One week from today, you’ll be able to buy a tumbler from Starbucks that allows you to refill it in January with espresso beverages. The tumbler officially goes on sale the day after Thanksgiving, offered that Friday at a sale price of $65.00. The price goes up to $75.00 after that day. The official press release is here: Starbucks Invites Customers to Share the Spirit of the Season. (I’ve heard stories of stores putting the tumbler out early, but it is not supposed to be available until the day after Thanksgiving.)
I’ve had a number of people Facebook message me, or email me about this tumbler, so I thought that would put a spotlight on it. Everyday in January, you can refill this tumbler with your favorite Grande-sized espresso beverage, including seasonal holiday beverages, such as the Gingerbread Latte, Eggnog Latte, and more. As I understand it, you’re only supposed to get one free drink each day with this tumbler.
When discussing this with Starbucks partners, I haven’t gotten a clear answer about whether you can get Clover-brewed coffee free in the tumbler.
When you are making your plans for the Friday after Thanksgiving, now you know you need to get to Starbucks early to get one of these!
Enjoy!
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@marty. Yes, the last 24 hours I have noticed that the beautiful artwork is peeling and I’ve only hand washed the mug!!
@Marty @Stephanie yes my tumbler’s outer surface is peeling away. It has been for a few days. I’ve been very carefully hand washing it since day one.
I called 1-800-Starbucks and spoke to an operator about my mug. A “specialist” is supposed to call me back. That was almost 48 hours ago. If I don’t hear back tomorrow, I’ll call again Monday.
Same thing here. Started pealing right away. I only hand wash the tumbler. I called Starbucks corp. office and rep said she never heard of this problem. She said there are 300 reps so she wasn’t sure if any of them heard of the print peeling. She suggested I send it in for research and she would put $10 on my card. I told her that defeats the use of the promotion. I wanted my lattes for January. So the rep put something into the computer and told me to send it in after promotion is over.
Sandy, it sounds like you spoke with their outsourced call center, where no one works for the company, and many workers may have never set foot inside one of the retail stores operated by the company for whom they pretend to work. It’s easy for them to say they’ve “never” heard of a problem because they likely haven’t. They’re very disconnected from the products and company happenings.
One thing this tumbler has done best for me is to ensure that it’ll be a long time before I return to a SBUX location. It’s reminded me how appallingly bad their overall products and customer service are. It’s given me a huge incentive to even more actively patronize coffee purveyors with quality products. Everyone I know with the tumbler has either already stopped using it or (like me) are holding our collective noses for a few more days until the promo ends. Then we’ll go back to living normal lives that involve steering clear of marginal to bad products. So in this sense, SBUX has lost big time. They got our initial $58.50 (or $37.50 or less), we’ll typically use the tumblers for 2-3 expensive drinks each day, and then we won’t return after this month except for promos and bonuses. I understand that this is the slowest sales month (which is obviously why they offer these tumblers), so perhaps our incremental sales (buying sandwiches for double stars or pastries for triple) during this time do indeed help. The lasting damage is done, though. Oy, the low-quality products. Good grief.
I guess I am in the minority because I have been loving this tumbler. Not only does it keep my drink nice and cold for hours (I get the iced espresso drinks), but I have never had a problem with it leaking or receiving damage to the design. All of the Starbucks employees I have encountered have been very accommodating. If anything, they have created a coffee addiction in someone that previously didn’t have one which I believe was their overall goal. I am sad that January is almost over because I certainly won’t be able to afford for this to become a daily habit.
I have been enjoying it as well. My drink of choice is an iced mocha, and it tasted funny to me in the tumbler. So I would carry around my iced tumbler along with my espresso stainless tumbler. I asked if they would fill my iced tumbler with my free drink instead of the actual espresso tumbler and have yet to encounter a barista who refused. It has been wonderful to have a daily drink, and I will miss it because a daily drink isn’t in my budget. 🙂
Don’t despair yet, folks. There are 13 days left this month – including today – to enjoy those free daily drinks. February 1 will be a sad day, indeed, though, when the budget puts a screeching halt to this indulgence!
My cup is not peeling or leaking, and I use/wash it several times a day. 🙂 I found one at a 2nd hand store and that one is doing well also. Little to no trouble with drink accomodations as well. Woot for January!
@amanda…I do the same thing and I have only had one barista refuse me. I laughed in her face and held up the drive thru line while I poured my drink in to my cup of choice.
I love the tumbler and have had no problems with it at all. The only reason I switch cups is because I stick my coffee in my backpack pouch and I have a taller, skinnier tumbler from Starbucks that fits better.
I have never had poor service at Starbucks and I have tried all the local coffee shops and for me nine if them even come close to starbucks in taste.
I will really, really, really miss getting 4or 5 lattes per day but I will still continue my few drinks from there per week habit as I have for years since the first starbucks was built in my city.
I have been enjoying my cup too. Not one every day as it’s a bit out of the way, but a couple days two. I dunno about 4 or 5 a day…I’d think you’d pack on 4 or 5 pounds drinking that many drinks with milk and/or flavorings!!!
No problems with my cup.
Have found a new favorite drink too – Hazelnut Macchiato. Not sickly sweet like the caramel one (I get half the pumps of syrup with that one). In a normal year, I rack up my 30 stars in various cheap ways to get my free drinks. I save the fancy drinks for the free one. 🙂
Indeed, Elizabeth. I log everything I consume via MyFitnessPal (so I can get paid via PactApp), and all those drinks do add up!! I was just thinking my daily calorie consumption will definitely be decreasing after this month.
I agree about the calories! I am actually planning a short juice fast at the beginning of February to help offset all these peppermint white mochas I’ve been drinking. The nice thing about a juice fast, too, is that it gets rid of the coffee and sugar cravings for a while.
I get the regular latte (it has no syrups) with skim milk and equal most of the time…that is 130 calories and no fat…and 13 grams of protein. I haven’t gained an ounce.
I love the daily espresso, but my cup leaks badly. Have to be really careful about how I carry it to work. I hand wash it, so I don’t know why it is such a poor seal. Probably won’t use it again after Jan 31.
Lori – The gasket that fits around the top of the cup should be flat against the top with the little ribbed side facing down so it fits in the groove of the mug and not flipped down along the side where it does nothing. When I wash mine, it gets flipped down. It should fix your problem. Love mine!
@Lori…totally agree about checking you gasket. mine never leaked, but I had a hard time getting the lid on and discovered it was because my gasket flipped. I carry mine in my backpack pouch and throw it around at work and school and it still doesn’t leak
I am having same problem with design rubbing off. I can literally scratch it off with my fingernail. Sent an email to corporate office and they gave me their official return policy statement. After another email they said they would put $10.00 on my card but since I didn’t have the receipt (it was a Xmas gift) there was nothing more they could do. So disappointed at their lack of concern that they have distributed a poor quality mug.
Awesome website, Melody!
Just NEED SBUX to do the January tumbler promotion AGAIN…sooner than later! January was awesome…..Feb tough….March….argh!
Strange how a lot of those tumblers had the design scratching off. I never had any problems… I “dented” my cup when it helped me avoid bonking my head on the pavement when I fell!
Jim- Rockville, Maryland