Holiday Starbucks cups launched

For those with a Starbucks obsession, only one thing signifies the start of the holiday season: Starbucks’ red cups.

Originally launched in 1997, the cups have become a holiday tradition for Starbucks lovers.

The red cups with winter themed designs have been a staple of the holiday season, but the cups recently have gotten a major facelift. 

After the “Satan cup” controversy in 2015, which were complaints about removing designs from Starbucks’ cups and leaving them plain red, many customers were outraged at the simplistic designs, complaining they weren’t “Christmas-y” or “festive” enough. 

This year’s cups have been revamped in a unique way.

To start off the season, Starbucks debuted a new, green cup right before the election. On the cup was an illustration of more than 100 faces, all drawn with a single, continuous line. 

The reasoning behind the green cup was to “. . . encourage unity during what [Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz] called a ‘divisive time in our country,’” according to Business Insider.

But some customers were left confused by the green cups. Some even went as far as to accuse Starbucks of “political brainwashing.” Others were still outraged the cups weren’t red.

The green cups left stores shortly after the election. 

As the winter season approached, the famous red cups were debuted on Nov. 10, satisfying Starbucks die hards.

But this year’s new cups came with a twist. The 13 new red cup designs are all inspired by designs customers drew on their cups and posted on Instagram last year.

 “We quickly realized there was potential to use the customer-created art for our holiday cups,” said Starbucks creative director Dena Blevins.

Some of these wintery designs on the cups include trees, reindeer, snowflakes, ornaments, poinsettia, and a string of Christmas tree lights.

This year there is even a design of a wreath on the clear, plastic cups used for cold drinks.

These new designs give customers the chance to try and collect all 13 of the new cups.   

The cups are set to be used in over 25,000 Starbucks stores, spreading holiday cheer to 75 different countries.