This fall at Starbucks it’s a pumpkin showdown- Pumpkin Latte vs. Pumpkin Iced Chai vs. the Pumpkin cream cheese muffin. It’s a tight contest and each contender has a specific strength that gives them a fighting chance. Obviously, Pumpkin is the overriding theme. I mean, who doesn’t love pumpkin? It’s a fall way of life! But each of these menu items has outstanding qualities that appeal to specific tastes.
Let’s start with the Pumpkin Latte. With a creamy foam on top and a warm, pumpkin spiced coffee on the bottom what more could you want? Most obviously, it’s a tasty hot drink that you want on a crisp fall morning but let’s unpack its array of flavors. What better way to do this than to try the drink ourselves. After taking a trip to a nearby Starbucks and giving it a good taste, we came to the conclusion that the Starbucks pumpkin latte was a 7/10. We felt that although the pumpkin flavor was there, we didn’t get the spice part of it and were looking for more. The pumpkin was slightly overpowering and didn’t let the other flavors come through. Although, overall the combination of the foam with a sip of the coffee was delightful and well worth the trip. If you are a coffee drinker, add a trip to Starbucks to your bucket list.
Next, we decided to give the pumpkin cream cheese muffin a try. This muffin consists of a pumpkin base with a sweet cream cheese filling. This muffin is one of a kind as it is unlike any other pastry item Starbucks offers. After giving this muffin a try, we rated it an 8/10. We felt that the pumpkin flavor was done to perfection but the filling to muffin ratio was slightly off. The muffin felt very similar to pumpkin bread, which would’ve been perfect if the filling had matched up. For that 10/10 rating we would have wanted more bites containing both the filling and the muffin. Overall, if you love pumpkin, and anything with a slight cheesecake taste, you are going to love this.
Lastly, we were looking for something to top off our trip, and what other popping fall menu item does Starbucks carry? The pumpkin cream chai. If you are anywhere on social media, you would know this chai is known to be phenomenal. Many people say that August 22nd, the day it’s released, should be a national holiday. After hearing all of this hype, we knew this had to be a contender on our list. Could this beat the Pumpkin latte and pumpkin cream cheese muffin out of the race? After a few sips of the pumpkin cream chai we were mindblown. How could Starbucks create such a delicacy? From the pumpkin coldfoam, to the chai this drink was perfect. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of a cool October evening. Perfect mix of spices to pumpkin, and an amazing balance to top it off. We had to rate this a 10/10. Starbucks, well done.
Overall, I think we can all agree that any fall drink from Starbucks will never fail to impress. Even though they are all centered around ‘pumpkin this’ and ‘pumpkin that’, each menu item adds a new pop of flavor to an already amazing menu. Personally, we couldn’t make it through the day without a little pick-me up from starbucks, and these do just that. After a very eventful trip to Starbucks we finally made a decision: The trophy goes to the pumpkin cream chai. If you are looking for a fun activity to do with friends, take a trip to Starbucks. We promise, you won’t regret it.
