Every year, when the holiday season rolls around, Starbucks brings back several of its most beloved holiday-flavored beverages like the Peppermint Mocha and the Gingerbread Latte. Some years, the coffee chain also introduces a new never-before-seen festive drink that makes us fall in love with the season all over again — looking at you Juniper Latte. In addition to these well-publicized ways to drink in some annual holiday cheer, however, Starbucks has another less-discussed option. In fact, we only just found out about it last week. Customers have the option to substitute eggnog, perhaps one of the most quintessential holiday beverages, for milk in any drink.
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We recently made this discovery while perusing the Starbucks app before placing an order for an afternoon pick-me-up. Because we had never noticed this option before, we reached out to Starbucks to find out more. Customers have always been able to customize their milk preference when ordering through the mobile app. However, according to a representative for the coffee chain, since eggnog is only available seasonally — it returned on November 2 along with the rest of the holiday beverages — people may not have seen this alternative before.
Given that eggnog is a milk or cream-based beverage, it makes perfect sense that it could be used as a milk substitute in coffee. Plus, since eggnog also contains sugar, it does double duty for everyone who usually takes cream and sugar.
As with many of the milk substitutions, opting for eggnog will cost a little extra. "You can customize any beverage by swapping out the milk or alternative milk for eggnog for $0.60-$0.75, consistent with any milk substitute," the Starbuck rep told Refinery29 via email. Still, since Starbucks' regular drip coffee costs at least a couple dollars less than all of the holiday beverages, adding eggnog to that might be the most economical way to celebrate the season with caffeine.