Have you seen the new Starbucks Fall menu drinks? Well, Starbucks announced their new limited-time-only fall menu earlier this August. Today, we will go over the new menu to see what they have available. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back for this fall. It is a Starbucks classic that’s been around for 20 years. “The handcrafted beverage combines Starbucks Signature Espresso and steamed milk with the celebrated flavor combination of real pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove,” as described on the Starbucks website. “Topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices, the PSL is available hot, iced, or blended.”
The magazine The Miami Hurricane rated the latte an 8/10 arguing that it doesn’t have a strong coffee flavor which might deter coffee lovers, but the taste is overall good. Another magazine, Eat This, Not That, said, “Taste-wise, there’s not much to say—the drink still hits after two decades. It’s very sweet (thanks to the whip cream on top) and extremely indulgent (it packs 50 grams of sugar!).” The Pumpkin Spice Latte has had an influence on people. An online news agency called Reuters found out that from “Placer.ai data showed a 20% surge in visits on the day of the PSL launch. Starbucks also said the fall-season launch led to record average weekly sales.”
One drink that is in the new menu is The Apple crisp Oat Milk. Starbucks details of the drink is that it is: “Layered flavors of apple, cinnamon, oats, and brown sugar harmonize with Starbucks® Blonde Espresso Roast, creamy oat milk, and spiced-apple drizzle to create a delicious apple crisp you can sip.”
It was rated 6/10 by The Miami Hurricane because the apple and coffee flavors didn’t go together. Eat This, Not That compared it to the Pumpkin Spice Latte saying: “We liked that it was lighter than the PSL, probably due to the oat milk. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did; it had a pleasant apple flavor and it was not overly sweet.” The drink was less overwhelming this is probably due to not having a lot of spices in the drink like the Pumpkin Spice Latte and also less sugar, the Pumpkin Spice Latte has 50 grams of sugar whereas the Apple Crisp Oat Milk has 29 grams according to the nutritional and ingredients list on Starbucks’s website.
The second drink Starbucks has in its new fall menu is the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew stating that it is a, “Cold Brew sweetened with vanilla syrup and topped with pumpkin cream cold foam and a dusting of pumpkin-spice topping.”
Rating: 9/10 because the strong coffee flavor pairs well with the pumpkin cream cold brew.
Eat This, Not That was a bit critical of the drink saying: “And while the cold brew slightly overpowers the pumpkin flavor, it’s still mostly balanced. It’s not as sweet as the new chai latte with pumpkin cream, and the coffee flavor came through. All around, this was a crowd pleaser. If you showed up to a friend’s house with this as a surprise treat, I don’t think they would turn it down.”
Another drink that is included in the new menu is the new Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Latte. As mentioned on Starbucks’s website the drink is “…a blend of black tea infused with cinnamon, other warming spices, and milk, topped with a sweet pumpkin cream cold foam and a dusting of pumpkin spice topping.”
10/10: By the Miami Hurricane. They said it was the best drink on the menu and the spicy chai with the creamy pumpkin on top complemented it very well
“Featuring spiced chai and pumpkin spice dusting, this is a 10/10 if you have a sweet tooth,” shares Eat This, Not That. “The presentation was really nice—it looked just like the ad—and the light orange-hued float stayed in place the whole time we were drinking it.”
Starbucks describes the Iced Apple Crisp Oat Milk Shaken Espresso as a: “Blonde espresso combined with notes of apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar shaken together to blend the flavors and topped with oat milk for a perfectly balanced flavor and energizing fall treat.”
Rated 3/10: It was rated so low because it tasted like sour milk. The coffee and the apple flavor didn’t go together and it was very sharp considering they were both bitter flavors. Eat This, Not That also agreed, calling it: “The worst drink of the entire bunch, easily. The presentation was lackluster, with the espresso sitting heavily on the bottom of the cup and the shaken foam sadly shrinking away as the minutes passed. It smelled a lot like baked apple pie, but the actual flavor was mostly non-existent. And, when we could pick it up, it tasted outright artificial. This drink was not smooth at all; it lacked both viscosity and mouthfeel.” The sour taste I infer comes from the 190 milligrams of salt that’s in the drink which can be found on the nutritional and ingredients list on Starbucks’s website but also from the oat milk. In conclusion, the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte was the most highly rated drink from Starbucks new fall menu.
