Starbucks' 2024 Holiday Menu Didn't Deliver Much Holiday Spirit

CORRECTION 11/7/24: A previous version of this article stated the Blonde Christmas Roast is new this year; it has been available in years past. The Salted Pecan Cream Cold Foam was available starting September 19, not November 19. 

Is it really the holiday season if you haven't sipped at least one $6 latte from Starbucks while window shopping? (Or, alternatively, while panic buying presents on your way to a party, asking your mom what your tween cousin actually enjoys.) The 2024 Starbucks winter holiday menu is available starting November 7 across the United States. A number of items from previous years are returning, which is good or bad, depending on how excited you get about new drinks. We obviously all want our fav to return, but it can be a bit of a bummer when you see a drink or treat come back year after year that you did not enjoy.

Daily Meal was given a sneak peek of the new menu items and did a taste test to see which are worth trying and which we'd suggest you skip. No spoilers, but we were a bit let down.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The festive Starbucks favorites that made the cut for 2024 are the Peppermint Mocha, the Caramel Brulée Latte, the Chestnut Praline Latte, the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai, and the Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte. Of course, all these drinks can be ordered hot, iced, or as a Frappuccino. There are just two food items returning to Starbucks this holiday season: the ever-popular Cranberry Bliss Bar and the Sugar Plum Cheese Danish.

Seasonal Cold Foams are also back on the menu, for those who like the festive lattes but don't want the full sugary experience. You can expect to see four flavors from winters past: Caramel Brulée Cream Cold Foam, Chestnut Praline Cream Cold Foam, Sugar Cookie Cream Cold Foam, and Peppermint Chocolate Cream Cold Foam.

The only truly new drink on Starbucks' holiday 2024 menu is a cranberry Refresher. (The chain cheated a bit by offering three distinct versions of the drink.) The flavor options differ by their base liquid: water, lemonade, or coconut milk. All contain 55 milligrams of caffeine, thanks to the addition of green coffee extract.

Dubbed the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher, the water-based option costs between $5.25 and $5.95 for a Grande and contains 100 calories. The flavor is sweet but not cloying; a nice little cranberry drink, though there is nothing truly remarkable about it.

The Cran-Merry Orange Lemonade Refresher is made with a lemonade base (obviously, given the name). This one might be my favorite; the lemon offsets the sweetness of the straightforward Refresher in a nice way without going too hard in the opposite direction. This drink is priced between $5.75 and $6.45 for a Grande and has 140 calories.

My least favorite of the bunch is the Cran-Merry Drink. Priced the same as the Lemonade Refresher, the coconut milk base doesn't blend well with the rest of the ingredients. For me, the drink is too sweet (though the addition of coconut flavor was quite nice in a "wish you were here" tropical holiday type of way) and it reminds me of drinkable yogurt. The coconut milk separates and becomes kind of grainy, which is visually very unappealing.

While the Salted Pecan Cream Cold Foam is being touted as new, it has been around since September 19 ... sort of. The cold foam was included in the fall 2024 special release alongside the Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte. Now that that little gripe is out of the way, moving on to the actual drink.

The Salted Pecan Cream Cold Foam is surprisingly salty — in a surprisingly good way. The cold foam flavor on its own reminds me of praline. Once I got over my initial shock at the intensity, I kept going back for more. I can see how the boldness of the flavor could turn some people off, but the nutty, salty-sweet cold foam perfectly compliments the strong, black cold brew. As someone who always adds another shot of espresso to her holiday Starbucks drinks, this is the perfect combo for me.

Topped with pumpkin pie spices, Starbucks' Gingerbread Cream Cold Foam is significantly less assertive than the Salted Pecan flavor. There really is no way to describe the taste of it other than "gingerbread," but it's quite subtle. This is also a lovely match for the cold brew and would be a great choice for people who find the standard holiday lattes to be too much.

My only complaint here is the flavor is just so expected. In fact, Starbucks has had a Gingerbread Latte on its holiday menu before, which leads me to ask why not just bring that drink back? For some reason, the cold foams feel like a cop-out for an actual new menu item.

Both new cold foams are really pleasant and solid additions to the Starbucks menu. They also bookend one another very well, giving options to those who want a bold, festive flavor or something with just a hint of holiday sparkle.

The snowman cake pop is predictably cute. Starbucks really has cake pops down to a formula, stopping just before they become too sweet.

Our frosty friend has a vanilla cake and buttercream interior and is coated with white chocolate. This gives a pleasant snap as you bite into the soft, almost gooey center. Many cake pops end up dry inside, but these are perfectly moist. The Snowman Cake Pop is very sweet, but in a way that makes me a bit nostalgic, not nauseous.

The snowman cake pop is priced between $3.25 and $4.25 and contains 170 calories. Unless you're super averse to sugar, this is worth the buy.

I was pretty excited about the Dark Toffee Bundt, which looks really fantastic. Perfectly sized for a filling snack or to share, the flavor really delivers dark toffee flavor: think molasses and dark brown sugar.

The cake itself is less sticky than I expected, but that does make sense from a portability standpoint. While I would love a moister, looser crumb, it would be pretty difficult to eat while driving or walking.

Overall the Dark Toffee Bundt is a bit sweet and dry for me, but not so much that I wouldn't eat it again if it were free or I was very hungry. You can pick up the holiday treat for $3.95 to $4.95, depending on your store. It contains 330 calories.

I had to tap in a panel to taste the Turkey Sage Danish, as I do not eat meat. Overall they feel it's a nice addition to the menu, though there were some slightly odd choices made when it came to the turkey itself, which is present in the form of little meatballs.

Most of my trusty reviewers would like to see slightly more meat inside. This could probably be remedied by using pulled turkey instead of ground. With that said, the meat is well seasoned and moist.

In addition to the turkey, the pastry is sprinkled with sage and filled with a creamy bechamel. It tastes (and smells) like a holiday dinner all wrapped up in a flaky puff pastry bow. The Turkey Sage Danish is a solid choice for people looking for a festive breakfast or snack on the savory side, just don't expect a super filling, meaty meal.

Starbucks' 2024 winter holiday menu is a bit disappointing overall, just because the whole thing is so familiar. It really doesn't feel like the brand took any chances this year (unless you happen to live near one of the few Reserve locations, which have much more interesting seasonal offerings).

Three variations on the same (kind of boring) drink; an admittedly cute and tasty cake pop, though not something we haven't seen before; two cream cold foams; and a turkey and cheese danish. Oh, there is also a shortbread cookie that looks like a penguin's face, though it wasn't offered at the preview tasting. I assume it tastes like ... a frosted shortbread cookie.

The Dark Toffee Bundt and Salted Pecan Cream Cold Foam are the only real swings Starbucks took on the nationwide menu. The salted pecan cold foam is daringly salty, but simply an update on a current menu item you could always order if you knew about it. And while the bundt cake is not bad, it's just not as good as it could be if the coffee chain was more willing to take risks outside of its Reserve Roastery locations.