As November rolled around, so did the unofficial start of the holiday season — at least according to Starbucks. The company released their annual holiday cups and put their usual festive drinks on the menu, with surprising additions.
When Starbucks came out with simple, two-toned red cups last year, all heck broke loose on social media. They were harshly criticized by people who viewed this as an important issue in society; they referred to the removal of snowflakes, trees and snowmen on the cups as an attack on Christ.
Although the majority of sane citizens likely did not even realize that Starbucks had changed the color of the cup to begin with, the company brought back more festive designs for the cups this year. According to the Starbucks Newsroom, the company selected 13 different designs from customers in six countries to encourage more holiday spirit while taking inspiration from talented people around the world. While the cups are pleasing to look at, “the type of cup does not affect my Starbucks experience but I do like seeing the different designs I get with each order,” senior Ashley Lobel said.
The chain also added holiday-themed drinks to the menu. First is the Peppermint Mocha, which is essentially a peppermint patty in drink form — perfect for anyone who does not particularly enjoy the taste of coffee. This is also available in “Skinny” form, meaning it has sugar-free syrups and nonfat milk. “I usually prefer tea over coffee but I love the Peppermint Mocha because it tastes more like hot chocolate than coffee,” junior Gaby Vinick said.
Next up is the Caramel Brulee Latte. This drink adds caramel brulee sauce to an espresso and is topped with whipped cream and caramel brulee topping for a caramel lover’s heaven; a sweet drink for the sweet holiday season. Another sweet latte is the Chestnut Praline Latte, which adds flavors of caramelized chestnuts to a typical latte and is topped with spiced praline crumbs and of course whipped cream. Even more festive is the Eggnog Latte, which combines espresso with steamed eggnog and milk, topped with nutmeg. To round off the lattes, the Gingerbread Latte adds gingerbread flavor to a typical latte and is also topped with nutmeg in addition to whipped cream.
For the iced coffee lovers, the Spiced Sweet Cream Cold Brew adds sweet holiday spices to a typical cold brew or any of the aforementioned options can be ordered in iced form.

Sydney Cohen

Features Editor