As 2025 kicked off, Starbucks made a few changes. And one of those changes was to have the baristas go back to writing on the cups. It was a chance to share a little positivity and maybe bring people back into the coffee shops.
From cute drawings to little messages, the Starbucks baristas were seemingly having a bit of fun with their messages. But according to The Tasting Table, it seems that there have already been some adjustments made when it comes to what the baristas are allowed to write or draw on the cups.
It turns out that Starbucks is no longer allowing baristas to draw animals on the cups. Not only that, but they are no allowed to use any type of slang. In terms of the animals, "In a message to its thousands of employees, Starbucks' corporate leadership stated that animals are no longer permitted as doodles, instead encouraging them to write short and simple positive notes."
Starbucks says no more animals on their cups
Now maybe it is me, but this is extremely disappointing. I loved the little drawings of animals on my cups. It actually made my day and made me smile. Those little doodles made the extra time it seemed to take worth it. But now, it seems as if the baristas are stuck writing things like "enjoy" or "have a good day," which is fine, but boring.
Why bother having the baristas get creative on the cups and then take it back? The little drawings were the best part of making the baristas stop what they needed to do to write out a message on a cup. Not only that, but at this point my Starbucks is down to just writing things like "enjoy" on the cups over and over again.
I get that not everyone wants a cup with drawings on it, but then why bother do this at all? While there is currently speculation that stopping the doodles (at least of animals) is a way to prevent any embarrassment, it would be nice if Starbucks themselves explained this decision better.
Fingers crossed that if the baristas are still writing on the cups once fall arrives, we at least get to see ghosts and pumpkins popping up on our cups. Otherwise, don't bother writing on my cup at all.
Who else finds it odd that the doodles are out so quickly? Head on over to our social media and share your thoughts on the Starbucks cup messages and drawings.