As the year closes, Starbucks® stores in Asia celebrate the holidays, bringing the spirit of the comfort and hope to hearts and homes.

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NEW! Starbucks® Handcrafted Holiday Beverages

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Starbucks® Jolly Baked Apple Latte: A creamy blend of Starbucks® signature espresso, steamed milk and spiced apples, the new Jolly Baked Apple Latte is a multi-sensory holiday delight. The Jolly Baked Apple Latte is topped with a whipped cream dome, a delicate drizzle of baked apple sauce and candied apple sprinkles for the perfect holiday touch. Available hot, iced and blended.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Starbucks® Jolly Baked Apple Cold Brew: The new Jolly Baked Apple Cold Brew is a super-smooth holiday twist on Starbucks® signature Cold Brew. Featuring Starbucks® Cold Brew coffee with a hint of baked apple flavor, this deliciously festive beverage is topped with a snowy layer of baked apple cold foam and a dusting of cinnamon to deliver holiday magic with every sip. Available iced.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Starbucks® Jolly Baked Apple Nitro Cold Brew: Treat yourself or your loved ones with the gift of a new Jolly Baked Apple Nitro Cold Brew – a joyful new take on Starbucks® Nitro Cold Brew. Deliciously cold and straight from the tap, the Jolly Baked Apple Nitro Cold Brew packs an irresistibly comforting flavor with an infusion of scrumptious baked apple flavor and nitrogen, topped with a blanket of baked apple cold foam and a dash of cinnamon. The result is a cascade of velvety coffee perfect for making new holiday memories.&nbsp;Available iced.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Starbucks® Toffee Nut Crunch Latte: The Toffee Nut Crunch Latte returns with comforting layers of buttery toffee nut balanced by subtle sweet notes of toasted nuts, Starbucks® signature espresso and velvety steamed milk. The beverage is finished with a whipped cream peak and a sprinkle of crunchy toffee nut topping. Available hot, iced or blended.

Starbucks® Peppermint Mocha: The most loved holiday beverage in Starbucks history returns with the seasonal flavors of Peppermint Mocha. Inspired by the flavors of traditional holiday candies, the Peppermint Mocha is made with Starbucks® signature espresso and steamed milk, chocolatey mocha sauce and peppermint. Topped with whipped cream, mocha drizzle and candy cane pieces, this special holiday beverage is returning for the 18th year to celebrate the joys and flavors of the holiday season all over again. Available hot, iced or blended.

Starbucks® Gingerbread Latte: The highly anticipated Gingerbread Latte is back and ready to bring you familiar feelings of holiday warmth. Enjoy the tastes of the season directly from your cup with sweet and spicy flavors of baked gingerbread combined with classic Starbucks® espresso and steamed milk. Topped with whipped cream and a dash of ground nutmeg, the Gingerbread Latte is sure to take you on a trip down memory lane to celebrate cherished moments of past holidays.&nbsp;Available hot, iced or blended.

Starbucks brings back the holidays in Asia : Starbucks Stories Asia

Starbucks Stories Asia

Starbucks brings back the holidays in Asia

Starbucks stores in Asia celebrate the return of the holidays with new and returning beverage favorites.

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https://stories.starbucks.com/asia/stories/2020/starbucks-brings-back-the-holidays-in-asia/

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Which came first, the Peppermint Mocha or the Egg(nog)? Learn the story behind the classic Starbucks holiday beverage.

When does it officially feel like the holidays? For some it could be hearing the first notes of holiday music or seeing that first flurry of snow. But for many, the arrival of the holidays is marked by that first taste of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha and its rich, full-bodied espresso mingled with the flavor of chocolate, peppermint and whipped cream. 

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha may be one of the most beloved of holiday beverages, but it wasn’t actually the first. <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/2019-starbucks-holiday-coffee-and-pairings-guide/">Christmas Blend</a> coffee made its debut in 1984, hand-scooped and packaged in brown kraft paper coffee bags to be brewed at home. Then came the first handcrafted holiday beverage in 1986, created behind the espresso bar at Il Giornale (which merged with Starbucks in 1987) by Dave Olsen, who steamed up a pitcher of eggnog and milk to make the first Eggnog Latte.

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Ten years later, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/20-years-of-starbucks-holiday-cups/">the first red Starbucks cup made its appearance</a> and, as the company expanded into Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Starbucks created its first beverage research and development team.

“Customers’ understanding of espresso and lattes was really in its infancy,” said Peter Dukes, who joined Starbucks as a product manager for espresso beverages in 2001. “I think [a holiday beverage] was a good introduction for a lot of people back then to lattes and espresso.”

After successfully launching Gingerbread Latte (now available in Canada and select international markets) in 2000, the R&amp;D team was tasked with exploring ideas for the next holiday beverage. Dukes remembers being invited to the R&amp;D team’s Liquid Lab to be part of a team of about 10 partners who tasted new beverage concepts. The group was truly cross-functional – including partners from operations, finance, supply chain. 

The team tried a few different flavors that would resonate with customers during the holiday, including an idea for a white chocolate cranberry beverage. But they quickly landed on a peppermint-flavored twist on the classic Caffè Mocha inspired by the flavors of traditional holiday candies. From there, the team refined the recipe, finding the perfect combination of rich Starbucks espresso with bittersweet mocha sauce, peppermint syrup, and steamed milk, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of red sugar sprinkles. 

The beverage was introduced to Starbucks customers for the 2002 holiday season, and quickly became the most popular holiday beverage in Starbucks history. It’s still the most loved holiday beverage on the menu today, served at more than 30,000 stores in 80 markets around the world and available hot, iced and blended. Its recipe has changed only a little; it’s now made with 2 percent milk as the standard and with dark chocolate curls instead of red sprinkles.

“To know you're part of something that turned out to be pretty special even 17 years later is unique. It takes me back to those times in the Liquid Lab with an extremely diverse group of partners sitting around a table tasting different variations of the peppermint mocha,” Dukes said. “None of us were professionally trained, but we ended up with a beverage that continues to resonate with our customers today and we had a lot of fun making it.”

Snowed in? While it’s not the official Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, this DIY recipe can help satisfy your holiday cravings at home until your next Starbucks run. 

DIY Peppermint Mocha

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Timeline of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha beverage

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha: A love story : Starbucks Stories Asia

Which came first, the Peppermint Mocha or the Egg(nog)? Learn the story behind the classic Starbucks holiday beverage.

https://stories.starbucks.com/asia/stories/2019/starbucks-peppermint-mocha-a-love-story/