Starbucks’ Holiday Menu Is Back — and it Includes 6 Seasonal Drinks, New Cold Foams, and Sweet Treats
It’s just not the holidays without a Cranberry Bliss Bar.
As soon as there’s a chill in the air and Mariah Carey hits the airwaves, we find ourselves craving a little holiday cheer in our morning latte. We were already blessed with festive options at Dunkin’ late last week, which left us wondering what holiday surprises other coffee joints have in store. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long.
Starbucks’ holiday menu rolls out nationwide on November 7, according to a company press release shared with Food & Wine. The seasonal lineup brings five holiday coffees — which, of course, includes the returning alum Peppermint Mocha — as well as a new Refresher, a savory pastry, and three new sweet treats.
For more than two decades, the Peppermint Mocha’s heralded in the holiday season at Starbucks. This creamy fan-favorite latte, with swirls of mocha sauce and minty syrup, is topped with whipped cream and sweet curls of dark chocolate. It’s available hot or iced, but you can also order it as a blended Frappuccino if your sweet tooth feels especially strong. The seasonal menu also includes the returning Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, and Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai.
If coffee isn’t your thing, you’ve now got options. We’ll soon see the first-ever holiday Refresher, which can be customized in three different ways. The Cran-Merry Orange Refresher offers flavors of orange, cranberry, and warm spices (like cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg) — and per Starbucks’ tasting notes, with real cranberries as a tasty garnish. You can also order it with a base of lemonade or even coconut milk, the latter of which is ideal for those craving the creaminess of the original Pink Drink in a holiday-appropriate format.
“These beverages were very much inspired by this idea of a festive punch as a sensorial experience — the appearance, the aroma, the taste,” lead beverage developer Billy Altieri said. “We wanted to create a drink that brought all of those sensory elements together in a cup.”