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Disliked

Open Letter To Starbucks

Bitterness about apple cider that is not cider, and hot chocolate that is not chocolate.

Dear Starbucks,

For the record, the combination of steamed apple juice with cinnamon flavoring, then topping said beverage with whipped cream and caramel sauce, does not constitute a “Caramel Apple Cider”. Generally, the word “cider” is used to actually refer to “cider”, and not “juice”. I realize that this may be a difficult concept for some baristas to grasp, but I think with proper corporate training, you could make great advances in selling what you’re advertising.

Sadly, this is listed as such on your beverage page, dashing my hopes that this was a one-store issue. Said web page also includes mention of your “proprietary” caramel sauce. Let me tell you, nothing gets my appetite going like the word “proprietary”.

Similarly, I had been told that your hot cocoa is not, in fact, cocoa – it’s your mocha syrup, with shots of vanilla to neutralize the coffee flavoring. Indeed, this is ALSO listed as such on your beverage page, but not so well conveyed in your stores. Is it so difficult to actually MAKE hot cocoa? Is there some shortage of cocoa powder?

If you’re going to charge $3 for these drinks, do you think you could use the actual components mentioned in the product title? Please?

xoxo,
Dan