Back to the blog

Does chewing a chocolate bar take too much time?  Seeking a way to drink a mixture of pure cocoa, cocoa butter, and milk?  Seek no more.  Ever-popular Starbucks, peddler of mediocre espresso-based drinks, has come out with what seems to be the closest way to ingest chocolate without receiving an intravenous injection of stuff.

What is it?  It's called Chantico.

Chanti-who?

You know, Chantico, the Aztec Goddess of the home and hearth.  Why the reference?  Well, the Aztecs were fans of chocolate.  Even the word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl", which refers to a roasted and ground cacao bean paste mixed with water and corn meal, beaten until frothy, and flavored with hot peppers.

So, what's in it?

According to my top-secret sources, Chantico is made from cocoa powder that is steamed with a combination of whole milk and cocoa butter.  This bumps the calories to 390 for a 6oz cup, including 21 grams of fat and 51 grams of carbohydrates.  This puts the beverage in the category of a dessert in my, and the company's marketing department, opinion.

Chocolate O.D.

I had my first experience of trying out this new beverage at our friendly neighborhood Starbucks shop in the University District.  Entering this shop in an area where many other fine coffee shops exist in a 10-block radius is a bit odd.  I mean, do I really trust Starbucks, purveyors of over-roasted, bitter, and flat coffee beans to do something right with chocolate?  Anyway, we step up to the bar and order two "uh..Shan...Chan-tee-koes?".  The barista was nice enough not to correct us.  $5.40 + tax and 4 minutes later, two Chanticos arrive.

The description of this drink as a "liquid chocolate bar" is not far off.  It's sweet.  Very sweet.  Its chocolate taste is quite rich, equivalent to a dark chocolate bar.  It's also a bit "grainy", the kind of grain you feel when you put a lot of cocoa in the pot when making hot chocolate at home.  6oz may sound like a small amount, but you're reduced to sipping the drink in small tastes, given how rich it is.  I wish I had a side of water when drinking this thing - it's that rich.

The Verdict

Yeah, so I was biased going into this little taste test.  But I concede.  Starbucks has produced quite a good cup of cocoa.  Sure, there are better versions out there, but when it comes to mass market drinks, this one probably takes the cake.  Chocolate cake, that is.

The Breakdown
Out of a scale of 10: