposing the name, and nobody got the connection. Still VERY unlikely, though. I never made the connection until I opened this thread, and I’m familiar with the term ‘mullato’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-milk-moolatte/254198.md?page=2)