For many years in a row, Starbucks has offered a “Coffee and Tea Refill Tumbler.” The first time Starbucks offered this tumbler, it was available for sale late 2011. The tumbler offered free coffee in January 2012, with a price tag of $19.95. In 2014, the same Brewed Coffee Refill Tumbler was offered again, and was $30.
The concept is that you buy the special “Coffee and Tea Refill Tumbler” and you can get a free brewed coffee or tea in it daily, during the month of January 2016. This year, it is $40. The tumbler is available now at StarbucksStore.com or in stores starting tomorrow (though I’ve heard many stories that many stores have it available now, Thanksgiving Day).
I’m just going to lay my opinion on the line, knowing that some may bristle at it. I always promise that I’ll be honest with you. Starbucks doesn’t pay me to produce this website.
There are distinct pros and cons to this tumbler.
The pros:
This year’s tumbler looks beautiful, and appears to be a nice stainless steel design.
If you are addicted to coffee, this might be fun.
You can get hot coffee or tea.
It possibly could be a lovely gift for someone.
The Cons:
At $40 for the tumbler (and assuming a grande brewed coffee is about $2.45 (prices may vary)) you would need to frequent Starbucks at a minimum, about 16 times in the month of January. This isn’t realistic for the majority of customers. Most customers go to Starbucks about 6 times in a month. Sixteen (16)is a magic number at Starbucks: Only about 20% of customers visit more than 16 times in a month. Think of the 80/20 rule of business!
It’s quite possible that you’ll get bored of 16 cups of Pike Place Roast.
It ALWAYS causes confusion at the register: Things like syrups, cafe mistos, and more cause confusion. And if you can’t get a pump of syrup in it as part of the free coffee, it makes it even less worth it. Sometimes you’ll encounter baristas who don’t even know that the tumbler offers anything at all free in it.
It puts the barista in the “Barista Sheriff” position. This is terrible for the Starbucks experience. “No” by human nature, feels good to people, like they’re grasping for power. (Most people won’t admit that they enjoy the power play of saying “no” – it’s an ego trip, but it is a powerful human nature thing). It’s terrible for creating loyal customers and living up to the high gold standard that Starbucks has adopted. I’ve heard plenty of stories of people trying to get hot tea in the tumbler and being told “no” or “I’ll do it for you this time” because hot tea is expensive.
You can’t use the tumbler at the Roastery. This also cycles back to how uninteresting it is to drink 16 cups of Pike Place Roast: There are now more than 1,400 Reserve Starbucks in the US. Being able to get something else in the cup would break up the monotony. I understand why Reserve coffee is not included in the tumbler. I personally though, don’t want to drink the coffee-of-the-day, all month at Starbucks.
Experienced customers (meaning the one who would most likely use this tumbler – the 20% of business – and the ones that Starbucks wants to keep) understand that the word “refill” at Starbucks means iced tea, iced coffee, hot brewed coffee, or hot tea.
You can’t get iced tea or iced coffee in the tumbler – which is just silly. If the tumbler can’t hold up to an iced drink, it’s not the quality of tumbler you would want to buy. And there’s no question, iced tea and iced coffee are extremely high profit margin drinks. Being able to get even a simple iced passion tea in the tumbler would break up the monotony.
It’s a tumbler that is rigid and inflexible what you can get in it. It’s expensive this year – granted in a beautiful tumbler – but most people buying this want to save money. And it has a distinct track record of creating bad experiences at the register.
I come down on the side of the argument not in favor of getting the tumbler. For me, it is not worth it. Rigid and inflexible and creates bad experiences every single year. I always get emails, stories, and questions about this tumbler and read about bad experiences on social media sites.
If you, by chance, really love drinking Pike Place Roast or other coffee of the day, without a break in what you order, maybe this tumbler is for you. (And assuming you’re in the 20% of customers who really go to Starbucks more than 16 times a month).
