Happy October! Now that fall has officially started and the weather is (slowly) starting to turn colder, it’s time to treat yourself to fan-favorite seasonal fall drinks.
As a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, I took it upon myself to try all the fall drinks Starbucks had to offer beginning at the end of August and rank them in order from my least favorite to most favorite. Hopefully, through these rankings, you might find your new favorite drink!
5. Pumpkin Spice Latte (Hot)
Okay, okay – I know this is THE classic fall drink – I’m sorry. I love pumpkin spice-flavored things, but for some reason, I’ve never really been able to get into the latte version. This one honestly was just very underwhelming for me. I couldn’t really get any hint of pumpkin flavor and could only really taste a hint of cinnamon spice; all I could taste was warm milk and it was… not too great.
Rating: ⅖ stars
4. Apple Crisp Macchiato (Hot)
I really love apple crisp, so I was very excited to try this, but I was disappointed yet again. Maybe hot drinks just aren’t for me, but this one was just bad. Like the pumpkin spice latte, this one didn’t really taste like anything. I’d get hints of cinnamon and caramel every few sips but other than that it felt like I was just drinking a regular coffee with milk.
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
3. Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
While I still didn’t like the iced version of the pumpkin spice latte, it was a lot better than the hot version. This is cliche but it really tasted like fall, which really made me happy because who doesn’t love fall? However, I still wasn’t getting that pumpkin taste; I was mostly just getting the “spice” like I did with the hot version. Also, for my latte being as orange as it was, the pumpkin was really lacking. Suspicious, right?
Rating: ⅗ stars
2. Iced Apple Crisp Macchiato
THIS DRINK!! So, so good! This drink definitely doesn’t taste like apple crisp and has more of a caramel flavor. The caramel really overpowered most of the apple flavor that was there, but this drink was very reminiscent of other caramel-apple flavored things, and I was not mad about it at all. This drink is a little on the sweet side but the espresso definitely helps balance out the caramel flavors. I definitely will be alternating getting this drink and my number 1 ranked drink this fall.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
1. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
The Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew has my heart! Usually, I’m not the biggest fan of cold brew, but something about this drink… so good! The sweet pumpkin cream cold foam with cinnamon sprinkled on top is the perfect topping to juxtapose the bitterness of the cold brew. Also, the ratio of cold foam to cold brew was perfect and helped balance the flavors equally without one overpowering the other. I highly recommend getting this drink this fall, especially on those warmer days. I know I definitely will be getting this one literally everyday until fall is over!
Rating: 5/5 stars