Four months after its introduction, how is Chantico selling?

I'm getting mixed reports. What's the report from people working behind the bar at Starbucks? Are the people who posted positive Chantico reports on STARBUCKS GOSSIP last winter still fans of the drink?

Comments

[j harshaw]

Here in the relatively health conscious Bay Area I make or call out approxiately one to three Chanticos on a four hour shift. We used to make 3 pitchers per day but are now down to 1. A few of our regulars request it instead of mocha syrup in their drinks so that uses a bit as well. It's rare that a customer orders one without someone (either the barista or the customer) commenting how they like them but its too rich/fattening/whatever.

Also we're supposed recommend and sample the new chocolate mint syrup so that is definitely stealing some of Chantico's thunder.

[shiftee]

It's been terrible! Here at our store in the southeast I can work for days and not call out or hear a Chantico being called out.

We make and throw out a pitcher of the stuff daily. I have to wonder, how much longer before it disappears...

[Meg]

At our store, we sell one or two (at the most!) a day. We have one guy who comes in every day for a Chantico (at 9am nonetheless) and every so often, a woman comes in for one. We definitely throw out more than we make though. It's just not super popular in our area...

[Chantico Lover]

This is terrible...I doubt it will last long. I have one about once a week but I never see anyone else in the store having one.

Last week I tried the new Mint frap and instead of the regular chocolate sauce the girl poured some chantico over the whipped cream....that needs to become standard procedure.

Keep up the good work folks!

[Sanani]

We didn't sell many in our store anyhow, but now that the weather has gotten warmer, it's down to almost none. In fact, I can't remember selling one on any of my shifts in over a month! It's rumored that it will be phased out. Not exactly the huge success they thought it would be, eh? Oh, well, if the rumor proves to be true, that's one less chore for me:)

[STARBUCKS GOSSIP webmaster]

All of those full page ads....all of those huge billboards promoting Chantico. Talk about money -- millions and millions spent marketing this drink -- down the drain.

[Doppio]

One pitcher made a day, with probably half of it thrown out by close.

Starbucks should have introduced it earlier so it would have been more requested in coler months, but nowadays (wherever the heck I am) it is All Frappuccinno, All The Time.

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

Yes. I have noticed that Chantico isn't as popular as most people would've thought. First of all, Starbucks has to realize that decadence isn't the right way to go. In Boston, people are very health conscious, more than most people in other regions. Therefore, the idea of 390 calories is quite impossible for them to think of, never mind stomach. I think the highest day we get Chantico is on Saturday because of all the tourist and what not. I usually make an extra 1 so we have 3 pitchers on hand. Other days, I would have to concur, that there are hardly any calls for it. Perhaps it will be phased out, after all it was never supposed to be a permanent offering, only a seasonal one.

[Jessica]

We only have one pitcher on hand. It's really not that popular here.

[areacode212]

What do the normal drinks taste like when they're mixed with Chantico? Such as the "Chantico mocha" mentioned above? Maybe they should keep it around, but push it as a sauce in addition to being a separate drink.

Also, I suspect that part of the reason that they're not terribly popular is because the serving size is kind of small (though I wonder how artery-busting a larger Chantico would be).

[scottshift]

like many of you we only get about 1 request for it every couple of days, its not worth the trouble of making it(for those who know),then throwing it all away evryday since most of our stuff expires when it hits air..jk.. plus as you all know its getting warm...not many will want a hot cup of steaming melted brownie mix....it needs to be a fall-winter thing, and be done.

[TopBarista]

We are still reguarly going thrown 1-2 pitchers a day.

[Portlandiaquill]

We still have those few customers who have made it their "regular" drink. One woman gets some poured atop her Americano, another gentleman comes in every Sunday morning and orders a venti cup of the stuff at 5 am (gag me with a spatula).

We ususally steam up several a day, especially with the weather being as it has been (drippy lately), mostly in the evenings and afternoons. We are a high-volume store, though, and get a lot of tourists through our doors. Might explain it some. To put it mildly, though, the shine has worn off. Onwards with those nasty mint-mocha-chip things. Anyone else think they taste like chalk?

[chris]

i've made exactly one chantico since march, and i live in maine, where it's still pretty cold. we always have a whole pitcher left at the end of the day. that stuff is a bitch to prepare, takes up too much space in our cramped fridges and is just plain unhealthy. i'll be glad to see it go.

[Partner 1139XXX]

Yeah, up here in Vancouver it's kinda died off...but then it's also become unseasonably warm up here, frappucinos are going like crazy...along with the new Mint Mocha chip (All the stores in my district and a neighbouring one are currently out of chips)...even though I think the syrup smells like varnish.

