Letdown

This is the second holiday season Starbucks has let me down.

I’ve got say, I’m not happy about it.

Last year the Starbucks near my apartment was part of a test market for Shortbread Lattes, so they were serving those in lieu of Gingerbread Lattes (which are the absolute best thing on Earth). I boycotted Starbucks all last holiday season and went to Borders for my lattes instead, because they still served Gingerbread Lattes there.

I have been looking forward to the return of Gingerbread Lattes at Starbucks for a few months now. They, along with NaNoWriMo and Thanksgiving, are part of what make the cold November weather tolerable. So you can imagine my consternation when I walked into a local Starbucks this week to order my first Gingerbread Latte of the season and found out they are not offering Gingerbread Lattes this year. They have Gingersnap, along with a few other holiday-flavors.

*Dies a little inside*

Luckily, the Gingersnap Lattes aren’t too bad. Some of my faith in Starbucks restored, I stopped in this morning thinking I would try the Eggnog Latte this time. Too bad for me, I can’t order an Eggnog Latte, because they can’t make it dairy-free! The barista told me that even if I order it with soy milk, the mix contains dairy. To her credit, she didn’t have to tell me that, she could have just made her sale and gone on with her day, so I appreciate her candor. However, this makes the FOURTH DRINK at Starbucks I can no longer have because they mix it with dairy products for which there are no alternatives. That’s right, it’s not just the Eggnog Latte. It’s also the Pumpkin Spice Latte (and anyone who knows me knows about my obsession with gourds), the Signature Hazlenut Hot Chocolate, and the Signature Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.

So I am mad at Starbucks. They have made my holidays a little less cheery this year.

The Loss of Gingerbread Lattes

My mom and I went to Starbucks this morning after we were at the gym, to get coffee and sit and talk for a little while. We were both pretty excited to get gingerbread lattes. People seem to be carrying around holiday cups from Starbucks lately… this suggests holiday drinks are back. Gingerbread lattes are my favorite, I wait all year for them to return to the menu and can be found in Starbucks quite often as long as they are available.
Imagine my distress when we walked in and discovered that our Starbucks does not have gingerbread lattes this year! Apparently we are part of a test market for the new shortbread latte, and the barista told us they would not be getting gingerbread at all!! I felt it was my duty, as part of the test market, to tell her that upon drinking a shortbread latte in lieu of a gingerbread one, the gingerbread is much, much better. She said to check out their website, because they have been getting that response a lot, so I think I will be checking into that! In the meantime, I am emotionally distraught over the loss of my gingerbread lattes.