Starbucks New Holiday Cups 'Merry Coffee' With Purchase Of Holiday Drink

Starbucks New Holiday Cups 'Merry Coffee' With Purchase Of Holiday Drink Starbucks and the holidays go together like coffee and cream. The coffee chain announced Wednesday that their signature holiday drinks will be available starting Thursday, November 7.

The coffee chain is unveiling Thursday four new seasonal cups and none of them uses the word “Christmas.” The closest it gets are the words “Merry Coffee” on two of the four designs, plus “We wish you a merry coffee,” on a newly designed cup sleeve.

For Starbucks, the seasonal offerings are a way to create buzz, give their fans what they want and boost sales. “Customers have really let us know that tradition is important to them,” chief operating officer Roz Brewer told CNN Business. “Even when we introduce our pumpkin platform, they’re already asking about Christmas.”

Starbucks took to Twitter to announce new holiday drinks, including Eggnog, Peppermint Mocha, Toasted White Chocolate, Caramel Brulee Latte and Chestnut Praline Latte. You can pair these with either their new turkey and stuffing panini or the gingerbread loaf for a poor man’s Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, much to the coffee Twitterati’s chagrin, the exalted Gingerbread Latte will not be returning this year.

In 2015, Starbucks was accused of a "war on Christmas" when they unveiled plain red holiday cups that did not explicitly say anything about the holiday. Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump even called for a boycott of the minimalist cups.

"During the holidays, Starbucks aspires to spark mini moments of joy in our customers when they visit our stores, making their day even more cheerful and bright," the spokesperson said, noting that Starbucks offers a "Christmas blend." "'Merry coffee' is a fun and festive expression that we hope our customers feel as they take the very first sip of their favorite Starbucks holiday beverage."

Starbucks isn’t the only company that relies on seasonal markers to draw in customers. Dunkin’s peppermint mocha returned to stores on Wednesday, and McDonald’s brought back its McRib sandwich in October for a limited time.