If you’re thinking of buying this as a gift for a friend for Christmas, maybe a $40 Starbucks gift card would be just as nice?
Reasonable minds may differ. It’s silly to think we will all agree. I’m sure this tumbler will have its fans.
![2 - 1 - Black_Friday_Deals_2015_(2)[1] 2](http://starbucksmelody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2-1-Black_Friday_Deals_2015_21-2.jpg)
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I’m with you, Melody. Not worth it to me. Now, as you say, if iced tea or iced coffee were available, I would probably consider this. The tumbler is a pretty one this time, and that does make it a little more appealing. All in all, though, it’s a no for me. As a gift? I like the gift card idea better! Happy Thanksgiving to you! 🙂
I agree with you.
I agree. I fondly remember the year they had the any-espresso-drink tumbler (which I preferred in general) and I found it at Target marked down 70% after the holidays. THAT was worth it – and I think I went just about every single day with it too. Just plain coffee/tea? Eh. (If I manage to find this at Target on clearance in January again, I’ll consider it though – it IS a pretty cup!)
@Marla – I like the way you think. I might poke around for it on sale mid to late December!
This will be my fourth holiday tumbler, including the one year they offered the espresso tumbler. I make a point to go every day. Luckily I live near one Starbucks and drive by another on my way to/from work. The baristas will even do a pour over when there’s not a dark roast on drip. In the past the plastic holiday tumblers leaked & I would bring in my holiday tumbler & have the coffee poured in an alternate tumbler. Love the month of free($40) coffee!
I will buy it. Even though I hate spending the $40, if I have the tumbler I will make it my business to go every day in the month of January to get a coffee. In the past two years, I only missed one day in January to get my refill & that was because of a blizzard! There have been many days in January when I have been driving in blinding snow & have stopped at a Starbucks to take a break from the tough driving & get a hot coffee in my refill cup to keep me going. I do agree with @Marla that I enjoyed the latte cup the year that Starbucks had free January latte refills & I wish that Starbucks would bring it back.
If you drive by a Starbucks on the way to work (and back) and maybe during the day it is worth it, but YOU are right you do tend to get tired of the coffee of the day and by even 4 PM you might need to wait for a pour over. Worth it at $20 but at double the price I’ll pass this year.
For $30 I might have done it but at $40 it just isn’t worth it. When I get drip coffee, I usually get a tall in a grande cup which is $1.95. Which means that I’d have to visit Starbucks 20 times for drip coffee. I might go 20 times in a month but probably get a latte about half that time. Oh, and I’d miss out on at least 20 stars(not counting bonus stars and whatnot!). No thanks.
I miss the espresso tumbler. I wish they’d at least give you a credit towards the purchase of a latte or something. Let me pay the difference between the two each time I go and I would have bought one in a heartbeat.
I don’t see why the metal tumbler can’t be used for iced coffe it iced tea. Just get a hot one to start, dump it out then get a refill of iced coffee or iced tea.
@Emmanuel Levy – The challenge with that is a couple of things -The “refill” won’t necessarily be free, if the customer is not an MSR member at green level or higher. You’re going to get some baristas who will challenge you on that refill. I’ve learned that it’s a powertrip to do that *at times* for some partners.
It’s just so annoying – There’s no reason not to make it so that any “refill” item can go in the tumbler as your first drink and free. It’s like as if Starbucks wants to create a headache with these tumblers and bad experiences.
I had to laugh at your cons as I AM that small percentage that goes in most everyday and sometimes 2-3 times a day and because I am cheap (in my extravagance) I always get the dark roast drip. So for me this is a great deal. And the fact it is a NICE cup is much better. The last two years the cup has been plastic, and a boring design, and to tall to fit in under my single cup machine at home. This year the metal and nice look and shorter/wider design makes it even more desirable. So I acknowledge my weirdness that I find in the small category of Starbucks customers, but other than the loss of stars earned, it will be a good deal for me. 😉
Even at $40, this is still a great deal for me! I have no desire to drink all of the over sugared drinks Starbucks sells. I enjoy good black coffee on my way to work every morning. I get whatever today’s bold/dark roast/whatever they call it this week selection is and enjoy it.
