Starbucks Announces Free Reusable Red Cups After Bearista Craze

2025

The four Starbucks cups for 2025 feature plaid and bow patterns in red and green (of course), but the real talk of the town was the special bearista cup that sold out lightning fast.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations," Starbucks told People in a November statement. "Despite shipping more Bearista cups to coffeehouses than almost any other merchandise item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast."

The company added,  "We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused.”

2024

Starbucks embraced groovy, retro-inspired designs with mint green and pink for the holiday season.

"Graphic elements include charms that look like old-fashioned holiday ornaments or peppermints, which appear on cups and merchandise," the brand said in a statement. "A wavy motif inspired by the Starbucks siren is employed as a scalloped edge treatment on the sleeve of the hot cup, along with little badges on the back of the cups for baristas to write a message."

2023

It's time to deck the halls with four new hot cups with a dash of pink: Ribbon Spool, Bauble Wrap, Peppermint Swirl and Party Plaid (from top left clockwise).

"When we were looking at trends when designing this year’s holiday, we kept seeing bright, bold, uplifting colors,” said Kristy Cameron, creative director at Starbucks. “We found that magenta alongside the holiday reds and greens lifts the traditional holiday colors and makes the red look even brighter.” 

2022

Last year, coffee lovers received four festive options to house their Starbucks holiday beverage of choice: Gift-Wrapped Magic, Frosted Sparkle, Ornament Wonder and Cozy Evergreen.

"We have always talked about the cups as little gifts," Starbucks' creative director Gary Jacobson said in a statement. "And we hope they feel like a festive present to our customers and store partners." 

To spark that holiday joy, the designers used signature motifs, including sparkles, ornaments and snowflakes, and pops of color—think mint green and a Santa-approved red—to create a warm and cozy accessory caffeine fans can find comfort in all season long.

Not only were these cups crafted in classic shades of red, green and white with hints of frosty lilac, but they featured arguably Starbucks' most sentimental move as each one contained little gift tags to create room for a cheerful message.

"This holiday, we wanted it to feel magical, we wanted it to be warm, and we wanted it to be inclusive," Starbucks associate creative director Suzie Reecer shared. "Our goal was to really bring joy to every customer and every partner."

Ribbon, Dot, Sparkle and Brand Wrap were the four main designs for the brand's 2020 theme—"Carry the Merry," which was written on two of the samplings.

 "Our thought behind the cups this year was about people carrying them out in the world as messengers of joy," Jeff Wilkson, creative director for Starbucks, said in a press release at the time, adding that he wanted customers' orders to be a "brief moment that they can look forward to."

OK, so this technically wasn't a holiday cup BUT it caused a bit of a stir online when, following 2015's cup-related controversy (more to come on that!), Starbucks first unveiled this GREEN mosaic design, featuring over 100 figures intertwined, including a barista, coffee farmer and friends, to name a few. 

But Starbucks announced it was a limited edition Unity Cup, with CEO Howard Schultz explaining, "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."

Sbux soon released the actual holiday cup for the season, which—phew!—was red. And all was calm caffeinated, all was bright.

Oh, the controversial red cup. After the minimalist design was unveiled (Well, as minimalist as a bright red ombre paper cup can be), social media went wild, accusing the retailer of stripping all signs of Christmas from the annual offering. #MerryChristamasStarbucks" trended on Facebook after an Arizona pastor posted a video rant about the lack of Christmas on his cup that was viewed over 11 million times.

"In response to the video, our core values as a company is to create a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity," Starbucks said in a statement at the time. "Each year during the holidays we aim to bring our customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the season and we will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world."

Simple and classic, this red cup featured brush-stroke trees and snowflakes.