Wednesday coffee: Starbucks on Sunshine by Bass Pro

I’m definitely coming down with a cold, and it’s not very fun.  My throat hurt this morning, and as I mentioned Monday, I prefer to drink chocolatey coffee drinks when my throat hurts due to my belief that chocolate soothes sore throats.   I don’t have anything scientific to back that up, by the way.

Anyway, I’ve noted my love for the Chantico of old from Starbucks, now sadly discontinued, that was this thick, syrupy drinking chocolate that was the perfect throat soother.  The new Signature Hot Chocolate is a thinner knockoff of Chantico, kind of like the result of the copycat Chantico recipes you can find on the Web, but it still has similarities.  Apparently, the people who serve you at Starbucks have been specifically told “This is not Chantico” in a stern voice because if you make an offhand comment that it’s like Chantico, you hear those words come out of your barista like an election year talking point.

On my way in to the office, I can pass several Starbucks.  Depending on my route north from Ozark, I can visit the Starbucks in the Pricecutter in Ozark or, taking another path, the Pricecutter in Nixa.  Theoretically, I could go north another way and hit the Starbucks in the Pricecutter on South National, but I rarely go that way.  Traveling up Campbell, which is my routine route, I usually drive past the South Campbell Starbucks location simply because it’s so crazy busy.  While the naysayers have been groaning about the future of Starbucks, I’ve had no fear because every morning I drive by the South Campbell Starbucks, there is a shocking amount of cars lined up, curving around the parking lot, to get their morning dark-roasted joe. Every once in a while I’ll visit the South Campbell Starbucks, but only when the drive-thru line is small.

I typically save myself for the Sunshine Starbucks just north of Bass Pro.  While the front parking lot can be difficult to get into when the morning drive-thru line can wrap all the way around the building in such a way that it protrudes into the front lot, there is plenty of parking in back if you’re willing to walk in.  And I have to admit, I find the staff at the Sunshine Starbucks probably the friendliest of all the non-Pricecutter locations in Springfield.  When I think about it, there aren’t many women on the morning crew, which is an oddity in the Starbucks world, but it all works out because the guys there are very friendly and helpful.  In my experience, they do a good job of recognizing regulars and connecting with them in a friendly “Cheers” kind of way more than I’ve seen at many Starbucks locations where it can often be all business.

This morning, I ordered a Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate with a shot of espresso.  The guy taking my order immediately asked if I wanted two shots with that, to which I responded, “You’re trying to turn this into an Espresso Truffle without saying so.”  He smiled and acknowledged I was right, and I acquiesced.  So long as I don’t get into the 4-shot range, I’m always good with another shot of espresso in sugary drinks.  They turned my drink around quick — if I have any complaint about this store, it’s that sometimes it can seem like the drive-thru customers get quicker service, but that wasn’t the case today — and I was back on my way.  And it was a good drink.  Very chocolate with just the right touch of coffee flavor.