While finding dairy-free options at coffee shops is getting easier, holiday drink menus aren’t typically very planet-friendly. While delicious, most of the options—even Starbucks’ famous Pumpkin Spice Latte—contain dairy in the sauces or toppings. But not this year.
For the first time ever, Starbucks has dropped a vegan holiday drink free of animal-derived ingredients, so you can order it off the menu as-is—no swaps required. Its Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte combines a sugar cookie-flavored syrup with its Blonde espresso and almond milk over ice. Then, for a festive touch, it’s topped with red and green sprinkles. You can also order it hot.
Starbucks says the planet-friendly drink was inspired by spritz cookies. “They’re the prettiest cookies on the plate,” says Heidi Peiper, Starbucks’ communication program manager, in a press release. “They get their name from the German word ‘spritzen,’ which means ‘squirt’ and pretty much describes how the cookie is made by squeezing the dough through a cookie press into festive shapes.”
Ready to try this cookie-flavored drink for yourself? You can order it starting November 4th.
Are There Any Other Vegan Starbucks Holiday Drinks?
While the Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte is the only vegan Starbucks holiday drink you can order without modifications, there are some other options you can sip on with some simple swaps.
1. Chestnut Praline Latte
This drink is a must-try with its hints of caramelized chestnuts and warming spices. To make it vegan, simply ditch the whipped cream and swap in non-dairy milk.
2. Irish Cream Cold Brew
Cold brew gets a festive upgrade with the addition of Irish Cream Syrup in this holiday drink. To make it vegan, get it without the Irish Cream Cold Foam. Neither the Irish Cream Syrup and Cocoa Powder Topping contain animal products.
3. Peppermint Mocha
Starbucks’ classic Peppermint Mocha drink is easy to make vegan. Swap the milk for a non-dairy option, and ditch the whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. The mocha sauce is vegan as-is, containing just “water, sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, and natural flavor.”
Make Your Coffee Order More Eco-Friendly
To make your coffee run even more eco-friendly, bring along a reusable cup.
Since to-go coffee cups (both paper and plastic) can be really hard to recycle because of the materials used to make them, they often wind up in landfills. Opting for a reusable allows you to sip your seasonal drink while also bettering the planet.
Now, what are you waiting for? Your vegan Starbucks holiday drinks await!
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