Review: Starbucks' 2026 Holiday Menu Has A Lot Of Hits And A Few Misses

As soon as my jack-o'-lantern left my front porch and long before my HOA allowed me to hang Christmas lights, Starbucks released its winter holiday menu. Still, this jump on the holidays allows Starbucks customers to enjoy the festive season for two whole months before packing everything away for another year. So what do customers have to look forward to as they put up trees and wait for the snow to fall? Several new drinks and food items, of course!

Though Starbucks' 2025 holiday menu didn't feature a single new drink, 2026 is bringing its A-game with tiramisu-inspired drinks, red and green-colored refreshers, and a couple of new ways to enjoy flavors already in the Starbucks lineup. My early-morning Starbucks run didn't land me a coveted Starbucks Bearista holiday cup, but I did walk away with a Bearista Owala that I simply couldn't resist, plus every new item on the menu. Arms full, there was only one thing left to do: Get to sipping.

The very first thing I did on November 5, 2026, the release date for the holiday menu, was head to Starbucks. I tasted each of the new drink and food offerings to determine what (if any) are worth your time. This decision was based on the taste and texture of the items. For drinks, I was looking for sweet options that weren't overwhelmingly sugary but still brought that festive charm. Likewise, the food needed to be enjoyable to eat both in taste and texture. With several new offerings, I wondered how holly jolly this lineup would feel.

I absolutely love making tiramisu for the holidays, so I was thrilled that for the 2026 holiday season, Starbucks released a Tiramisu Velvet Latte in iced, hot, and cold brew versions. For this tasting, I sampled the iced latte and the cold brew. The Tiramisu Velvet Latte mixes the chain's signature espresso and vanilla at the bottom of the cup with your chosen milk and is topped with the new Velvet Mascarpone Cold Foam (created with a velvet mascarpone powder), a ring of mocha drizzle, and a cocoa cookie dusting. My grande iced latte ran me $6.95 from the Central Florida cafe I ordered from.

Interestingly, I found the cocoa cookie dusting pretty impressively hefty, sitting atop the cold foam far longer than I expected, even as I sipped the drink. The latte was definitely on the sweeter side, but not overpoweringly so. It tasted like an elevated drink you might get at a local coffee shop showing out for the holidays. I thought the signature espresso actually worked well here, and given that I normally prefer the blonde roast, this surprised me.

The cold brew was enjoyable as well, but I admittedly enjoyed the latte a little more. Where the cold brew was very coffee-forward, the latte had more of an even mix between the espresso and the milk flavors, which created a more balanced texture and taste for the drink. Either way, the Tiramisu Velvet drinks are a total win for the season.

When Starbucks first released a teaser for the holiday menu, I was most drawn to the green and red refreshers. I absolutely love both apple and pomegranate, so I went in with fairly high expectations for these drinks. I anticipated depth from the pomegranate and a playful, almost fall-like side from the apple flavor. The last few times Starbucks has come out with a new refresher line, it's been a total win, so I wondered if the holidays would live up to that past.

I ordered the basic Apple Pomegranate Refresher, the snowy version, and the lemonade iteration. I found the basic refresher much more tart than expected, reminding me more of a sour Halloween candy than a cozy holiday apple. Aside from the red and green colors, it didn't feel like it belonged with the other holiday drinks. Though the red and green looked to be bright in advertisements, in execution, the drink had much more of a muddy look. For the snowy version made with coconut milk, I was happy to taste the coconut milk taming some of that green apple flavor, making it much more mellow ... but no longer tasting like apple at all. The lemonade was an odd mixture that dominated any other flavor and made the apple and pomegranate nearly invisible within the drink. 

I appreciate what Starbucks was trying to do with this drink, and between the three, the basic version was definitely my favorite, but it had a very tart taste to it. No matter which version you choose, they'll be the same price. For my grandes, this meant I paid $6.95 per drink.

When I worked at Starbucks, one of my favorite things to do was come up with interesting mixtures of flavors for drinks. Today, this is known as the secret menu, but when I donned the green apron (what seems like eons ago), it was simply playing behind the espresso bar. Still, it's always fun to see creations that feel like they were born from baristas playing around.

The Iced Caramel Brulée Cream Chai is certainly one of those drinks because it's made using holiday ingredients that have been on the menu for a few holiday seasons. The drink is a basic Iced Chai Latte with Classic Syrup and a topping of the Caramel Brulée Cream Cold Foam and caramel brûlée topping. This sweet topping has been one of Starbucks' holiday cold foams since 2023, so it's far from brand new, but being added atop an Iced Chai Latte certainly gave it new life. 

