History Main / StarbucksSkinScale

* The Human Color Wheel from ''Series/{{Community}}''. It goes from Seal to Seal's teeth!

-->'''Penelope:''' You and your brother are of different shades.\\

* The above quote from "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Music/RickyMartin.

When describing the skin of a black person, just calling someone "black" or "brown" cound sound underwhelming. The colors of "black/brown" skin vary more - even more widely than the colors of "white" skin. You may find comparisons of "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" a fairly common term to refer to a fair complexion with pinkish undertones, alongside non-food descriptors such as "ivory" and "alabaster." You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". ''Cafe au lait'' is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee and milk; ''cafe con leche'' is often used for the same tone when the individual in question is of hispanophone origin (whether [[LatinoIsBrown Latin American]] or a Spaniard).[[note]]That said, it's also used for mixed relationships involving a brown-skinned Latin American and a White person, so the reader should be attentive.[[/note]] Occasionally other color metaphors will be used; some will be based on food and some will not.

Black and other nonwhite characters in fiction are often described as having a skin color that looks like some kind of food or drink, usually a coffee beverage. This is especially likely if the character in question is of mixed race or if they are meant to be attractive. Sometimes those two concepts will be mixed [[ButNotTooBlack together]].

Black characters in fiction are often described as having a skin color that looks like some kind of food or drink, usually a coffee beverage. This is especially likely if the character in question is of mixed race or if they are meant to be attractive. Sometimes those two concepts will be mixed [[ButNotTooBlack together]].

When describing the skin of a black person, just calling someone "black" is BeigeProse, it won't stick in the mind, and also incredibly inaccurate. The colors of "black" skin vary more - even more widely than the colors of "white" skin. You may find comparisons of "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" a fairly common term to refer to a fair complexion with pinkish undertones, alongside non-food descriptors such as "ivory" and "alabaster." You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". ''Cafe au lait'' is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee and milk; ''cafe con leche'' is often used for the same tone when the individual in question is of hispanophone origin (whether [[LatinoIsBrown Latin American]] or a Spaniard).[[note]]That said, it's also used for mixed relationships involving a brown-skinned Latin American and a White person, so the reader should be attentive.[[/note]] Occasionally other color metaphors will be used; some will be based on food and some will not.

This concept is more common in the United States than in most other English-speaking countries, both because of the USA's greater diversity and (somewhat paradoxically) its rigid color line. There are many Americans who are AmbiguouslyBrown enough that they won't be assigned to a clear-cut race. All too often, anyone who isn't a paler pinkish-yellow than a medium-rare pork chop (''especially'' if they were born into Islam or one of the "Eastern" religions, or do not speak English as their first and preferably only language) will not qualify as "white", instead being referred to as "olive" or "beige" or just plain "brown."

[[caption-width-right:273:"Which shade corresponds to [[OvercomplicatedMenuOrder a grande breve latte steamed to 155 degrees with a drizzle of vanilla syrup and a dash of cinnamon]]?"]]

Black characters in fiction are often described as having a skin color that looks like some kind of food or drink usually a coffee beverage. This is especially likely if the character in question is of mixed race or if they are meant to be attractive. Sometimes those two concepts will be mixed [[ButNotTooBlack together]].

Black characters in fiction are often described as having a skin color that looks like some kind of coffee beverage. This is especially likely if the character in question is of mixed race or if they are meant to be attractive. Sometimes those two concepts will be mixed [[ButNotTooBlack together]].

* ''Literature/TheHateUGive'': Starr's (white) boyfriend once tried to nickname her "Caramel" after her skintone. [[InnoentlyInsensitive He genuinely didn't mean anything by it]], but she found it annoying and a bit fetish-y, and called him "Marshmallow" in response. He got the point, and didn't do it again.

* Played for laughs in ''Series/OneDayAtATime2017'' when the fair-skinned Elena realizes that unlike the rest of her family, she is white-passing:

'''Lydia''': Yes, Papito is a beautiful caramel, and you are... Wonder Bread.

This trope most often occurs in literature, where the audience can't see the character's skin color, but it is occasionally used in visual media like movies or theater when one character describes a second character. In the former case, it's become regarded as something of a cliché (if not quite a DeadHorseTrope), to the point of "how to write" guides advising aspiring writers to avoid it (especially as some might find it objectifying to be described as food).

