Caribou Coffee has reformulated all of its mochas and chocolate beverages to utilize real, all-natural chocolate now available in white, milk and dark chocolate.
Beginning Nov. 12, guests can have their mochas, chocolate lattes, hot chocolates, specialty beverages and cold beverages made with either white, milk or dark Guittard chocolate at all Caribou Coffee locations nationwide.
The reformulation marks a major difference from other coffeehouse operators because almost all coffeehouses, including the major coffeehouse chains, use reconstituted chocolate syrup or processed powder to create their hot and cold chocolate beverages. Caribou Coffee team members will steam real pieces of the premium chocolate into milk to make the handcrafted hot beverages such as mochas, chocolate lattes and hot chocolates.
The three premium chocolates, created exclusively for Caribou Coffee, are all-natural, kosher and gluten-free, and none contain more than six ingredients.
"While other coffeehouses are focused on extending their product offerings into things like instant coffee, we're increasing the quality of our most popular items to provide added value for our customers," said Caribou Coffee CEO Mike Tattersfield. "Value is about more than price at Caribou Coffee — it's about a delicious, premium product made correctly. All-natural, gourmet chocolate is one way we're giving that to our customers."
Guittard Chocolate Company is the oldest family-owned and -operated chocolate company in the United States. The company was established in the 1850s after founder Etienne Guittard embarked on an arduous journey from France to California, where the company remains today.
In addition to using the new chocolates in all stores, Caribou Coffee will offer tins of the drinking chocolate pieces in all three flavors at store locations and on cariboucoffee.com. The 12-oz. tins, which sell for $9.99 each, include step-by-step instructions for hand-melting chocolate pieces into milk or soy milk to create mochas or hot chocolates at home.
To celebrate the launch of the new chocolate beverages, on Nov. 27, known to retailers as "Black Friday," each store will feature free samples of the new, exclusive chocolate in addition to buy-one-get-one mochas and hot chocolates.
