The Customized Drink Is Out of Control
The New York Times
As cafes grant us the power to cobble together ultra-personalized beverages filled with syrups, powders, fruit chunks, boba and plenty of caffeine, we’re all soda jerks now.
On a recent morning in Fort Worth, Cally Smoke faced a crisis of choice. She scrolled through the litany of drinks on an ordering kiosk at CosMc’s, a new beverage chain from McDonald’s. Most of the options had names she neither recognized nor understood: Sprite Moonsplash. Popping Pear Slush. Beach Protein Frappé.
She settled on the Chai Frappé Burst, a frozen, blended concoction with whipped cream, boba and cinnamon sugar sprinkles.
“You have to be an individual,” said Ms. Smoke, a 40-year-old saleswoman, as she sipped her beverage. “You can’t just get black coffee.”
Here, elaborate drinks are the draw — and customers are encouraged to complicate them further. The kiosks pitch a number of add-on possibilities: Could that S’mores Cold Brew benefit from a splash of Coca-Cola? How about adding caffeine syrup to your Berry Hibiscus Sour-ade?
A very American need for instant energy, coupled with a very American desire for self-expression, has inspired an ever-mutating ecosystem of tricked-out drinks whose made-to-order possibilities have created a nation of soda jerks.