I am buying my parents these tumblers for xmas, as they really appreciated them last year. I signed up for the Starbucks e-mail to get a 10% off coupon, but it won’t work with the refill tumblers. I called their hotline and was told two ridiculous and conflicting pieces of information: 1. The tumblers are ONLY being sold today, Black Friday, and 2. The tumblers cannot be discounted using the 10% off e-mail coupon because they will go up in price TOMORROW (so they are already technically ‘on sale’). If they’re only being offered today, how can they go up in price tomorrow? None of that makes any sense. If Starbucks is only offering the tumblers on one day of the year, you’d think they would make that clear in-store and online. And if they’re discounted for Black Friday, you’d also think they would make that clear — instead, the tumblers are on their Black Friday page online, but the price is listed in black, not in red, like all their other Black Friday deals. I’m disappointed that the 10% off coupon won’t work, and disturbed to think that if I wait to purchase, the price might go up — or the tumblers may not be available at all.
I bought this last year and a barista refused to serve me iced coffee, I ended up called the district manager and problem was fixed iced coffee for 31 days. This year the description strictly says hot coffee. So I ll pass.
I’d consider it again (even with the $40 price tag) if they had a “Fast Track” type way of getting one’s coffee. Even with a Starbucks on my way to work, it takes way too long to go through the drive-thru. I wish one had a scanner on the mug, and just drive through where there was an automatic dispenser. (I know…can’t see your favorite barista,) but some of us just don’t have the time…or won’t TAKE the time for a free cup of coffee.
@Bobbi – You bring up something I totally forgot about – I assume you can’t “Mobile Order and Pay” for your free coffee so you have to stand in line. Good point.
Anyone else notice they are only selling these at Starbucks stand alone stores?! It’s not in Target or Safeway (a MD grocer) last previous years. So that means these won’t go on sale with other Target Xmas clearance!!! I’m bummed 🙁
I noticed that the wording on the website is that the free daily coffee is at “participating locations” but no map or list of who is and isn’t participating. Abby clue how to find out? I was going to buy this as a gift so can’t exactly call the local store (since I’m not sure which one it will be). Thanks
I feel that the email received from Starbucks about this 40.00 tumblr is deceiving, as it does not state whether we can get free ice tea and it doesn’t state “only hot tea”. Ice tea is SUPER CHEAP and should be considered free refills. I purchased the tumblr for that reason. I am considering returning it for this reason.
@Tina – The bold print – Which you can see in this article says “Coffee and Tea” tumbler. The fine print – which you would have to click through and read – says “hot” only. But you’re normal and Starbucks is a 20 billion corporation. They should know that it IS very normal that people don’t read the fine print. And you are 110% right. Iced tea is CHEAP.
I wish that they’d get this right: Just make a tumbler that you can use for hot tea, iced tea (but not tea lemonades), hot coffee, and iced coffee. That IS the right thing to do.
@Bill – Good question. I assume that some licensed stores won’t give you the free coffee. You should probably just use your tumbler at company-operated stores (or likely Safeway and Target Starbucks will offer the free refills too since they usually participate in every promo. Target is remarkably good about honoring Starbucks promos.)
I’ve gotten these tumblers ever year but last year ( I was on maternity leave last year). However I did buy them for a good friend last year and she didn’t have a great experience with them between some baristas being confused about it or the stores that aren’t part of it.
Especially in the winter after Christmas, I’m primarily a dark roast kind of girl so I’ve always felt the tumbler was agreat deal at $30 but for $40 it’s not especially because the Starbucks closest to my work is one in a hotel and doesn’t allow you to get the free brewed coffee. Also, I know that the tumbler is stainless steel this year but every year that I’ve purchased the tumbler, it’s been very fragile and breaks easily.
