As the holiday season approaches, there is a nostalgic wave of warmth that fills up towns. Although holiday lights and festive displays lining streets provide a comforting atmosphere, nothing compares to the aroma of a holiday drink from Starbucks. They released their holiday menu for all to enjoy in early November. From the first sip of two completely new drinks to the last bite of five delightful new food options, this Christmas menu, as always, did not disappoint the public. This menu promises the main reason behind the comfort this season.
For those still craving chocolate from the past halloween season, as well as a warm coffee to pair with the crisp weather, a mocha seems like the perfect median. Mochas are rich and induced with cocoa flavor or chocolate syrup, giving the drink a perfect complement of chocolate while maintaining the lovely pure taste of coffee. This season, Starbucks has two returning mocha drinks that were loved by the public previously.
The peppermint mocha is a fan favorite for this season to please all chocolate lovers and includes a twist of refreshing peppermint. The minty notes mix perfectly with the creamy chocolate flavor. This beverage is available cold and of course hot, to meet everyone’s personal preferences. This drink is also available with white chocolate to serve the same creamy chocolate flavor while providing white chocolate admirers with the perfect drink for this season. The white chocolate mocha is additionally available to satisfy your stomach without any peppermint flavor. Even though the mochas themselves sound perfect, the lattes get even sweeter.
Lattes are the perfect treat for anyone who wants a slight coffee flavor but a main note of sweet milk. Starbucks has three returning lattes this season, bringing back the joy everyone needed. Including the sugar cookie almond milk latte, the caramel brûlée latte, and the chestnut praline latte. The sugar cookie latte is a light non dairy beverage with a slight sugar cookie flavor from a syrup. The Caramel brûlée is a perfect balance between expresó, steamed warm milk, and Caramel brûlée sauce and comes with whipped cream as well as crunchy peace’s on top. The last holiday latte is the chestnut praline latte, this latte has the perfect combination of buttery and nutty flavors mixed with a sweet milk and espresso. It truly brings the perfect taste for people who love nutty overtones. Along with these lattes are a custom cold foam to each one, matching the tasty flavor of the drink itself with a soft, sweet, finish. These are all available cold and hot as well to welcome anyone’s preference.
If lattes and mochas still do not sound appealing for this Christmas season, Starbucks also returned the Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai and the salted pecan crunch cold brew. Chai is actually a kind of tea, typically black tea that is brewed with warm milk and a unique blend of spices. The Gingerbread Chai specifically amplifies the taste of gingerbread and cinnamon flavors while also incorporating the original chai experience. As for the cold brew, it introduces a smooth coffee flavor that has less bitterness than traditional black coffee. This beverage pleases many with the lightly sweetened flavor from the touch of vanilla added. This drink contains the taste of the coffee itself mixed with the slight sweetness of the vanilla, with a salted pecan cold foam and topped off with pecan flavored sugar. Which truly provides the perfect balance in a cup.
On the other hand, for those who are not interested in coffee or coffee related drinks, refreshers are a perfect substitute to still sip in season. This year Starbucks launched three new holiday refreshers, including The Cran-Merry Orange Refresher, Cran-Merry Orange Lemonade Refresher, and Cran-Merry Drink. All of these wonderful refreshments are available cold and have such a delicious tart flavor from freeze dried cut cranberries that bathe in the drink. Any of these drinks can contain coconut milk, water or lemonade as the base to create the perfect holiday treat up to the buyer’s liking.
Alongside these festive drinks, as mentioned previously, Starbucks has other tasty offers for this season’s food menu. Between the brand new snowman sugar cookie, to the turkey and sage danish, these foods leave Starbucks lovers with mouths watering. The new Holiday items also contain a penguin cookie, snowman cookie, and the dark toffee bundt cake. The snowman cake pop is a vanilla cake base decorated like a snowman. Both cookies are a traditional sugar cookie with delicious icing and one decorated like a snowman the other like a penguin, hence the names. The dark toffee bundt cake is a moist toffee cake with sweet sprinkles. And the last new addition, the turkey and sage danish, is a warm light pastry with turkey sausage. As tradition, Starbucks also has returned the cranberry bliss bar which is a blondie cake with dried tart cranberries and smooth cream cheese icing.
Starbucks is here to bring it this season and has for the past many. Make the best of each holiday season by pairing it with the perfect holiday drink or holiday treat. There is truly no better way to celebrate this magical time of year than with a delicious beverage. The decoration in Starbucks and new reusable drink bottles complement the experience even further and create the best place to relax this winter.
