Since 1997, Starbucks has been regularly rolling out seasonal cups to celebrate the advent of the upcoming holidays. Although clearly a marketing ploy, the gimmick has almost come to define the months of November and December in the United States, with folks awaiting the release of the new designs, ready to pounce on the commentary and compare the offerings to years prior.
We're excited to note that this year's holiday cups are actually really nice. Our reaction might have to do with the fact that we've been stuck at home for months and the sight of anything remotely different from the usual automatically activates feelings of joy. Or, perhaps, the new designs do outshine previous ones in both creativity and appeal.
Whatever the case may be, Starbucks lovers will get to sip their drinks from one of four new cups starting tomorrow.
Some details about the new designs: they're all centered around the theme "Carry the Merry" and two of the cups actually feature the words on them. "Our thought behind the cups this year was about people carrying them out in the world as messengers of joy," Jeff Wilkson, the company's creative director, said in an official press release announcing the news.
But there's more: this year, the company has vowed to give out a reusable version of the holiday cup for free on Friday to all those who order a seasonal drink within the United States, both in person and via delivery. The seasonal drinks include a chestnut praline latte, a toasted white chocolate mocha, an eggnog latte, a caramel brulée latte and—of course—Starbucks' usual Christmas blend coffee.
Your sweet tooth will be delighted to know that seasonal foods will also make menu appearances. Complement your liquid of choice with cake pops, cranberry orange scones, snowman cookies and sugar plum cheese danishes.
And as an added bonus in 2020, baristas around the country will start donning red aprons to signal the start of the festive season. This year, we'll take all the extra cheer we can get.
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