Review: Target's Exclusive New Starbucks Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Is A Welcome Holiday Gift

Just when you thought Starbucks was finished with all of its big holiday menu drops this year, it has one more surprise to share for the season. The new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate hits stores on November 17, 2025, for Target Circle 360 members and the following day for everyone else, giving holiday shoppers and Starbucks lovers one more way to celebrate — at the same time, even. But you can't order the new drink at just any Starbucks location. The Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate is available exclusively at Target-based Starbucks cafes across the country.

While not every Target location has an in-store Starbucks cafe, about 1,700 do, which means there's probably a store near you serving up the new holiday drink. This is pretty fantastic news for those who know that the best Target shopping trips begin with a stop at Starbucks for a quick pick-me-up to power you down every aisle. And for Starbucks lovers who can't resist the call of a new, exclusive seasonal drink, it's a brilliant way for Target to get shoppers in the front door this holiday season.

I was lucky enough to preview the new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate before it hit menus and found out everything you need to know, including: what's in it, when the drinks are available, and most importantly, how it tastes. Read on for the details before heading to the closest Target-based Starbucks cafe to grab one.

Unlike the returning Eggnog Latte and Chestnut Praline Latte, you won't have to wait until the beginning of December to lay your hands on the new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate. The drinks are available at Starbucks cafes inside Target stores everywhere on Tuesday, November 18, as soon as your local store is open. But if you're a Target Circle 360 member, you get the gift of early access to the new drink and can grab one at your local Target as of Monday, November 17. If you're not ready to start your holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving, that's alright. The Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate will be available through the holiday season, while supplies last (so maybe not into the new year).

The price of the new holiday drink will likely vary widely depending on what size you order, where you order it, and any modifications you might make. While the pricing information was not available at the time I wrote this, I checked the price of the Peppermint Mocha Crème Frappuccino Blended Beverage at my local Starbucks in Brooklyn for a general idea of what to expect: The price ranges from $5.95 for a Tall, $6.45 for a Grande, to $6.75 for a Venti. Since the Target-exclusive Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate will have more going on, it's safe to assume that the prices for it could be higher.

The new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate is a layered drink that starts with a base of peppermint-flavored whipped cream with soft red and green sprinkles at the bottom of your cup. It is then topped with the Frappuccino drink — a blend of crème Frappuccino, mocha sauce, milk, and ice together, much like what you'd get if you were to order a traditional Starbucks Frappuccino. After that, it gets a finishing layer of swirled peppermint-flavored whipped cream and those festive red and green sprinkles on top.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, but just in case it needs to be said, the Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate is sweet. It looks like a treat, it tastes like a treat, and it absolutely is a treat. Consider it an early holiday gift to yourself. With that said, it's also creamy and chocolatey. The balance of peppermint to chocolate is just right, making it easy to drink without feeling like you're drinking straight candy cane syrup. With so much going on, the coffee notes in the mocha syrup aren't very evident, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume that those, along with the deeper chocolate flavors, are what help anchor this drink with all of the sweet and bright peppermint flavors. Additionally, the blended ice stays cold and frozen for an impressive amount of time, so it won't be watered down by the time you get to the bottom.

I'm a long-time lover of the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino, so the new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate was always going to be on my list of must-try seasonal drinks. But it's also a very familiar drink, with a lot of similarities to the existing Peppermint Mocha Crème Frappuccino. It uses the same base that the long-standing Frappuccino has, but notably doesn't include the peppermint syrup in the body of the drink itself. Instead, you'll find the peppermint flavor infused into the whipped cream that's on the bottom and top of the new drink, making for a slightly different arrangement of layered flavors and a slightly creamier tasting experience overall. Furthermore, the Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate version swaps out the usual chocolate shavings on top for the red and green sprinkles, both in and on top of the drink.

For those who also love the existing versions of peppermint Frappuccinos and want to incorporate those preferences into the new drink, you might be able to request the drink to be made with some customizations. Options include having the drink made with the coffee Frappuccino base instead of the crème base, or swapping out the mocha sauce for the white chocolate mocha sauce instead. If you want a drink with even more peppermint, you could request a few pumps of peppermint syrup to boost the flavor of the peppermint whipped cream.

Sipping on the new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate might be the fastest way to get yourself into the holiday spirit that I've come across so far. It's a festive winter wonderland in a cup, and the gift you should definitely give yourself while looking for gifts for everyone else. Because it's only available at Target-based Starbucks locations, I'm not particularly focused on the calorie count of the drink, since I'll likely burn them off while walking around Target for two hours searching for Christmas presents — but the nutritional information will be available online once the drinks arrive on menus.

The wildly popular Peppermint Mocha has been on the holiday menu at Starbucks since 2002, and has been the foundation of the seasonal menu every year since then. So it's not hard to imagine that this exclusive offering will be anything less than a hit as well. Anyone with a sweet tooth who already likes anything from the popular Peppermint Mocha collection is likely to enjoy the Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate as well.

Conveniently, many Targets located inside shopping malls often have a Starbucks cafe inside, making it worth popping in for one of the special Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolates, even if you've got several stores to hit on your next shopping trip. Target makes it easy to find the closest store with a Starbucks cafe with its online store directory, assuming you don't already have a go-to store in mind.