Hot chocolate heaven

I have a new vice: Starbucks Signature Hot Chocolate.

It was Tuesday before work, and I was in line at Starbucks. I was thinking of getting a cafe mocha, but when I got to the head of the line, I had changed my mind to hot chocolate instead. Somehow it seemed more comforting in the face of a long, pressure-filled day ahead.

"A tall hot chocolate, please."

"Did you want a regular hot chocolate or our Signature Hot Chocolate?"

"Um...what's the difference?" A hot chocolate is a hot chocolate is a hot chocolate, right?

"Well, our regular hot chocolate is made with our regular cocoa syrup," she said, clearly bored. She paused, and then her eyes lit up. "But our Signature Hot Chocolate is a blend of four premium cocoas. It's also available in Salty Caramel and Hazelnut flavors," she said enthusiastically.

Four cocoas? And what does salty caramel taste like, exactly? I would feel almost embarrassed to order the boring regular one, in comparison to that. It was like she was daring me to order it.

So I caved in and ordered the Signature. Really, it was so good it should be illegal. The beverage was so dense with chocolate that I think the next step would be drinking the hot fudge you use for ice cream topping. The whipped cream topping seemed a little gratuitous, but, hey, I enjoyed that, too. It was worth every one of the 400+ calories and insane number of fat grams. Problem is, now I'm going to want to order it every time I go to Starbucks...