That said, one has to realize that as people move towards summer (even if the weather isn't showing it), they're going to want to 'warm up' less. Chantico is the ultimate in a winter drink. I think Starbucks may put it on hiatus for the summer but I definitly see it coming back next fall.

[Amber]

My store sells maybe one or two a day. Some nights though it doesn't look like we've sold any.

[rich]

we sell maybe one a week in san diego....

[Bill]

Hahaha...in regards to Chanticos here in Seattle? I've probably made a mere hand full since it was launched beginning of this year. We use to make 3 pitchers per day because we're one of the highest volume stores in Seattle, but now we only make one and it doesn't seem like we've tapped into that pitcher at the end of the day. Anyways, Chantico was a bad idea here in the US because everyone is always on the go, unlike the European Cafes where people actually sit down to enjoy the people watching and the "cafe experience." This lack of "cafe experience" here in the US should've been noticed during the developmental phase of the Chantico...I'm sure someone (or someones) is going to get fired for this, because *$ spent way too much $$$ advertising it (just look at those giant billboards here in Seattle and Vancouver).

[Lorelei C.]

Whne I work, I check to make sure the chantico pitcher is up to date, but it almost never is. And there's never a need for it to be. We've sold 3 since Febuary.

[Jessica]

Well, we once had someone order a venti chantico.

That was quite disgusting. And very expensive.

[Arthur]

I'm a customer. I ordered exactly one Chantico and I'll never try it again. I am a chocolate fiend and I had high hopes for it, but Chantico nearly sent me to the hospital burn unit. It hit my mouth and bonded, burning and burning and burning like lava. Never again.

[VDOprincess]

I'm a customer, not a barista, and I have to admit: although I love the stuff, I don't have it terribly often, simply because it's so unhealthy. When I do induldge, I get Chantico with a shot of expresso....awesome stuff. Seriously great.

[TCP Wagner]

I am also a customer. I actually love the Chantico. I thought the tiny cup a bit pitiful, but the truth is I can never finish it. Hmmm...I've just thought of what to bring to my friend's birthday party, if I can find a Starbucks (normally I go to the one located in one of my employer's clinics, but that will be closed too soon).

[Stephanie the Texan Barista]

Well, as for me...

I love chantico! Well, from time to time that is. Round these parts calories and heart health are generally foreign ideas. However, even so the chantico just isn't selling much lately. I will be sad to see it go (if and when it does). I would much rather it be a seasonal item.

The fact of the matter is that a cup of chocolate sounds gross when its 100 degrees outside.

[Jessica]

"steaming melted brownie mix"

Thats exactly what it's like. Everytime I mix it up, I wonder what would happen if I just poured it into a pan and baked it.

[thinksdifferent]

I actually saw a recipe for brownies made with chantico on an SG post right after the drink came out.

I've never tried it, nor will I think I ever. I saw a guy order a venti one when I was in line once and I actually calculated it out to be roughly 1500 calories.

I've also tried the new mint chocolate chip frap, it is several kinds of nasty

[Nic]

We prep a pitcher everyday, but rarely sell one cup in a six hour shift. I agree, it should be a seasonal offering...like Valentine's Day.

[pizzal]

We have a lady that comes in early EVERY morning and buys a VENTI cup of the stuff. Disgusting. This is how it went down:
her: "I'll have a venti chantico."
me: "A venti? Have you had that before?"
her: "I get it EVERY day."
(I charge her the 5 somethin and go throw up)

Same day some little girl comes in and orders a tall cup of cold chantico. I ask her: "have you had this before like this?" She says yea, and I give it to her... comes back and says she doesn't like it. Not surprising...

[JavaJilly]

Waste of money for the company.....we throw out the jug every night! Sheesh!

[vislandcub]

here on vancouver island, bc, we sold a handful in the days after it was introduced, but it hasn't caught on. we'll get the occasional tourist ordering it, but other than that it's pretty much fraps or the good old standbys - vanilla lattes, caramel macchiatos, or mochas. i think the biggest deterrent with the drink is the calorie count. no one wants to ingest 390 calories in one sitting - unless they feel full afterwards!

[Washington DC]

We throw out more than we sell.. by FAR

[Austin K.]

I just started working at the local (licenced) Starbucks as a barista, and I was really surprised to see that we carried the Chantico drink, since we only sell 90% of the official starbucks menu. We sold only one today during my shift. The other baristas made me down a 6 ounce shot as an initiation. Way too rich for my taste. I think Starbucks corp. should make this thing a seasonal drink, becuase no one wants to drink this stuff during the summer.

