The Chantico is a 6-oz styled Solo cup of hot chocolate. Well, of course Starbucks if going to call it more than that, and it is certainly more than that in terms of calories. But I have to admit... it's pretty damn good, and damned addictive. And damned expensive.

I've only gotten three of these in the past two weeks. Only three, at a total cost of about $9. I suppose I could save that money for something more useful, but I already drive a Diesel Jetta, so my 50 mpg yields me a little bit of ridiculous indulgence once in a while. Whether I should be afforded this much indulgence or this much ridiculousness is another question for another day, but they're all long-since gone at this point, and I'm that much better off for it.

The person at Starbucks in charge of this new campaign noted that the flavor is like a chocolate truffle melting in your mouth. I supposed that's true, though I would suggest letting it cool for several minutes after you get one-- if you happen to get it to go. The Solo cup seems to be rather heavily insulated, and the lid is not trivial. I've not tried the beverage from the for here mug that they provide inside the store, so maybe that would make a difference. I would imagine it might, since you would be overcome with the chocolate steam rising off the liquid surface from an open mug, rather than from a closed Solo cup.

Either way, I was not impressed with the dipping cookie, which amounts to a drasically overpriced buttery thing, the price you might pay for which you could easily get a box of something very similar at your local grocery store. Okay, maybe not a box, but for the $0.50 or so for the one cookie, you're better off going without, or maybe tossing that into the tip jar. On the other hand, if you're planning on tipping after paying $3 for 6 ounces of liquid that doesn't have any alcohol in it at all, maybe you should go ahead and get that cookie.

I'm normally a Mocha Frappuccino person, or perhaps the Java Chip variant, or sometimes the Chocolate or Caramel variants. The Mocha version is a but more substantial, until you ponder the fact that it's probably still 6 ounces of liquid with a bunch of ice tossed in for temperature and volume. Here in Arizona, there's a certain value to that ice that can't be discounted out of hand, but it's still a clear plastic tumbler of insanity with whipped cream on top.

I wonder what would happen if you dunked a Krispy Kreme glazed donut into a mug of Chantico. Madness? Sugar coma? Ecstacy? Maybe a little of all three.