IT bothers me that they raised the price by $10 because the cost of coffee hasn’t gone up that much.
I am the artist for this and many other line illustrations the company uses globally. I designed everything from lighting fistures, in-house corporate displays, fixtures and conceptual designs for the Disney World store and in-store planning. Please enjoy my work on the website.
@Thom Head – Your work is beautiful. It seem unanimous that the cup design is striking and well loved this year. I ran to the Pioneer Square Starbucks earlier today (1st & Yesler) and saw that they had a few by the register. They look as beautiful in person as they do on the website.
Unfortunately, I think Starbucks needs better plan out this tumbler: More flexibility and more communication with stores.
None of that changes that I applaud your design! Love it!
I love this year’s tumbler. The artwork is striking. My daughter is getting one from me for Christmas. Despite the fact that her Starbucks (Disney) will probably not accept it. I’m an espresso drink girl, so no tumbler for me. Sniff!
Hello.. Just grab these today. Save 25 off of two plus free shipping. Only 27.50 each.
No, today’s Cyber Monday deal for the Save 25 does NOT apply to these refill tumblers. This is listed in the exceptions.
$40 is pricey! I received this cup for a gift last year, and got way more use out of it than I expected! I really enjoyed it because my experience with the cup and the baristas was good. I drink hot coffee anyway, so that was never an issue…but I did always get a pump or two of syrup in the coffee. There was never issue and I was there almost everyday, it seemed to me the code allowed for everything to come off (including the syrup). I wonder if that will still be the case for January and this one. If not, sadly, the increase is just not worth it to me.
@samchoi: exceptions to the sale: *Offer valid online and US only. No promo code needed. To qualify, order subtotal during checkout must exceed $60 of qualifying products. Offer excludes Starbucks® Cards, Limited-Edition Premium Starbucks Cards, Verismo® System, Starbucks Reserve® Subscriptions, Coffee & Tea Refill Tumbler, and products from the Gifts for the Home category. While supplies last. Free standard shipping in US and Canada only. Cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts. Offer ends 11/30/15 at 11:59 PM PST.
Sad that the online deal did not work. I got a target manager to match the deal online and got it for 27.50 plus tax each. Maybe next time they’ll be on clearance.
At the $20 tumbler I was absolutely buying. I turned down $30 and will definitely turn down the $40 price point. With background increases $30 again would have been a fair price, not a $10 increase.
I just purchased this mug for the fourth year in a row. I, for one (apparently alone on this island) am happy to pay the extra $10 for a proper vessel. I will keep this one, versus to total crap plastic from prior years. I was always shocked that the SB crowd accepts all of the plastic.
The other issue (in the northeast…in Jan) was that often the coffee would get cold very fast. Thrilled with the change.
Sure, it takes about 2 weeks for the baristas to figure it out, but the discount code is actually legible for a change.
All in all, I’ll save money with this tumbler, and enjoy the coffe a whole lot more than drinking from the plastic ones.
The way I see it is this….I love Starbucks tumblers-they never leak (at least the ones I have) and on average-I pay $18-$22 for them. I am in need of a new tumbler ($20)…so if I buy this for $40 I only “need” $20 of black coffee drinks to recoup the lost…which is about 10 trips. Somehow the Pike Place roast has grown on me over the years so I am ok with getting that. I am pretty sure they’ll charge me for my 2 pumps of toffee nut/cinnamon dolce or whatever I get in there….I use my card and will still get my Star since I did in fact purchase something. Now it’s the game of who is buying this for me for Christmas 🙂
I should say I love the stainless steeled ones-I bring my iced water from home into work-ice stays all day long 🙂
Says limit one per day. Anyone know if this is enforced or how? Thanks
@Scott – So far, I’ve never seen Starbucks come up with any method to track the one per day statement.
