Starbucks’ Holiday Menu Is Back — and it Includes 6 Seasonal Drinks, New Cold Foams, and Sweet Treats

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.”

Six seasonal cold foams are also hitting the menu, including new Gingerbread and Salted Pecan options. Otherwise, you’ll be able to top your cold brew with Peppermint Chocolate, Sugar Cookie, Chestnut Praline, and Caramel Brulée cream cold foams. The Seattle-based coffee chain also recommends topping the Cran-Merry Refresher with its vanilla cold foam, which we’ll leave up to your discretion. 

As for food, we can expect all the usual suspects (like the Cranberry Bliss Bar and Sugar Plum Cheese Danish) alongside some newcomers. The Turkey Sage Danish, a savory pastry filled with turkey sausage and a bechamel sauce, is set to debut on Thursday. It’s also joined by the sprinkles-topped Dark Toffee Bundt, Penguin Cookie, and Snowman Cake Pop.

Seasonal offerings aren’t the only changes coming to the coffee chain — last week, the company announced that it’s cutting extra fees on non-dairy customizations for all drinks. There aren’t any new espresso-based drinks in this year’s holiday lineup, though, which might possibly signal another new direction for Starbucks’ menu strategy. After all, recently appointed CEO Brian Niccol has already been making changes to streamline the chain’s operations, including tightening the menu to refocus on the company’s core offerings, which might spell trouble for the controversial Oleato line. 

Prefer your coffee in the comfort of your home? The chain is also launching three limited-edition coffee blends of coffee grounds — available on store shelves through the end of the year: the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Holiday Blends. 

Between cheaper oat milk lattes and the return of fan-favorite lattes, it sounds like there’s enough cheer (and caffeine) to keep us satiated through the holiday season.