Starbucks Officially Debuts Its Winter 2025 Menu, Featuring 4 Seasonal Drinks and a Spicy Snack

Cozy season is well upon us, whether you thrive on chilly winter days or not. And amid this post-holiday haze, Starbucks is keeping us caffeinated with a few new espresso offerings for this season.

Starbucks is officially introducing the espresso-forward Cortado to its menus starting tomorrow, a brand representative confirms. The coffee will be served hot with a classic equal-parts build of three shots of ristretto — a smooth and highly concentrated version of the company’s foundational Blonde Espresso — and frothy steamed milk. As Starbucks beverage developer Ricky Gonzalez explains, it offers a “soft, smooth flavor profile that is still bold but approachable. ” 

“Ristretto shots enhance the rich, concentrated flavors of the coffee with a method that uses the same amount of coffee grounds as a regular espresso shot, but with less water and a shorter extraction time resulting in a sweeter, richer flavor,” Gonzalez tells Food & Wine via email. “It is also extremely versatile, pairing really nicely with steamed whole milk or oat milk and still achieving the balanced and smooth flavor profile of the classic Cortado.”

This underappreciated coffee first originated in Spain and is based on the word “cortar,” which roughly translates to “cut” (as in, the one-to-one prep with your choice of steamed milk). It’s traditionally served as a four-ounce pour, but Starbucks will only offer it hot in an eight-ounce short-sized cup. 

You might also order the Brown Sugar Oatmilk Cortado, which adds a few pumps of the brand’s liquid Brown Sugar syrup and plant-based milk to the mix. According to a Starbucks representative, iced customizations aren’t available, as the brand is committed to preserving the drink’s intended flavor profile and integrity.

“Cortado has long been a request from our customers in South Florida and Chicago, so we tested the beverage in select Starbucks stores last year in those areas specifically, to gather feedback from both our partners (baristas) and customers,” Gonzalez says. “The beverage received an enthusiastic response from the community, who appreciated the authentic take on this beloved beverage.”

That’s not all that’s changing behind the coffee bar, though. Notably, Starbucks confirms that it’s switching up the prep and formula of its popular matcha. Going forward, baristas are instructed to spin up the beverage using a specialized new part for its blender, which is promised to create a smoother, more consistent blend. (We’ll be the judge of that: After all, the internet’s had quite a few things to say about wayward clumps of green tea powder in their cups.) Matcha powder will also now arrive completely unsweetened, giving visitors the opportunity to customize the sweetness of their latte. By default, all matcha orders will be sweetened with the coffee chain’s classic syrup.

Seeking something a bit more dessertlike for your morning pick-me-up? The fan-favorite Pistachio Latte (both hot and iced) is also hitting menus tomorrow, bringing a decidedly sweet and nutty quality to the brand’s standard latte. Starbucks also confirms the savory new Spicy Falafel Pocket as a permanent menu addition fit for all-day snacking, and it’s joined by a chipotle almond dipping sauce for a limited time. The Vanilla Bean Custard Danish will also appear on winter menus, while the Valentine’s Day Cake Pop is set to launch later in the season.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of these changes and fresh menu offerings: Trusted food blogger @Markie_Devo leaked the rumored menu on Instagram last year, and it seems that most of his predictions have proven true. We haven’t yet heard word on the other rumored drinks and Valentine’s treats that he speculates will return later this season, but only time will tell. 

Those gray days of January slowly drag on without the joy of holiday cheer, but these new options might just be enough to raise our spirits.