Starbucks is selling its holiday Bearista glass cold cups in sealed surprise boxes this season, priced at $39.95 each, and buyers do not learn which bear they got until the box is open. The Bearista Glass Cold Cup – Surprise Box Edition went on sale Tuesday, Nov. 10, at select stores, TODAY reported, and each box holds one of five characters, including a rare mystery bear named Goldie.
The other four bears are Reiny, Joy, Aspen and Bunny. Shoppers can buy up to two boxes in store. The launch comes a year after the first Bearista release in November 2025, when a TikTok video later shared by the New York Post showed customers grappling over a single cup inside a store.
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What Is Inside Each $39.95 Box
Each box contains one hand-blown glass Bearista Cold Cup and a personality card, according to TODAY’s report on the surprise box launch. The price is the same no matter which bear turns up, so a buyer who lands Goldie pays exactly what a buyer who lands Reiny pays.
The characters each have a winter theme. Good Morning America described the lineup this way: Aspen is a skiing bear, Reiny is a reindeer bear, Bunny is a snow bunny bear, Joy is an ice-skating bear, and Goldie is the mystery bear. The card tucked into each box describes the bear’s personality, a holiday tradition and a signature Starbucks drink order, so the cup comes with a suggested order to fill it.
None of the reports gave odds for pulling Goldie. TODAY described Goldie as a rare mystery bear, and that rarity is what turns a $39.95 glass cup into a small gamble for collectors hoping to complete a set of five.
How the Holiday Release Rolled Out
The launch came in two stages. Starbucks Rewards Reserve members got first access on Sunday, Nov. 9, through the online Starbucks Shop starting at 1 p.m. ET, with a limited quantity offered and a limit of one per member. General sales followed on Nov. 10 at select Starbucks locations, with the in-store limit of two boxes per customer.
Good Morning America reported the cups are sold while supplies last. Because the boxes went to select stores rather than every location, availability can differ from one shop to the next, and the reports did not list which stores received them. Checking with a nearby store before making a special trip is the practical move, especially in a season when many families are already watching the holiday bills piling up.
For many buyers, a cup like this ends up as a centerpiece of a home drink station rather than a daily tumbler, the kind of setup shown in these creative coffee bar ideas. Others pair the seasonal cups with a home brewer for iced drinks, and the choice between brewing one cup or a full pot is laid out in this Keurig K-Express vs Ninja Fresh Brew comparison.
The Viral Scramble Over Last Year’s First Bearista
The Bearista character has a short but busy history. The original Bearista cup launched in November 2025 and sold out quickly, according to Good Morning America, and Starbucks has since released a Snoopy glass cup, a Pink Bearista cup with a strawberry straw topper and a Soccer Bearista cup.
That first release is the one people still talk about. The New York Post reported on Nov. 9, 2026, that a viral TikTok from last year’s drop showed shoppers wrestling over a single Bearista cup inside a store. The TikTok video, posted by the account @jerjericciardi2 in November 2025, was embedded in the Post’s story about this year’s mystery boxes. The clip is a year old; the surprise box launch it is being shared alongside is new this week.
The surprise box format adds a layer of chance on top of the usual holiday cup lineup. Collectors who already hunt for vintage pieces at secondhand shops will recognize the appeal, much like the shoppers who keep an eye out for coffee mugs worth picking up at a thrift store. Glassware also turns up on lists of home decor essentials to buy secondhand, which is where some of today’s limited-edition cups may eventually land.
What Shoppers Should Know Before Heading Out
The math matters for anyone hoping to collect all five. At $39.95 per box and a limit of two per in-store visit, a full set would cost at least $199.75 before tax if every box held a different bear, and the blind format makes duplicates possible. Buyers cannot pick a character, and the reports gave no indication that Starbucks will sell the bears individually this season.
More Bearista dates are already on the calendar. According to FOX Local’s rundown of the holiday drops, the Starbucks Shop opened to all customers on Nov. 10 with Bearista apparel such as hoodies and T-shirts, more holiday merchandise arrives Nov. 17 for Red Cup Day, and the original Bearista glass cold cup returns Dec. 1 to select coffeehouses in limited quantities.
The timing also lands in the middle of holiday budgeting. Many households are already weighing gift spending, and seasonal extras add up quickly. A $39.95 surprise box can work as a stocking stuffer or a gift for a Starbucks regular, and the recipient will not know which bear is inside either.
A few practical points stand out from the launch details:
- Price: $39.95 per surprise box, with one glass cup and one personality card inside.
- Characters: Reiny, Joy, Aspen, Bunny and the rare mystery bear, Goldie.
- Limit: two boxes per customer in store; Reserve members were limited to one online.
- Availability: select Starbucks stores from Nov. 10, while supplies last.
For fans who missed last year’s first Bearista, the Dec. 1 return offers a second chance at the original, while the surprise boxes are the newest way to add a holiday bear to the shelf. Whether the rare Goldie turns up is, by design, left to luck.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
