It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for coffee drinkers with Starbucks' new holiday menu available in stores across the U.S. from today.
However, with weight gain common over the festive season, it's worth knowing exactly how many calories are contained within each of the seasonal beverages being served at Starbucks throughout November and December.
From today, familiar favorites like the Peppermint Mocha, Chestnut Praline Latte, Irish Cream Cold Brew, Toasted White Chocolate Mocha and Caramel Brulée Latte are back on the menu at Starbucks, along with relative newcomers like the Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte, which was first introduced last year.
A selection of seasonal sweet treats like the Reindeer Cake Pop, Sugar Plum Cheese Danish, Cranberry Bliss Bar and Snowman Cookie are also available. There's one new addition in the form of a Chocolate Pistachio Swirl.
Yet some caution is advisable.
In a 2016 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers studied the festive eating habits of nearly 3,000 participants from Germany, the U.S. and Japan. The participants were weighed regularly before, during and after Christmas. In all three countries, participants' weights were on average found to be 0.5 percent higher 10 days after Christmas than they were 10 days before.
With Christmas is often seen as a time for indulgence, keeping a close eye on the calorific content of what we consume could help slow or prevent any rapid weight gain over the holiday season. Then again, you may simply prefer to let loose over the festive period. Whatever your choice, here's a breakdown of the calorie content of every item on the Starbucks festive menu.
N.B. The calories listed for beverages are for grande 16 fl.oz cups.
Peppermint Mocha
One of the most popular picks on the Starbucks festive menu, the Peppermint Mocha turns 20 this year. A combination of espresso and steamed milk along with mocha sauce and peppermint-flavored syrup, traditionally topped off with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls, a standard cup contains 440 calories.
Toasted White Chocolate Mocha
The Toasted White Chocolate Mocha is a combination of caramelized white chocolate mocha sauce, espresso and steamed milk. Finished off with whipped cream and a topping of holiday sugar sparkles and crispy white pearls, a standard grande cup contains 420 calories.
Chestnut Praline Latte
The Chestnut Praline Latte is made of espresso, steamed milk and the flavors of caramelized chestnuts and spices, topped off with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs. A standard cup contains 330 calories.
Caramel Brulée Latte
Espresso combined with steamed milk and rich caramel brulée sauce, topped with whipped cream and caramel brulée, a standard Caramel Brulée Latte contains 410 calories.
Irish Cream Cold Brew
Starbucks' familiar Cold Brew coffee combined with Irish Cream syrup and topped with vanilla sweet cream foam and cocoa powder, a standard cup contains 200 calories.
Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
The Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte combines sugar cookie syrup, a standard Starbucks Blonde Espresso, ice and creamy almond milk, topped with festive red and green sprinkles. A standard cup contains 180 calories.
Chocolate Pistachio Swirl
The Chocolate Pistachio Swirl boasts a creamy chocolate filling with notes of cinnamon and coffee in a brioche-inspired pastry with mint chocolate chips and a chopped pistachio topping. It contains 280 calories.
Snowman Cookie
A buttery shortbread cookie decked out in white chocolaty icing, the Snowman Cookie contains 390 calories.
Sugar Plum Cheese Danish
A cream cheese filled, fluffy danish, topped with spiced sugar-plum spread, the Sugar Plum Cheese Danish contains 330 calories.
Reindeer Cake Pop
A vanilla cake coated in chocolaty icing, finished with a festive red nose and antlers, the Starbucks Reindeer Cake Pop contains 140 calories.
Cranberry Bliss Bar
A blondie cake with dried cranberries, finished with a layer of cream cheese icing flecked with orange zest and a sprinkle of dried cranberries, the Cranberry Bliss Bar contains 290 calories.
Newsweek has contacted Starbucks for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
