Nov. 14 marked this year’s celebration of the annual “Red Cup Day.” Hosted by Starbucks, the celebration lures in customers by providing a reusable red holiday-themed cup to those who purchase one of their select holiday drinks. That is at participating locations, of course.
Recently, Hannah (@hannnahsykesburch) turned to TikTok to share her most favorite discovery yet. “I am literally going to be addicted to this drink,” Hannah begins.
Receiving over 427,000 views and 24,900 likes, Hannah sits in her car and sips from her venti iced sweet drink. She takes a large swig from her coffee. “This is my favorite one I’ve drank so far,” Hannah says.
After quickly flashing her drink to the camera, the footage shifts to a video of Hannah pulling through the drive-thru and ordering the coffee. For just $5.13 Hannah was able to purchase her entire beverage, hacks included.
“As you guys may know by now, we are trying the Starbucks holiday drinks, but making them a little bit lower calorie,” Hannah explains.
This is not the first Hannah’s viewers have seen of this content. Throughout the weeks, Hannah has continuously tried to make her drinks healthier, whether that be through milk substitutes or using different sweeteners.
“Because some of them are literally 500 calories,” Hannah explains, giggling.
And Hannah’s correct, a grande of some of the beloved Starbucks holiday specials can quickly wrack up almost 450 calories, a fourth of what should be consumed in a day. For example Starbucks’ Caramel Brulée Latte has roughly 410 calories, 48 grams of sugar and 14 grams of fat per 16-oz serving.
“So what I got is three shots of espresso over ice in a venti cup with a slash of almond milk,” Hannah says.
Of course, she didn’t leave the order at just that.
“Then I did the caramel brulée cold foam, which I already just know is gonna be so good,” Hannah says. “And then I did cinnamon powder on top.”
Hannah explains a few different options to add some variety to the drink. You can add crunch topping for example. But after taking a second to think, Hannah shares that she decided not to in order to keep the sugar-content down.
“Let’s see if it’s any good,” Hannah says.
She takes a large swig from the drink and her face lights up.
“This is my favorite one I've tried so far,” Hannah says.
Ecstatic that the drink order was successful, Hannah continued to sip. However, there was one issue.
“I definitely will say its the least Christmas-y,” Hannah says.
According to Hannah, out of all the drink hacks she's tried, this one strays the most from keeping that beloved Christmas-esque taste.
“I feel like I could drink this in the middle of July and not really think anything about it,” Hannah says.
@hannahsykesburch this is my new favorite series.. these christmas drinks are so good ???? #coffee #coffeeorder #starbucks #fyp #foryou #christmasmenu #lowsugar #starbucksorder #holidaymenu #lowsugar #lowcalcoffee ♬ original sound - hannah!
Coming to a conclusion, Hannah emphasizes to her audience that this drink was a must-try. And better yet, after flicking through the comment section, it was discovered that it can also be ordered on the app!
Now Hannah isn’t the only one who’s come across this calorie saving hack, other influencers have used their platforms to share similar discoveries.
Six days ago, Ari Weindling (@ariweindling) shared what she considers to be her “Absolute favorite order.” And since her post, Ari has already gathered over 862,100 views and 39,300 likes.
“This right here is the best Starbucks drink ever to exist,” Ari begins.
Much like Hannah, Ari sits in her car taking large swigs from her venti iced drink.
“Something about the iced caramel brulée latte,” Ari.
Except Ari masters her drink order by replacing the milk with oak milk and adding sweet cream cold form. A slight variation from that of Hannah’s, yet still a calorie saving one.
“You NEEEEEED to try it with the salted caramel cold foam. I promise you, it will change your life,” commenters told Ari.
@ariweindling My absolute favorite order ☕️???????? @Starbucks Partners ♬ original sound - Ari Weindling
Even Barista’s flocked to Ari’s comment section to share other coffee hacks.
“From a barista, caramel brûlée shaken with chestnut foam,” another added.
So however you decided to celebrate your local Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, while these hacks may not save you any pennies, they may give you the freedom to eat that extra piece of holiday fruit-cake at the end of the day.
The Daily Dot reached out to Hannah (@hannnahsykesburch) and Ari Weindling (@ariweindling) via TikTok direct message. The Daily Dot also reached out to Starbucks via their press email for general comment.
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The post ‘I am literally going to be addicted to this drink’: Starbucks holiday drinks are back. She says this hack is the best new addition—and it’s low sugar appeared first on The Daily Dot.
