Dagoba Saves the Day

Due to spending the last 2-1/2 months non-stop in airports, I've developed a craving for Starbuck's Vanilla Steamers.  Do not fret.  I am still obsessed with Hot Chocolate.  However, I've come to appreciate Starbuck's Vanilla Steamers.  After running my errands, I decided to lazily drive through the drive thru of my local Starbuck's location.  I ordered my favorite combo:  A tall Vanilla Steamer and a blueberry scone.  In my excitement, I decided to order a Grande Steamer versus the Tall.  Yahoo!  This was going to be a wonderful day.

Unfortunately, the scones were already gone.  However, the associate helping me found a blueberry muffin.  SCORE!  After paying for my order,  I hastily took off without sipping my drink.  I just assumed the beverage was correct since the cup was labeled Vanilla Creme.  Oh my joy was stolen when I arrived at the house to heat up my muffin and enjoy my Steamer.  Yuck!  It was a Vanilla Mocha. 

I tried and tried to indulge in this beverage, but anything with coffee traditionally is just horrible for me.  So, it was off to the pantry to select a Hot Chocolate to quench my thirst for something delicious. 

The chosen hot chocolate of the day is Dagoba's Authentic Hot Chocolate.  As an aficionado of their Xocolatl spicy hot chocolate, I knew this selection would be just as fabulous.

The Authentic Hot Chocolate has a subtle blend of flavors leaving a wonderful essence in your mouth. 

It blended together fine, but required a few extra turns of the spoon in both a clockwise and counterclockwise direction to ensure the cocoa powder and milk was mixed together.

In the end, Dagoba saved the day.

Stimulate the economy with Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate

With another round of layoffs announced at Starbucks, my husband and I decided to help “stimulate” the economy by walking to our local cafe for hot chocolate. Since neither one of us frequent Starbucks, it is always a comedy of errors when it comes to ordering. But this time, I knew we were there to try the last of the Signature Hot Chocolate trio: Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate. We both ordered a tall (or in my world a small) and took our seat with anticipation of what this recipe will have in store for us.

Now from my last few visits to Starbucks, I enjoyed their Classic Signature Hot Chocolate and passed on the Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate. When our order was called my husband went to retrieve our two cups and we proceeded to take a seat to try our beverage.

In my haste to take a sip, I dropped a little bit of hot chocolate on my pants. Grrrh! Mine was the perfect temperature, with a nice blend of sweet with a hint of salt. Most importantly, no after taste.

Out of three recipes, I rank Starbuck’s Signature Hot Chocolates as follows:

1. Classic Signature Hot Chocolate
2. Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate
3. (a distant 3rd) Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate

I hope our small contribution helped out our local Starbucks as we left the cafe fulfilled from another hot chocolate adventure.

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate on the Run

Between being sleep deprived and cold, I’ve been on a losing battle with trying to get to work on time while processing customer orders for the holidays. As I run from point A to point B I had to outsource something, so I decided to outsource making hot chocolate until the madness diminishes.

Since a Starbucks is right near my office and I was in need of a little pick-up me up, I decided this was the perfect time to visit the location for round 2 of my Starbucks hot chocolates taste test. Recently, I gave the approval for their Signature Hot Chocolate, a classic hot chocolate recipe. Now it is time to try Starbucks’ Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate.

My Cliff Notes version of this review is as follows:

1. Appreciated the initial flavor
2. Nice texture
3. Did not enjoy the hazelnut after taste

It’s official! No to Hazelnut Hot Chocolate, but yes to Starbucks Signature Hot Chocolate. If the hot chocolate urge arises again, I know which hot chocolate I’ll be drinking until I try option 3…Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate.

A return to hot chocolate, Starbucks style

While shopping at my local Target, I noticed a sign displaying a trio of “Signature Hot Chocolates”. I thought to myself…hmmm. Starbucks is trying to lure in the “other” untapped customer again. Chocolate Connoisseurs.

A few years back, Starbucks introduced a drinking chocolate called Chantico. However, it was never fully adopted by the market. I can easily explain why. Most people truly believe hot chocolate is a water-based flavored drink with minimal cocoa content. Chantico, from what I understand, was extremely thick and along the lines of a European drinking chocolate. Clearly, people were not ready for such an extreme from what they were accustomed to… the dreaded instant hot chocolate!


I decided to try the Signature Hot Chocolate. You can tell I am not a Starbucks customer as I still refer to the sizes as small, medium and large. Oh, I am so uncouth! When my drink arrived, it had a mild layer of whipped cream on top. I simply love it that way. Too much whipping cream takes away from the overall drink. Starbucks receives 1 point for getting the whipped cream correct.

When I finally reached the creamy hot chocolate, I was nicely surprised. It wasn’t overly sweet, had a nice consistency and flavor. Starbucks 2 points . I hate to admit it, but I was pleased. If I am ever seeking a hot chocolate on the run and have a few dollars to spare, I will consider a hot chocolate stop at Starbucks.