Starbucks Unveils Vegan-Friendly Holiday Hot Cocoa

Coffeehouse chain Starbucks added the vegan-friendly Toffee Almondmilk Hot Cocoa this week to its 2017 holiday beverage line-up. The coffee-free drink is made with a base of almond milk blended with mocha sauce and toffee syrup, then topped with whipped cream and Caramel Brulée. “Though it’s made with Almondmilk,” Starbucks’ official statement clarifies, “Toffee Almondmilk Hot [Cocoa] is not dairy-free because it is topped with whipped cream! To order it dairy-free, customers can ask to ‘hold the whip.’” Starbucks introduced almond milk to its menus in 2016 and has since experimented with signature and seasonal beverages that replace dairy milk with plant-based alternatives. This May, the coffeehouse giant will debut a plant-based version of its iconic bottled Frappuccinos in vanilla and mocha flavors.