[[folder: Advertising ]]

* Cuban sugar sellers used to advertise the colors of their various sugars in relation to pictures of women with analogous skin tones. They ranged all the way from "wild" (dark brown) to "[[UnfortunateImplications refined]]" (lily white), with every color in between.

[[/folder]]

* Very common with cosmetic products, where the different shades have various creative names, evoking food, or coffee, or something beautiful and appealing. Justified on account of cool--and the fancy names are easier to remember than a string of dehumanized numbers.

* ''Literature/ManiacMagee'' doesn't get why the Two Mills [[UrbanRacism East Enders]] are called "black", comparing their skin tones to cinnamon or butter rum or gingersnap or light or dark fudge, but never licorice-black. Probably justifiable since Maniac's a kid (and given that he's been a runaway for over a year, probably a hungry one).

* [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/if-white-characters-were-described-like-people-of-color-in-l#29dmzjj This article]] on Buzzfeed, entitled "If White Characters Were Described Like People Of Color In Literature," parodies the trope by describing various white characters in food-related terms: tapioca, raw chicken breast, mayonnaise, etc...

[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SkinTones_365.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:256:The various flavors of humanity.]]

* In Creator/StephenColbert's 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner, he describes UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC., as "the chocolate city with a marshmallow center." ("And a graham-cracker crust of corruption... it's a Mallomar, basically.") [[HilariousInHindsight Two years later]], the city's marshmallow center has received its own [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama chocolate center]].

When describing the skin of a black person, just calling someone "black" is BeigeProse, it won't stick in the mind, and also incredibly inaccurate. The colors of "black" skin vary more - even more widely than the colors of "white" skin. You may find comparisons of "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" a fairly common term to refer to a fair complexion with pinkish undertones, alongside non-food descriptors such as "ivory" and "alabaster." You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". ''Cafe au lait'' is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee and milk; ''cafe con leche'' is often used for the same tone when the individual in question is of hispanophone origin (whether Latin American or a Spaniard).[[note]]That said, it's also used for mixed relationships involving a brown-skinned Latin American and a White person, so the reader should be attentive.[[/note]] Occasionally other color metaphors will be used; some will be based on food and some will not.

When describing the skin of a black person, just calling someone "black" is BeigeProse, it won't stick in the mind, and also incredibly inaccurate. The colors of "black" skin vary more - even more widely than the colors of "white" skin. You may find comparisons of "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" a fairly common term to refer to a fair complexion with pinkish undertones, alongside non-food descriptors such as "ivory" and "alabaster." You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". ''Cafe au lait'' is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee and milk; ''cafe con leche'' is often used for the same tone when the individual in question is of hispanophone origin (whether Latin American or a Spaniard). Occasionally other color metaphors will be used; some will be based on food and some will not.

When describing the skin of a black person, just calling someone "black" is BeigeProse, it won't stick in the mind, and also incredibly inaccurate. The colors of "black" skin vary more - even more widely than the colors of "white" skin. You may find comparisons of "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" a fairly common term to refer to a fair complexion with pinkish undertones, alongside non-food descriptors such as "ivory" and "alabaster." You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". ''Cafe au lait'' is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee and milk; ''cafe con leche'' is often used when the individual in question is of hispanophone origin (whether Latin American or a Spaniard). Occasionally other color metaphors will be used; some will be based on food and some will not.

When describing the skin of a black person, just calling someone "black" is BeigeProse, it won't stick in the mind, and also incredibly inaccurate. The colors of "black" skin vary more - even more widely than the colors of "white" skin. You may find comparisons of "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" a fairly common term to refer to a fair complexion with pinkish undertones, alongside non-food descriptors such as "ivory" and "alabaster." You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". ''Cafe au lait'' is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee and milk. Occasionally other color metaphors will be used; some will be based on food and some will not.

* In ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety,'' George "Sticky" Washington's skin color is compared to the tea that the protagonist's Tamil Indian guardian Miss Perumal makes every morning.

* In ''Literature/TheGreatGillyHopkins'', the title character's teacher is "tea-colored."

* In {{Literature/Chrestomanci}}, Tacroy is described as being the colour of 'coffee with a dash of milk'. When he realises the source of a new terror, he turns the colour of 'milk with a dash of coffee'.