Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has added a chocolate-flavored beverage to its menu while a prominent actor glued himself to a counter of a Manhattan Starbucks store.
What Happened: CNN reports the Seattle-headquartered company introduced a chocolate cream cold brew coffee. The beverage, according to a Starbucks press release, is topped with a "light, sweet and silky" chocolate cream cold-foam and is sweetened with vanilla syrup.
Starbucks added the new beverage was inspired by "nostalgic summer moments," although its pricing is more contemporary than good-ol’-days: a grande chocolate cream cold brew range from $5.25 to $5.45, depending on store locations.
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What Else Happened: Starbucks customers at a New York City store expecting the roll-out of the new beverage this morning were in for a surprise when Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell showed up — not to promote the beverage, but to protest the chain’s increased prices on vegan milk.
The New York Post reported Cromwell and members of the animal rights activist group PETA came into a Midtown Manhattan Starbucks and read a complaint about vegans having to pay more for non-dairy products. Cromwell then glued his hand to the store’s counter — the store shut down briefly while police were called, but Cromwell freed his hand with a knife and avoided arrest.
“My friends at PETA and I are calling on Starbucks to stop punishing kind and environmentally conscious customers for choosing plant milks,” said Cromwell.