[Barista xxxx631]

I believe it would do much better as a seasonal drink. We sold a bunch in the winter, now we sell only a few to the die hard customers.

[heather]

I work at an Oklahoma store. I think I've made 2 chantico's in the past 2 months........ not a good sign. I think ppl either forget about the drink or they assume it was just a seasonal drink.

[Staffelkaptan]

I LOVE the Chantico, as do many a friend, and
we all hail form S/E PA. It's getting quite warm down here, but that matters not. To me it's an awemsome dessert. I feel it's what Hot Cocoa should tase like. I also get a large water as a chaser. Awesome. I don't drink them too often, but everything should be taken in moderation,
anyway. I feel it's no less healthy that any alcoholic drink, but I would imagine most
people wouldn't think of it in those terms.
You won't ever swerve off the road from drinking Chantico. As I said, I'm one of several love it and would be very sad to see it go.

[baristateya]

In Kelowna, BC, we don't go through even the one we make, we end up dumping it out at the end of the night. It's actually quite disapointing, but I still do get the odd request for it. Eww a Venti size of it, well, whatever floats your boat, that man must spend a lot of money each Sunday! And yea, I'm not too much of a fan of the new mint chocolate syrup, it smells like uhh pepto bismol or just grossness in general, but all together it doesn't taste that bad...

[Sanani]

"I'm not too much of a fan of the new mint chocolate syrup, it smells like uhh pepto bismol or just grossness in general,..."

I agree - "grossness in general" would cover it. While at work, I kept smelling something bad - something similar to ... mildew? Just a whiff of grandma's basement here and there, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It finally occurred to me what it was. Yup. The new mint chocolate syrup! Nasty stuff, that syrup. It should make my job this summer in frappaccino hell even more fun ... if that's possible.

[StarbuxGrrl]

At my store we don't even bother making a pitcher up until someone orders it, we figure it's better to hand it over with a free drink coupon and lost the company maybe $3 than to throw out an entire pitcher every night. We only have to mix it up MAYBE once every week and a half, and after we make that one we usually dump the rest at the end of the night, unless we sample it out of course ;)

If Starbucks doesn't phase it out, then it's just going to keep going straight down the drain... what an enormous waste of money!

[Shelbell]

Nice to find this discussion, I thought I was the only one grossed out by this drink.

This morning I heard a customer whisper an order for a Venti Chantico. I thought she just had a quiet voice until I saw what she ordered. The barista is a sweet girl, but was not doing so well at hiding her disgust about making it.

So about 1600 calories for this? The customer also ordered a pastry.

[Sbux MN]

Chantico?

Just about one a day, if that. I looked at the sales and realized that yes, all that advertising in high buck magazines and billboards was a waste. It seems that now that the advertising has really dropped off, they've stopped selling a great deal of chanticos. I don't even know if we have any cups in stock right now.

Yet, they drop Tazoberry? I hear Tazoberry was freaking awesome, though that was like a year ago.

And the new Malt?

Dis-gust-ing. I took a sip of it in a Java Chip, and got sick to my stomach, literally.

(I am excited for the Retail Store Lunch program)

P.S. Venti Chantico with 4 add shots comes to something like 8.50, and yes, there was a customer who would order that once every other day. I think he died of atherosclerosis.

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

Each morning we sell about one pitcher of chantico and then have to remake another one. We usually sell about 10 cups of Chantico a day now. I expect during the winter time it will pickup.

[CuteBarista!]

i think i've made a chantico once in the last few months.

and you're right, the mint chocolate syrup is fantastically disgusting. makes me wonder what exactly was wrong with the peppermint mocha frappy.

the other ass-worthy syrup? raspberry. i'm sorry, but there's enough food dye in the damn stuff to stain my hands (and it has). i once took home a bottle of it as my markout and dyed some paper with it. turned out beautifully.

malt is gross except with a caffe vanilla frappy. then it is divine.

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

Oh that does sound interesting. I think the malt smells like cat throwup. Believe me my cat used to do that all the time. Yuck!

[Gavin]

I'm a big fan of French-style hot chocolate -- I had a transcendant experience at the Maison du Chocolate in Paris one frosty November and searched in vain for the stuff in the US. Late in 2003, my girlfriend and I discovered a recipie (in Jeffrey Steingarten's book) for French hot chocolate. God, that was good. We even considered making a business of it until Chantico came out.

Chantico is the *idea* but not the execution. (Ours was 100g of melted Scharffen-Berger 70% in 2 cups of milk, with a small amount of sugar and cocoa powder).

I think there's still an opportunity for an expensive 6oz cup of great hot chocolate. Starbucks just didn't pull it off.