Starbucks Holiday 2023: New drink and full festive menu drops tomorrow

It’s that time of year again. The holidays are officially returning to Starbucks stores across Canada this week.

Beginning Thursday, November 2, customers can head into their local store and get seasonal sips and bites and even get a taste of an all-new beverage for the festive season.

The New Drink

This year, the new beverage to try is none other than the Iced Gingerbread Oat Chai.

Made with a blend of chai spices and creamy oat beverage, this drink can actually be ordered either iced or hot.

“It’s a love letter to gingerbread and ginger,” said Matt Thornton, senior beverage developer at Starbucks. “The gingerbread flavour amplifies the spice of the chai.”

Other Seasonal Menu Items

On top of the exciting new creation we just mentioned, Starbucks lovers can look forward to finding other much-loved holiday classics up for order come Thursday.

These selections include the Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brûlé Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, and Sugar Cookie Oat Latte.

You can get any of these items hot, iced, or made as a Frappuccino.

In terms of bites, favourites like the Cranberry Bliss Bar, Gingerbread Loaf, Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop, and Snowman Cookie will be back on Starbucks bakery shelves.

Let’s remind ourselves of the deliciousness we can expect in more detail.

Peppermint Mocha

Arguably the most popular bev on the holiday menu, the Peppermint Mocha features espresso combined with steamed milk, mocha sauce, and peppermint-flavoured syrup. This sip is topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls.

Caramel Brûlé Latte

This sweet treat is made from espresso, steamed milk, and rich caramel brûlé sauce, topped with whipped cream and caramel brûlé topping.

Chestnut Praline Latte

Another holiday classic! The mix of espresso, steamed milk, and flavours of caramelized chestnuts and spices is the best. This one is also topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with spiced praline crumbs to finish.

Sugar Cookie Oat Latte

The Sugar Cookie Oat Latte returns for its third year of sugary-sweet goodness. This drink features sugar cookie-flavoured syrup, Starbucks Blonde Espresso, and oat beverage topped with red and green sprinkles.

Highly Anticipated Cup Designs Revealed

Anyone who’s a fan of the brand knows how exciting the annual holiday cup design reveal is. This year, we are getting not one but four exciting punchy patterns for our festive vessels.

This year’s cups feature Peppermint Swirl, Bauble Wrap, Party Plaid and Ribbon Spool designs, plus a new holiday cold cup.

“When we were looking at trends when designing this year’s holiday, we kept seeing bright, bold, uplifting colours,’” said Kristy Cameron, creative director at Starbucks. “We found that magenta alongside the holiday reds and greens lifts the traditional holiday colours and makes the red look even brighter.”

“This year’s holiday theme is ‘Share the Joy,’” said Cameron. “It’s our shared human experience and togetherness that makes the season special.”

If you’re looking for a gift or a cup you can keep, Starbucks has dropped its annual lineup of holiday merchandise as well.