The Starbucks Holiday Cup Doesn’t Look Like This Anymore

It’s November 1 and while, for some, that means swearing off candy and sugar in an effort to erase last night’s sugar binge, for others it means the return of Starbucks’ seasonal menu (or, if you’re me, it just means that the peppermint mocha you order year-round is in a festive cup).

But this year things look a little different. After 19 years of pretty similar red cup designs, Starbucks has once again changed their appearance of festivity and gone for a more brand-aligned green cup with a new message behind it.

The green cup and the design represent the connections Starbucks has as a community with its partners (employees) and customers. During a divisive time in our country, Starbucks wanted to create a symbol of unity as a reminder of our shared values, and the need to be good to each other, said Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO.

The cup features over 100 people drawn together in a single stroke, bringing together coffee farmers, baristas and coffee-lovers, of course, and the design was created by artist Shogo Ota.

While the focus of what the holidays mean for Starbucks have changed over the years (particularly last year when any festive imagery was completely removed from all red cups), this brings it one step further, bringing together a stronger sense of community for the great world we live in. While there’s surely going to be backlash about the abandonment of the last remaining tie to a holiday-ish theme, do we really care if we’re all still getting our tasty whipped cream-topped drinks and our names are probably maybe almost spelled correctly (or not even close–as someone who worked at Starbucks for five years, I find it the most frustrating when baristas can’t spell “Ashley” correctly)? No. We don’t.

The new green cups will sadly only be available in U.S. stores, but don’t worry, you can still get your fave seasonal beverages–like the Eggnog Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Gingerbread Latte and Caramel Brulé©e Latte–starting today at all Starbucks locations. So before you get yourself in a tizzy, this may not even be the final, final holiday cup (remember the U.S. still has a doozy of an election and very late Thanksgiving to get through). Even if it is, just remember it doesn’t matter what vessel your pep mocha is in, so long as they don’t forget the chocolate curls.