With the spiciness of the chai and the sweetness from the caramel brûlée, this was an absolutely delicious and charming drink. I typically prefer an espresso shot in my iced chais, and I think a shot of blonde espresso roast would really take it to the next level. You could also line the cup with caramel for a little bit more of that caramel taste, but even as is, the drink was delicious. For this tasting, I went with the standard menu offering, paying $6.75 for my grande.

The Iced Sugar Cookie Cream Matcha felt like another item that came from customers and baristas dreaming up holiday drink customizations. Similar to the chai, this drink is a basic Iced Matcha Latte, sweetened with Classic Syrup and upgraded with Sugar Cookie Cream Cold Foam and red and green sprinkles on top, costing $6.75 for the grande.

Being rather new to the world of matcha, but a quick adapter, I was very excited to try this holiday-themed offering. Before I even sipped the drink, I could smell that sugar cookie flavor, and in sipping it, it definitely overwhelmed the grassiness of the matcha. I liked this burst of sweetness, but I can imagine matcha loyalists not being as big fans of the drink. Still, it was playful and delicious in all the ways I love my matcha concoctions to be. The red and green sprinkles on top added the perfect touch of whimsy to an already festive drink with a lovely green matcha hue.

If you're looking for your new favorite grilled cheese, Starbucks has your order for $8.25. Initially, I wasn't expecting much from this sandwich, but looks can be deceiving, and that was definitely the case here. The bread looked very hard and overly toasted, and it didn't seem like there was much filling or flavor within the sandwich. One bite, however, proved me wrong, at least when it came to flavor.

The bread and short rib meat perfectly complemented the cheese and made for a really delicious bite in the center of the sandwich, but the texture of the bread was indeed a little too hard for my liking. In my mind, sandwiches shouldn't be hard to eat, and this one was a little challenging to get into, like having to peel the rind off of an orange before enjoying its juicy, fruity goodness. Still, I really enjoyed the flavor and think this would be a delicious lunch throughout the holiday season.

I had really high hopes for the Turkey & Stuffing Sandwich, especially since the Holiday Turkey & Stuffing Panini is one of those seasonal Starbucks items some assumed we would never see again. I love a holiday meal-inspired offering, and the way that cranberry sauce can play off of turkey and gravy and stuffing is normally outstanding, but the Starbucks version of the turkey and stuffing sandwich has a real texture problem.

The baguette bread was really tough, and then the filling was far too soft. All the flavors felt like they were trying so hard to be there, but the texture really threw it for a loop. The cranberry sauce also didn't have quite enough pop within the sandwich. The whole thing ultimately tasted like something that desperately wanted to succeed at being a turkey and stuffing sandwich but failed miserably when it came to satisfying that need for a mixture of flavors. I had such high hopes for this one and was absolutely disappointed to see that it completely tripped at the finish line. It looked really promising, but I don't think the texture is going to win many people over, especially at the $8.25 price tag.

When the Bearista cup first made its appearance, Starbucks was wholly unprepared for customers to fall in love, but it happened quickly, and with quite a slap in the face to the chain's small inventory of cute cups. Now, this holiday season, Starbucks is ramping up its Bearista offerings with merch, a stuffie, ornaments, and, notably, a cake pop.

With a chocolate exterior and yellow cake inside, it was a pretty basic cake pop at $3.45. It's going to delight those who absolutely enjoy this sweet treat, and it tasted like every other similar cake pop I've ever tried. That is to say, it's delicious. It's a very sweet, compact, and decadent treat, so be ready for it to feel a little on the rich side. Still, there's no doubt that my son is going to want one of these every time we're at Starbucks this holiday season.

By and large, the Starbucks holiday menu for 2026 is pretty excellent. The tiramisu offerings were definitely the star of the show, though I absolutely loved the matcha and chai, too. Unfortunately, the refreshers didn't do it for me and felt a little bit out of place, aside from the color of the drinks.

Food-wise, it was a little more of a mixed bag, but the Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese was a total winner (as long as you cut off the crusts). I must say I loved all of the Bearista merchandise for sale, and it makes perfect sense for Starbucks to also have a Bearista cake pop. Since these tend to be a favorite of kids, I'm happy to see that there's not much difference about the cake pop in terms of flavor, and a majority of kids who already enjoy a regular cake pop will also like this one.