It’s the holiday season at Starbucks and that means special drinks including Peppermint Mocha and holiday-themed merchandise including Hello Kitty items and an adorable Bearista cup.
Starbucks holiday menu: Red Cup Day returning
Starbucks is bringing back fan-favorite flavors for the holidays with new drinks, cookies and festive Hello Kitty merch.
The holiday season starts now at Starbucks.
The specialty coffee chain’s holiday menu becomes available on Thursday, Nov. 6. That includes seasonal drinks such as Peppermint Mocha and Caramel Brulée Latte – and new this year, special Hello Kitty merchandise including hot and cold cups and a special-edition Hello Kitty plush doll.
Fans of Red Cup Day have to wait a week, until Thursday, Nov. 13, to get the reusable red holiday cup when they order a holiday drink at participating stores, while supplies last.
Two additional holiday beverages – Chestnut Praline Latte and Eggnog Latte – will return later in the holiday season, Starbucks says.
Starbucks 2025 holiday drinks menu
These are the drinks becoming available at Starbucks starting Thursday, Nov. 6. The Chestnut Praline Latte and Eggnog Latte will become available in the coming days:
- Peppermint Mocha: Features Starbucks Signature Espresso combined with steamed milk, mocha sauce and peppermint-flavored syrup, topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino blended beverage.
- Caramel Brulée Latte: Combines Starbucks Signature Espresso with steamed milk and rich caramel brulée sauce, topped with whipped cream and caramel brulée topping. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino blended beverage.
- Iced Sugar Cookie Latte: Sugar cookie-flavored syrup combined with Starbucks Blonde Espresso, ice, and milk, topped with red and green sprinkles. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino blended beverage.
- Iced Gingerbread Chai: Combines warm chai spices, milk and ice, topped with nondairy gingerbread-flavored cold foam and a spice topping. (The beverage can be customized to be made with a non-dairy alternative at no additional cost.)
- Chestnut Praline Latte: Features Starbucks Signature Espresso, steamed milk and flavors of caramelized chestnuts and spices, topped with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino blended beverage.
- Eggnog Latte: After recently being discontinued from the holiday menu in 2021, this returning drink features Starbucks Signature Espresso, steamed eggnog, a splash of milk and a topping of nutmeg.
Beyond beverages, Starbucks is bringing back a quartet of cold foams you can use to customize your cold drink. Most can be made dairy-free and you can also add protein-rich cold foam getting about 15 grams of extra protein in a grande-sized drink.
Here are the holiday cold foam flavors, with a description from the company:
- Gingerbread Cream Cold Foam: Sweet and deliciously spicy gingerbread flavors blended with Starbucks signature vanilla sweet cream.
- Peppermint Chocolate Cream Cold Foam: Peppermint-flavored syrup and mocha sauce blended with Starbucks signature vanilla sweet cream.
- Sugar Cookie Cream Cold Foam: Sugar cookie-flavored syrup blended with Starbucks signature vanilla sweet cream.
- Caramel Brulée Cream Cold Foam: Rich caramel brulée sauce blended with Starbucks signature vanilla sweet cream. Not available as a non-dairy cold foam.
Baked treats on the holiday menu include returning items the Snowman Cookie, Cranberry Bliss Bar and Sugar Plum Cheese Danish. New menu items include the Polar Bear Cake Pop and Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread.
Starbucks also unveiled four limited-edition seasonal blends available during the holiday season:
- Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend: Made from beans sourced from Sumatra in Indonesia, Sidama in Ethiopia and the Antigua region of Guatemala, according to the company, and described as “delicately sweet and full of depth” with “notes of candied pecan, sage and dried fig.”
- Starbucks Christmas Blend : Now available for its 41st year, the blend “showcases Starbucks artistry in roasting and blending with an expert combination of Latin American beans and mellow Indonesian coffees,” the company said.
- Starbucks Christmas Blonde Roast: This blonde roast version of Christmas Blend is “lightly roasted to bring out woodsy aromas and a smooth flavor with just the right amount of seasonal spice.”
- Starbucks Holiday Blend: “A full-bodied and vibrant blend that unfolds with layered notes of sweet maple and inviting herbs,” the company said.
Starbucks 2025 holiday merchandise includes bearista cup and Hello Kitty items
What would the holiday season be without giftable items such as festive coffee cups (for hot and cold drinks) and drinkware from Starbucks’ limited-edition collaboration with Hello Kitty.
The new collection of holiday-themed cups and tumblers ranging in price from $19.95 to $39.95 includes a cute Starbucks Bearista glass cold cup ($29.95). There’s also Red Cup and coffee mug holiday ornaments ($12.95).
Hello Kitty items include a Hello Kitty plush dressed in the iconic Starbucks green apron (and her signature red bow) for $34.95, a 16-ounce Hello Kitty ceramic mug for $32.95, a 26-ounce stainless steel cold cup for $32.95, a 20-ounce water bottle for $29.95, a 24-ounce cold cup for $24.95 and a stainless steel 12-ounce tumbler for $32.95.
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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