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The Starbucks Winter Menu Was Leaked — Here’s What We Know

It seems like every restaurant, fast food chain, and coffee shop has a holiday menu right now, and I am thoroughly enjoying the peppermint mocha, gingerbread, and sugar cookie wonderland at eateries nationwide. But what happens when it’s January 2 and the holidays are over? Do businesses just close up shop, and are we customers expected to return to the regular menu and wait a whole year until we are once again blessed with wintery holiday drinks? Lucky for us, a dreary winter menu may not be the case at Starbies, where a special seasonal Starbucks winter menu is rumored to feature both new items and recipe revamps. 

What are the potential new drinks on the Starbucks winter menu?

Instagram user @Markie_Devo, aka the gossip girl equivalent of fast food chains and menus, provided us with a comprehensive list of potential new items that Starbucks is rumored to release in the new year. First and foremost, the fan-favorite Pistachio Latte, which is available hot or iced, and the Pistachio Cream Cold Brew are rumored to be returning. 

According to Devo, the Starbucks winter menu may also include a brand new espresso beverage, aka the cortado: a Spanish coffee drink that is equal parts espresso and steamed milk. If you prefer your coffee on the sweeter side,  Starbucks will allegedly offer a new Brown Sugar Oatmilk Cortado, similar to the beloved shaken espresso, which has become a permanent menu fixture. 

If you like matcha, you’re in for a treat, thanks to Starbucks’ rumored new formula. Allegedly beginning in January, Starbies’ matcha mix will now be unsweetened to begin with, and sweetened by default with their classic syrup upon ordering, unless otherwise specified. To better mix the matcha powder, baristas will apparently begin turning to the blender rather than the shaker. 

What new drinks might be on the Starbucks Valentine’s Day menu?

That’s not all, though. The Valentine’s Day menu will allegedly feature the return of Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew, a new Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino, along with a new Blackberry Sage Refresher, which will be available with water, lemonade, or coconut milk.

What new food items are rumored to be on the Starbucks winter menu?

According to Devo, the Starbucks winter release will also include brand new additions to the food menu, such as a spicy falafel pocket (which is also vegan and a “B!tchin’ Sauce” Chipotle Almond Dip to complement the pocket sandwich or pair with a classic croissant. For sweet treat lovers, Starbucks is also rumored to be dropping a vanilla and buttercream Valentine’s cake pop.

When will the Starbucks winter menu be available?

According to @markie_devo, there are two speculated release dates for these winter drops. The new Starbucks winter menu – including cortados, matcha, pistachio-flavored coffees, and falafel pocket — is expected to be available on January 2. About a month later on February 4, the Starbucks Valentine’s Day menu should be available just in time for all of us hopeless romantics.

Julia Lagano is a senior at Virginia Tech, majoring in Multimedia Journalism and French. She is a National Writer for Spoon University where she writes about news for foodies and does product reviews.

Outside of Spoon University, she is a disk jockey for her college's radio station, WUVT 90.7 FM.

You can catch her on the air or at a cookout ordering a chocolate malt shake with M&Ms. You can reach her at julialagano@vt.edu or follow her on social media @julia.lagano.