Will The Next Starbucks Shortage Be Peppermint? Here's What We Know

Peppermint mocha lovers, beware: there might be a shortage coming to town. In Boise, ID, residents noticed that several local Starbucks locations were out of peppermint syrup, the base for one of their most popular holiday beverages. The company is reportedly working to restock stores as soon as possible, and told IdahoNews2 that it’s not a national shortage. Accounts of missing peppermint syrup in Portland, OR and Palm Beach, FL, however, suggest that various cities across the country are also going without the minty holiday favorite.

Syrup shortages at Starbucks are nothing new. Since the pandemic, the company has faced a series of struggles while navigating a changing workforce and coffee drinking culture, and rising costs. As Starbucks celebrates 20 years of peppermint mocha this year, chaos seems to continuously be afoot at the chain. Amid hundreds of shuttered locations and staffing shortages across the world, tipping drama, safety issues, and missing basic ingredients like non-dairy milks have sent customers scrambling for alternatives.

In 2021, Starbucks apologized when a national shortage of more than 25 ingredients forced them to remove several key drinks from the menu, including their cinnamon dolce latte, white chocolate mocha, and several of their Refresher flavors including Strawberry Acai.

Since rolling out their first holiday drink—a Christmas blend coffee—in 1984, holiday beverages have been a staple of Starbucks’ menu. As temperatures drop every year, the company releases a series of winter holiday-themed drinks, like their toasted white chocolate mocha, caramel brulée latte, chestnut praline latte, and their newest creation, an iced sugar cookie almond milk latte. The peppermint mocha, according to the company, remains one of its most popular holiday beverages. Served in their iconic holiday cups, which, since debuting in 1997, have developed their own cult following, the drinks are—lovingly and not—synonymous with America’s holiday traditions.

But just this year, reports of white mocha and pumpkin spice syrup shortages have surfaced, and baristas regularly offer alternatives to frustrated customers. While the product shortages are disappointing, there’s certainly no shortage of appreciation for the store’s nostalgic (and, in some cases, luxurious) holiday cups, and many customers have no problem choosing another option from one of many the sweet holiday drinks that have charmed us for years.

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