arkitrave :: log

I spend a lot of time money at Starbucks. Not because I particularly like their coffee or food, but because they are close and the other alternatives have incredibly slow service.

If you haven’t noticed, a white chocolate mocha costs considerably more than a regular mocha. Since I really like white chocolate mochas, I decided to investigate why I was paying so much more for them.

My first bit of sleuthing was asking the barista what was up with the price difference. He told me that white chocolate syrup costs more than regular chocolate, and that was the reason for the markup.

I ran some figures. If a latte costs price x, a mocha (a latte with chocolate syrup) costs $0.20 more, and a white chocolate mocha (a latte with white chocolate syrup) costs $0.65 more (for tall or grande sizes).

That squirt of white syrup costs three times the cost of the regular chocolate. Certainly it must be because it is so much pricier than the regular chocolate syrup.

Thanks to extensive research, I discovered a shocking fact: the 64-ounce plastic jars of Ghirardelli chocolate, white chocolate, and caramel syrup are sold for the same price at numerous online retailers. Around $15, including the pump. There is no indication that white chocolate syrup is the holy grail of confections. Rather than rare and precious, it is common and sold for a generic, standardized price to thousands of coffeehouses.

The greater than 300% markup for preferring white over brown? You tell me.