I bought the cup last year and after 5-6 days of coffee everyday, I had severe constipation… I am not a regular coffee drinker, so this year I will say no to constipation…. I also tried their tea but wasn’t a fan…
I’ve always got the tumbler in the past but I think I will skip it this year. Three reasons: I’m addicted to the quick mobile pay! I never stand in line anymore. If I had the tumbler my order would not be ready when I walk in the door. Second, they always let me put iced coffee in it but if it says must be hot coffee, forget it! Third, they raised the price. I have to say the tumbler got me addicted in the past to going daily. Good marketing!
I am a regular coffee drinker, 2-3 cups a day, and love Starbucks coffee, so can’t wait for January. I have a few Starbucks on my way to work (35 km one way), so definitely will use it every day. My kids bought it for me, so I am happy.
I hope they refund tumblers! I didn’t realize I couldn’t get my WCM in this expensive cup.
I was nervous after reading this post. I am a newbie to Starbucks since I had gastric bypass surgery… I only drink it for the protein in the skim milk and sugar free flavors! But I got the $40 cup. Went today and got my usual half coffee,half skim milk with sugar free caramel and two splenda…. no issues at the register! I was prepared to pay for the syrup but it came off automatically. Yea! No more worries…it is totally worth it for me
SOO I tried to use my gift….
in Haddonfield ,NJ
and no one at the barista knew what it was! After too much conversation,I left with an empty carafe. And they looked at me like I was speaking French. So much for that.PLEASE ADVISE. Merci, Ami Gold
1 day lost>>>>>
I tried to get a tea in my mug…and the barista argued with me. When I pointed to the print on the cup, she finally relented, but she kept telling me it was coffee only. I wasn’t trying to get anything iced, no clover…just a Peach Tranquility hot tea, which by all of the rules of the mug is good to go. *sigh* It’s difficult.
There is a A LOT of arguing with customers going on at the registers and these tumbler always puts a spotlight on these problems. How in the world is a new partners even getting any chance on learning about what Starbucks is about when they get 10 hours of training with a training barista over 5 days? I still believe that there is an issue – lots of stores have some partners at the register who see their job as a barista police officer. This is terrible for the experience. You’ll never win an argument with a cop. And once in a while, cops make mistakes – in fact they do more than we’d like to admit. I’m sorry you had that experience Laura.
My barista had no idea about the free mug even though I bought it at her Starbucks (and she’s not new there). She was kind of a snot about it. Had her read the side. Then I made the mistake of asking for decaf (in all honesty I forget they don’t have that all day). She with a straight face said it would take her a long time because she was the only one there (2 folks in the store and only person in line besides me was my husband) and she would have to do a pour over. I didn’t mind the wait. My coffee tasted horrid and when I went to toss the coffee at home I realized why. There was an inch of grounds in the bottom of my mug. Grrrr.
SOOO,
what does corporate say ??
I have a BRAND NEW kauai refill tumbler for sale at only $20 if anyone is the DMV is interested. Email me at usvilady@aol.com.
I have a BRAND NEW January refill tumbler for sale at only $20 if anyone in the DMV (DC-MD-VA) is interested. Email me at usvilady@aol.com.
**please delete previous post with spelling errors…Thx***
**Please delete previous post with spelling errors…Thx***
I have a BRAND NEW January refill tumbler for sale at only $20 if anyone in the DMV (DC-MD-VA) is interested. Email me at usvilady@aol.com.
The tumbler was an OK deal at $19.95, but definitely not a bargain at $40. The tumbler is also not the best design as the top tends to leak. To make matters worse, the only Starbucks with 30 miles is closing for a remodel for 2 weeks in January, so it will be virtually impossible to even come close to recouping my $40.
I got the shaken iced tea in Passion Tango with no problem. Twice this week already. Tell them to use the code on it and it will work. You should have them argue with corporate, not you.