Starbucks’ Newest Holiday Drink Is Actually … Cold?
Though iced, the new Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai will still bring the warmth of holiday spices.
Photo courtesy of Starbucks
It’s that time of year when the world starts to sip its special seasonal coffee beverages from remarkably zeitgeist-reflecting Starbucks holiday cups.
On Thursday, November 2, the coffee chain is kicking off the holiday season with two new limited-time-only beverages — one cold and widely available, one hot and to be found only at select locations — and a bunch of returning favorite holiday drinks and treats. It is also debuting four new cheery holiday cups with designs intended to “capture the magic and joy of the season.”
With both new beverages, which we had a chance to taste ahead of their debut, Starbucks is leaning into seasonally suitable flavor of gingerbread. We found both of them to be seriously delicious.
The new cold beverage, Starbucks Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai, plays to the year-round popularity of the chain’s iced beverages, offering a cool new take on creamy oat milk and chai spices and featuring the cinnamony, homespun warmth of fresh-baked gingerbread cookies, with an extra sprinkle of spice on top.
The drink, which is also available hot, is “a love letter to gingerbread and ginger,” says Starbucks Senior Beverage Developer Matt Thornton in a statement. “The gingerbread flavor amplifies the spice of the chai.”
It will be available at Starbucks locations nationwide alongside such returning seasonal favorites as Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte and Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte.
Also returning will be Starbucks’ original Gingerbread Latte, a holiday beverage that was available in the U.S. for nearly two decades following its launch in 2000, and the chain’s returning, moist and flavorful Gingerbread Loaf.
“There’s something about gingerbread that just feels like the holidays,” Thornton said.
U.S. Starbucks locations that serve the chain’s new(ish) olive-oil-infused Oleato beverages will also be serving the first Oleato holiday beverage: the new Oleato Gingerbread Oatmilk Latte. It features Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil, steamed oat milk and “notes of warm gingerbread” and is “finished with a subtle dusting of bright ginger and citrus.”
To Billy Aleri, senior product developer for Starbucks, the beverage evokes the taste of freshly baked gingerbread and olive oil cake.
“A lot of Italian desserts use citrus flavors during the holidays,” Aleri notes. “It was an opportunity to blend the spices with the olive oil, and the citrus was the ingredient that really brought these flavors together.”
Photo courtesy of Starbucks
In addition to this year’s two new drinks, Starbucks is also debuting four new holiday cups for hot beverages, plus a new holiday cold cup. Last year marked the cups’ 25th anniversary and provided a chance to look back and realize how much the cup designs said about the times in which they were released.
The 2023 holiday cups are all about the bright, bold and upbeat, featuring pops of bright pink alongside the traditional holiday reds and greens. The designs also include magical sparkles and are meant to convey the excitement of joining in celebration with family and friends.
“This year’s holiday theme is ‘Share the Joy,’” Kristy Cameron, Starbucks’ creative director, says in a news release. “It’s our shared human experience and togetherness that makes the season special.”
Each cup features a seasonal design: Party Plaid was inspired by a classic, but modern plaid scarf, says Bridget Shilling, the designer behind this year’s cup collection, while Peppermint Swirl combines the “familiarity of tissue paper and the swirling shapes of peppermint candies.”
Ribbon Spool looks as if it’s wrapped with colorful ribbons, Bauble Wrap features mod, retro holiday ornaments, and the cold cup is all about those snow-white baubles and sparkles.
All the cup designs include a gift tag, so you can customize them with your own holiday message.
“Starbucks red cups are like little wrapped gifts for our [employees] and customers,” Cameron says. “My hope is that they feel excitement and joy when they see the cups, and that they want to share them with family and friends.”
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