Starbucks Fall Drinks Elicit Mixed Reviews

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With fall weather comes specialty fall drinks.

As fall comes around, fall drinks return to the Starbucks menu and rise in popularity. This fall Starbucks featured three fall drinks: Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato, and Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte has been a classic on the Starbucks menu in past fall seasons, but more recently the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew has been on the rise in popularity. Many people are starting to prefer the cold foam on top of their drinks found on the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew versus the traditional whip cream over the Pumpkin Spice Latte. “The [Pumpkin] Cold Brew was delicious. It kinda reminded me of the Chai Latte because in the fall I like to get a Chai Tea Latte iced, with some Pumpkin Cold Foam, it’s delicious,” senior Eleanor Hutcheson said.

The Pumpkin Cold Brew went above and beyond Hutcheson’s expectations, but the Pumpkin Spice Latte missed by a lot. “If I could change the pumpkin spice latte, I would probably just remove the pumpkin syrup and just have it be the hot drink,” Hutcheson said.

Senior Francesca Lichtenberger is a Starbucks barista and claims that fruit and coffee can be a hard combination to pair. Accordingly, the new Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato has been less of a fall favorite this year. “Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew I’m gonna [give] a 10 out of 10. Pumpkin Spice Latte, I would say a nine. And then the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato 7.5. I like it, but I like the other ones more,” Lichtenberger said.

During her time as a Starbucks barista, Lichtenberger has experimented with many different drinks in her free time. As a part of her job, she is required to try everything on the menu in order to give recommendations. She has some specific recommendations for additions to these speciality drinks. “I would recommend the pumpkin cream cold brew because everybody I know who has tried it loves it. The drink is also very customizable to someone’s preferences; if you want it sweeter, you can add more vanilla syrup or cold foam to it. Or, if you want a stronger cold brew flavor, just ask for light cold foam,” Lichtenberger said.

Although some of these fall drinks have grown popular, they do not stay on the menu long. They are only available to order until the end of the fall season, usually disappearing from the menu in early December. Starbucks will feature their next set of drinks for the winter season starting the first week of November.