For years, Starbucks has brought customers back with its fan-favorite seasonal items such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Peppermint Mocha, and Iced Sugar Cookie Latte. The chain is renowned for its iconic holiday menus, particularly its colder-season items. Both the fall and winter menus have a wide variety of festive drinks and snacks that people look forward to every year, but the question stands: Which menu do people prefer?
Starbucks’ most popular seasonal menu is the fall menu, which revolves around the Pumpkin Spice Latte, various other pumpkin-spiced beverages, and newer drinks like the Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte, which was added in 2024. The menu also has seasonal foods like the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin and the new Italian Sausage Egg Bites.
Following shortly after the release of the fall menu, Starbucks’ winter menu comes out to customers in early November. This collection includes holiday drinks and refreshers like the Peppermint Mocha and the new Cran-Merry Orange Refresher. It also comes with holiday cold foams and other wintery baked goods.
Bethesda is a hotspot for Starbucks, with six locations in a one-mile radius of B-CC. Plenty of Barons are avid Starbucks lovers who all have different takes on the festive menus that come around during the holiday season. Senior Brooklynn Howell shares her favorite specialty item: “I’d say the pumpkin spice latte. Because, you know, it’s just a classic. Tastes real good.” Other students’ responses seemed to agree and lean more towards favoring the fall menu: “I prefer the Fall Seasonal menu because I love the Pumpkin Chai,” junior Daphna Pincus says.
Whether you prefer a Pumpkin Spice Latte or a Peppermint Mocha, Starbucks is a cozy, tasty place to visit for studying, relaxing, or a nice pick-me-up during the holidays.
