New York
CNN
—

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

Starting Thursday, customers at the U.S. locations will have their hot drinks served in one of four types of festive cups featuring “familiar shades of Starbucks green and cranberry red paired with fondant-inspired soft pastels,” according to a press release.

Green is central to the design this year, with Starbucks creative director Kristy Cameron saying in the release that the jade hue “refers to 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 create enthusiasm among loyal customers. The tradition has also increased turnover in the past, something the chain desperately needs.

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

Each of the four cups has a unique name and theme. The “joyful connecting design” features round shapes that “together form a pattern that honors the art of coffee roasting,” with the design based on the roasters seen in Starbucks’ upscale Reserve Roastery locations. The “lyrical landscape” cup features alternating lines of lines that resemble gift wrapping, and the “Siren chorus” is loosely based on the silhouette of Starbucks’ Siren logo. The “warm wishes” design consists of interconnecting circles that evoke “glowing holiday lights and moments of enjoying coffee together.”

All cups have “small badges on the back of the cups so baristas can write a message,” according to the press release. CEO Brian Niccol recently said he wants to bring back names written by hand in Sharpies, as part of the chain’s shift toward a “human touch.”

Iced drinking cups also get a new design with festive charms in white print on the plastic. Cold drinks represent approximately 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 line of non-coffee drinks, a turkey sage Danish, a snowman cake pop and a cookie in the shape of a penguin.

Starbucks first introduced seasonal cups in 1997. The company courted controversy in 2015 when it removed the “symbols of the season,” meaning images of reindeer and ornaments, and went for a simple two-tone red cup. Since then it has added more festive decorations such as decorations and mistletoe, right up to the cups.