With the winter season approaching around the corner, pumpkin spice lattes are slowly being replaced with gingerbread and peppermint cold brews. As temperature drops signal the approach of winter, major coffee and drive-thru chains are rolling out their seasonal menus. This winter season combines rich dessert-inspired profiles, velvety textures, and refreshing cold-foam balance across the board. Here are all the winter drinks from coffee chains you have to look forward to, and bites to pair them with.
Tiramisu Innovation
The most exciting winter offering comes from Starbucks, with their new headliners in the Tiramisu Velvet Latte and the Tiramisu Velvet Cold Brew. Releasing on November 5, these drinks are tiramisu flavored, topped with a rich and creamy mascarpone cold foam, and completed with a dusting of cocoa and coffee. They will debut alongside other classics from Starbucks such as the Peppermint Mocha and Gingerbread Chai, and make sure to pair or dip the Snowman Cookie and Sugar Plum Cheese Danish into these drinks. Following up on the more refined Aerocano release, Starbucks has been hitting the mark on flavor and finesse with their new drinks in the latter half of this year.
Cookie Butter Goodness
Dunkin’ is bringing serious comfort to the winter lineup with their headline release, the Cookie Butter Cold Brew. This cozy standout blends rich espresso with warm brown-sugar spice notes, all crowned with a velvety whipped cookie-butter foam and a crunch of caramelized cookie crumbles. It debuts alongside beloved returning staples like the Toasted White Chocolate Signature Latte, giving you plenty of ways to stay warm. For the ultimate seasonal pairing, make sure to grab a classic holiday or regular donut to dip into your brew.
7 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays
7 Brew is keeping the drive-thru momentum going with its signature high-energy customization and a crowd-favorite lineup. The star of the season is Santa’s Cookie Mocha — a sweet blend of rich espresso, chocolate, and freshly baked sugar-cookie flavor, topped with a dash of cinnamon spice. It headlines alongside festive classics like the Candy Cane Mocha and a more unique offering with the Holiday Punch, a mixup of Christmas and citrus with cranberry and tropical flavors. 7 Brew keeps these releases exciting by introducing them on a not-so-secret secret menu which allows for total customization, giving you the ability to craft your perfect winter sip.
Homebrew Costco
Avoiding the drive-thru, Costco comes in as an honorable mention due to their carefully created homebrew recipes for winter drinks on their website, which can be paired with the release of their new Apple Pie Sundae, set to release this month at a sweet $2.99. If you want a more hands on, family-centric night, grabbing the pie alongside a Costco haul and making their curated Spiked Eggnog Hot Chocolate at home sounds like the perfect cozy night, especially when playing with the Gingerbread Co. Woodland Pre-Built Gingerbread House.