UPDATED: Starbucks drops signature hot chocolate, espresso truffle - both gone by end of February

****Updates are rolling in on the demise of Signature Hot Chocolate at Starbucks. Let's break it down in by the numbers.

1. Starbucks is dropping SIGNATURE HOT CHOCOLATE and ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE. The regular hot chocolate, which is made with steamed milk and mocha base, will REMAIN. Starbucks will *still* have a "warm chocolate milk" option on the menu for the coffee-wary.

2. Baristas confirm that stores WILL NOT be able to order Signature Hot Chocolate after February 28. Individual stores will continue to have the ability to serve the drink until their supplies run out. When it is gone, it is gone. If you're married to the drink, I suggest bribing a store manager for a case.

3. Baristas at the store I visited tonight and on StarbucksGossip.com confirm that the drink was never a big seller. The official reason for the discontinuation is "low customer demand."

4. Additionally, multiple baristas (in person and on StarbucksGossip.com) mention some sort of "change" in the product months after it launched. Most say it went from a sweeter, chocolatey flavor toward a darker, more bitter taste.

5. The drink's excessive caloric count (a venti with whip cream clocks in at an astounding 600 calories) was probably another mark against it. The drink *comes* with non-fat milk, by the way. By comparison, a venti Java Chip Frappuccino has the same 600 calories, and a venti White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino clocks below that at 550.



*MORE* breaking Starbucks news.

Where they succeed with coffee, they fail with chocolate. The second chocolate drink in five years is apparently gone after just 16 months on the market.

Starbucks is removing the Signature Hot Chocolate from menus - and with it the Espresso Chocolate Truffle, which uses the signature hot chocolate as a base. As far as I know, the much-easier-to-make classic hot chocolate, produced with just mocha base and steamed milk, will remain.

The Signature Hot Chocolate was introduced in September 2008. As of yet, I cannot find anything official on the Web about the end of the Signature Hot Chocolate offering. Baristas in some stores privately confirm that the news of Signature Hot Chocolate's exit from store menus was in the Starbucks portal. A poster at StarbucksGossip.com confirmed that an action notice was sent to stores Monday, February 8, 2010 and that Signature Hot Chocolate will be gone by the end of February.


I, for one, desperately miss the Chantico, although apparently no one else does. Chantico lasted just 13 months - from January 2005 to Febuary 2006 - and its demise was covered in USA Today.

I really feel like I do not know the company any more. I *love* the coffee and the convenience. But I feel like Starbucks is trying to be an aspirational "food/health/product" company instead of a coffee company.  The reach for the Oprah/Ellen/Dr. Phil market is turning off people who value the "third-space" vibe. If there were decent alternatives around, I would honestly start exploring them.

There are exactly two indie coffee houses in this town. One of closes at 6 p.m., the other (far inferior, no WiFi, no food) at 9 p.m. There are at least a dozen Starbucks, two of which are open until 11 p.m. and another until midnight - perfect for a night owl like me. They have WiFi, which is free for me - for now, with their complicated program.