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Places to Get Your PSL Fix This Fall

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter.

The beginning of fall marks the return of classes, Badger football, and the one gloriously caffeinated, shamelessly basic seasonal beverage: pumpkin spice latte.  I spent an afternoon visiting some of UW-Madison’s most popular coffee stops to test their versions of autumn-in-a-cup.  

Hits:

Starbucks: The tried-and-true, original Pumpkin Spice Latte does not disappoint.  Starbucks’ PSL was recently reformulated to include real pumpkin puree— it had the boldest and sweetest pumpkin flavor in the taste test!  Bonus points go to the drink for having its own Twitter account (@TheRealPSL).  

Coffee Bytes: Though Coffee Bytes doesn’t have a designated space on their menu for the PSL, their baristas will be happy to create one for you. Formulated with a happy balance of pumpkin spice and espresso flavors topped off by a layer of perfectly foamed milk, Coffee Bytes’ pumpkin flavored latte was my personal favorite of the taste test.

Misses:

Espresso Royale: Their rendition of the PSL fell flat.  My latte tasted like sweet, hot milk— the pumpkin spice and espresso flavors were nowhere to be found.  Don’t worry, Espresso Royale, you’ll still be seeing me on $2 Latte Wednesdays. I’ll be sticking with my regular Americano order from now on, though.

Prairie Fire at Union South: Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Mocha—this isn’t technically a PSL, but since it’s a new addition to the menu at Prairie Fire (and everywhere else that serves Peet’s Coffee, such as the Grainger Café), I decided to give it a try.  The drink was far too heavy with syrup and sugar for my liking. It tasted more like hot chocolate than a latte.  The Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Mocha is a rich, dessert-like drink, but it likely won’t satisfy your pumpkin-spiced cravings.  

Happy fall and happy sipping, ladies!  

Kristin is a student at the University of Wisconsin pursuing a degree in Marketing and Operations and Technology Management. Her favorite things in the whole world are vanilla lattes, John Mayer's voice, and her beagle mix, Olive. When she's not slaving over an accounting textbook, Kristin enjoys catching up on fashion and beauty trends, practicing yoga, and cheering on the Badgers.
Madison is a senior at the University of Wisconsin pursuing a major in English Literature with minors in Entrepreneurship and Digital Media Studies. Post college, Madison plans to complete her dreams of being the next Anna Wintour. In her free time, Madison enjoys listening to Eric Hutchinson, eating dark chocolate, and FaceTiming her puppies back home. When she isn't online shopping, or watching YouTube bloggers (ie Fleur DeForce), Madison loves exploring the vast UW Campus and all it has to offer! She is very excited to take this next step in her collegiette career as Campus Correspondent and Editor-in-Chief for HC Wisco. On Wisconsin!