How To Order Mexican-Inspired Hot Chocolate On Your Next Starbucks Run

Starbucks fans looking for a little twist can try a Mexican-inspired hot chocolate drink from the coffee chain's unofficial secret menu. This customizable beverage combines the rich flavors of traditional Mexican hot chocolate with Starbucks' signature ingredients. 

If you want to try it, start by figuring out what size you want — and no, it isn't small, medium, or large. Next, request a hot chocolate made with soy milk instead of water – now a free substitution, which is a welcome break for non-dairy drinkers. Next, be sure to ask the barista to add cinnamon powder to the soy milk while it's steaming, which adds a warm, spiced flavor.

Then, ask for specific syrup additions based on the size of your drink. For a tall, ask for one pump each of mocha and white mocha syrup, along with two pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup. A grande requires 1.5 pumps of mocha and white mocha syrup, with three pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup. For a venti, request two pumps each of mocha and white mocha syrup, plus four pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup. The mix of syrups and spices creates a drink resembling Mexican hot chocolate, offering a balance of sweetness and warmth.

Starbucks offers plenty of ways to put your own spin on hot chocolate, making it easy to recreate the warm, spiced flavors of Mexican hot chocolate. You can take a note from a past Starbucks promotion — the Tuxedo Beverage Collection — and try a tuxedo Hot Chocolate, which is a mixture of mocha and white mocha sauce, and imitate a Mexican hot chocolate by then combining half pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup with brown sugar. From there, ask the barista to steam the milk with cinnamon and sprinkle more on top. This subtle tweak creates a rich, aromatic twist that resembles the original Mexican hot chocolate.

Though it was discontinued in 2006, you might remember Starbucks' Chantico drinking chocolate (named after the Aztec goddess of fire in the hearth and the divine force). Often compared to a molten chocolate bar in a cup, it delivered rich chocolate flavors. While it's no longer on the menu, it can be replicated at home through different copycat recipes that usually involve melting chocolate and mixing it with a blend of cream and whole milk. Starbucks also briefly offered a Chile Mocha as a seasonal beverage, combining espresso, milk, mocha, and spices like ancho chili pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne. To mimic this, order a standard hot chocolate with cinnamon and dust the top with some cayenne you bring from home.

If you want to stick to regular hot chocolate but add a little something different, you can adjust any Starbucks hot chocolate (or drink for that matter) to your liking. Some other ideas can be adding mocha drizzle on top, or in the cup, swapping in almond, or oat milk for a nuttier flavor, or sprinkling extra cinnamon on top to give your hot chocolate a flare of your own.