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February 12, 2005
Chantico = Sicko
I was walking around downtown this afternoon and I decided to walk into Starbucks and try one of their new Chantico drinks. If you haven't read about it, Starbucks bills the Chantico as "drinking chocolate." It's definitely not the same as hot chocolate, being about the consistency of warm maple syrup and only slightly less rich. The flavor probably is about as close as you'll ever get to drinking a melted chocolate bar without burning your tongue. Even though I really like chocolate, I found the Chantico to be kind of disgusting. You feel like you need a chaser after every sip. They're only serving it in 6 ounce cups, which is probably a good thing because 6 ounces packs in 390 calories.
I'm not sure whether the Chantico is long for this world. It's fairly marginalized on the Starbucks web site, with no mention of it on the front page or the menu page. Some things are just a little too revolutionary.
Or perhaps the word I'm after is revolting.
Posted by Dan at February 12, 2005 04:18 PM
Comments
Nah, it'll take off just the same. Wait 6 months and it'll have its own crazy cult following - The Chanticones - terminal chocolate addicts with fat wallets who are willing to fork out $3.99 or however much this stuff costs for 6 ounces of superconcentrated sugar.
Posted by: Tom at February 14, 2005 05:46 PM
I'm with you on this. They were handing out free samples the other day at my local Starbucks. Little cups like what you use to rinse your mouth out after brushing. Maybe 2 to 3 oz...gawd, that was enough. It ruined my Mocha Frap because the Chantico was so rich. I should have gone back in for a cup of water.
Posted by: R Kime at February 14, 2005 05:47 PM
Actually, I think this whole wave of flavored coffees in recent years is a stroke of marketing genius. We've had coffee-flavored candy for forever. But only comparatively recently have the folks at Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, & etc. had the idea to aggressively market candy-flavored coffee. And it's a hit! That's the kind of reverse perspective marketing that makes legends: kinda like the anonymous genius who first had the idea to produce the extra-large minivan.
As for the coffee itself, just give me my Maxwell House, the occasional latte, and a toothbrush.
Posted by: The Sanity Inspector at February 19, 2005 10:07 AM
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