Forget pumpkin spice season — Red season is officially upon us, and Starbucks just may be marking it in a very appropriate way. Ahead of the Friday, Nov. 12 release of Red (Taylor’s Version), some Swifties seem to believe Taylor Swift and Starbucks have collaborated on a limited-time-only Red-inspired drink.
The beloved coffee chain set social media ablaze on Monday, Nov. 8 with a tweet announcing, “it’s red season,” alongside a series of fall-themed emojis, including a red scarf, a possible nod to the infamous scarf Swift sings about in “All Too Well.” It didn’t take long for the tweets to roll in asking if the tweet was hinting at a collab, and Starbuck’s didn’t hesitate to roll with the Red hints. In a follow-up tweet, the coffee chain referenced both “All Too Well” and “Forever & Always,” the latter song of which is from Fearless, when writing, “We know all too well how exciting this time of year is, and we’ll forever & always love it: Our red holiday cups and drinks are back!” The chain referenced two other songs from Red, “Holy Ground” and “Begin Again,” in two other tweets, which read, “This tweet took off faster than a green light, go,” and “here’s to throwing your head back laughing like a little kid.” In a separate tweet, Starbucks even quoted a previous Instagram caption from Swift reading, “We’re just in a holiday vibe right now, not a lot going on at the moment otherwise.”
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It remains unclear if a Starbucks-Swift collab is on the horizon or if the chain was simply using the anticipation surrounding the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) to promote its recently-released 2021 red holiday cups. Speculation that a collaboration could be in the works was first sparked back in late October when Swift, who is known for dropping easter eggs in just about everything she does, expressed her love of fall with the recreation of one of her old Tumblr posts. In the video, Swift picked up a Starbucks cup as she mentioned, “pumpkin-flavored stuff.” Fans immediately guessed the cup was no accident and a Swift-themed Starbucks beverage was in the works. Following Starbucks’ string of tweets, some believe “Taylor’s Latte,” a grande caramel nonfat latte, could debut on the menu on Friday.
Swift is currently in the process of re-recording her masters following the acquisition of Big Machine Records by Scooter Braun. After she released Fearless (Taylor’s Version), a re-recording of her 2008 sophomore album, in April, the singer announced in June that her next re-release would be Red, which was initially released back in October 2012. In addition to re-recordings of all 16 songs on the original album, Red (Taylor’s Version) will include 14 previously unreleased songs, including an unreleased duet with Ed Sheeran and a 10-minute version of “All Too Well.”
Ahead of the album’s release, Swift is doing plenty of promotion. On Friday, the singer announced that she will direct, produce, and star in a short film for the 10-minute version of her critically acclaimed song “All Too Well,” which fans have eagerly been waiting for the better part of a decade. The short film, to be released on Friday, stars Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink. Swift is also set to appear on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 13. Red (Taylor’s Version) releases on Friday.