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By Daniela Palatchi
Hopefully, you had enough pumpkin-flavored food and drinks for the fall season because, although it is still technically fall, the Winter Menu at Starbucks has bumped the Fall Menu off its pumpkin pedestal as of November 2nd and will continue to reign through this year’s holiday season. Many all-time favorite drinks and snacks will be returning to the menu, but, more excitingly there are various new ones to try, such as the Gingerbread Oat Milk Chai Latte, which I tried on my latest Starbucks run. Lately I have been trying to drink more coffee and, on that note, different types of coffee. Now, when I try a new drink, I will have more foundation to base it on. I suggest making your own holiday-themed drinks from home to save money, but, if you are in the mood to go to Starbucks one chilly morning, here are some drinks and desserts to try.
Chestnut Praline Latte: This latte is a returning drink on the Holiday Menu this year, but it was my first time trying it; I found it to be a jolly experience. The coffee comes with whipped cream and some praline topping, which tasted happily sweet and caramel-y. The smell of the nuts is heavily apparent upon opening the lid. Onto the taste: the drink was not super sweet at all, and it certainly puts the latte in Chestnut Praline Latte. The flavor was nutty, kind of earthy, like a warm hug, and it definitely grows on you because each sip feels more addictive. While you do taste those nutty and woody flavors, I sadly did not explicitly taste any chestnut, and the sweet praline flavor was only halfway there and the overall flavor was generally lackluster in my opinion. I probably would not get this drink again just because I felt a little cheated on with the name being “Chestnut Praline Latte” because I only tasted latte.
Oleato Gingerbread Oat Milk Latte: I ordered this drink hot, but it also can be made iced. The first thing I immediately noticed about this drink was its alluring, cozy aroma that made me want to try the drink right then and there. The first thing you taste is the soft and familiar chai notes; then you are instantly flooded with that ginger taste. This drink was super spicy and gingery and like nothing I had tasted before from a drink. I haven’t had gingerbread cookies in a while, but I don’t remember the ginger flavor being so strong. Don’t mistake that as me complaining about it being too spicy because that strong fiery flavor is just amazing and I just adore it with the chai. The drink is made with oatmilk, and, as a dairy milk girly, I was pretty bummed when I realized I forgot to ask for dairy milk–but it did not make a huge difference. The drink is almost what a grown-up hot chocolate could be because of the complex flavors. 100% feeling the holiday vibes with this Gingerbread and Chai Latte.
Aaron Palatchi ‘29 downing a Gingerbread Oat Milk Latte on a Saturday morning. I think he liked it. Photo courtesy Daniela Palatchi ‘26
Candy Cane Cake Pop: This dessert is new to the menu this holiday season, flashing its festivity with a striped stick to resemble a candy cane. The crunchy outer layer of white chocolate also features decorative sugar and crushed candy cane pieces. Like most cake pops, this dessert is served at room temperature. For some reason, I was expecting the cake inside to be gingerbread or more candy cane; to my surprise, it was chocolate. The inner chocolate cake filling is extremely sweet–dense and fudgy, ideal for the Starbucks-loving sweet tooths–but I could barely taste the chocolate. The flavors are unoriginally Christmas-y and proving once again that peppermint will always overpower chocolate when paired. To be honest, though, the flavor that stood out the most to me was the white chocolate outer layer. Overall the cake pop was nothing out of the ordinary and the most underwhelming product I tried out of the holiday menu. In the past, I have given the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha many chances, and every time I always feel like the peppermint overpowers the mocha and makes the whole drink taste like toothpaste. This has led me to believe Starbucks will never be able to get the chocolate-peppermint pair right for any of their products. What a shame. I’ll stick to the Birthday Cake Pops from now on.
Cranberry Bliss Bar: This fruity confection is what took the cake for me. The main component is a blondie with dried cranberries dashed into it with a generous layer of cream cheese icing with orange zest, topped with more craisins. The physicality of the bar looks like it’s going to have a lot of texture (spoiler: it does) and looks especially festive with the craisins all over. I have never been a huge fan of orange flavors in desserts, so when I took a lick of the icing without the blondie bar, I was instantly disenchanted and doubting if I was going to like the bar as a whole. To my surprise, the orange and cranberry flavors truly paired heavenly well together, acting as a yin and yang for each other, with the citrus from the orange zest and the overpowering sweetness from the craisins. The cake was super sweet and fruity, and I loved all the elements of this bar as a whole. I ordered the bar cold, but I think it would taste really good warmed or toasted. This bar also pairs extraordinarily well with the Gingerbread Chai Latte, with the sweet and spicy flavors combining. I would highly consider giving this bar a try on your next Starbucks run.
A half-eaten Candy Cane Cake Pop and the Cranberry Bliss bar. Photo courtesy Daniela Palatchi ‘26