Starbucks holiday cups set to return to US stores. Here's what they look like

The holidays officially begin this week - at least at Starbucks - when the coffee chain rolls out its annual seasonal cups.

Beginning Thursday, customers at its US locations will have their hot drinks served in one of four kinds of festive cups that have "familiar shades of Starbucks green and cranberry red paired with fondant-inspired soft pastels," according to a press release.

Green is the focus in this year's design, with Kristy Cameron, Starbucks' creative director, saying in the release that the jade hue "references our brand colors in a way that brings a spark of joy to our holiday cups this season."

The cups have become a tradition for the coffee chain and drum up excitement among its loyal customers. The tradition has also boosted revenue in the past, which the chain desperately needs.

Last week, Starbucks (SBUX) reported a third straight quarter of slumping sales and declining customer visits: Global sales at stores open at least a year dropped 7% last quarter and the number of customer transactions fell 8%.

Each of the four cups has a unique name and theme. The "joyful connection" design has circular shapes "combining to form a pattern that honors the art of coffee roasting," with the design based off the roasters seen at Starbucks' fancy Reserve Roastery locations. The "lyrical landscape" cup has alternating bands of lines that resemble gift wrapping, and the "Siren chorus" is loosely based off the silhouette of Starbucks' Siren logo. The "warm wishes" design features interconnected circles that evoke "glowing holiday lights and moments of enjoying coffee together."

All of the cups have "little badges on the back of the cups for baristas to write a message," according to the press release. CEO Brian Niccol recently said he wants to bring back names hand-written in Sharpies as part of the chain's shift back to having a "human touch."

Iced drink cups are also getting a new design with festive charms in white print on the plastic. Cold drinks represent about 75% of Starbucks' sales.

Starbucks' holiday menu is also getting new items, including a "Cran-merry" orange drink as part of the chain's popular Refresher lineup of non-coffee beverages, a turkey sage danish, a snowman cake pop and a penguin-shaped cookie.

Starbucks first rolled out seasonal cups in 1997. The company stirred up controversy in 2015 when it removed "symbols of the season," i.e. images of reindeer and ornaments, and went with a simple two-toned red cup. Since then, it has added more festive flourishes, such as ornaments and mistletoe, to its cups.