Halloween is almost upon us and the crisp autumn air is finally here after some summery “fall” days. Pumpkin Spice Lattes, on the other hand, have been on the menus for many weeks. These sugary coffee concoctions have become a fall staple in the United States, with the flavor spreading like a contagion to almost any imaginable edible product. We can’t confirm it, but we wouldn’t be surprised if there is some Pumpkin Spice CBD oil out there on the market (if not, you heard it here first).
You might get an inkling that we deeply dislike Pumpkin Spice or even - gasp - fall. Neither is the case. Gabe’s favorite activity all year is apple picking (kid-in-a-candy store level of enjoyment), and Saúl’s favorite activity is bundling up and watching scary movies from years past. We are even open to the occasional PSL ourselves and love a good pumpkin bread. It’s more the ways a simple seasonal treat has become a broader cultural phenomenon exploited to the max for profit. Maybe too, there is a little bit of a desire to move back to the core: good coffee.
While the Pumpkin version of fall flavored coffee has been around for over 20 years (making its Starbucks’ debut in 2003), recent years have seen an explosion of other flavors as it seems like coffee shops are in an all-out seasonal arms race. The Starbucks fall flavor release creates news waves parallelling Apple’s yearly product announcements. The big guns of the coffee world - the Dunkin Donuts, the Caribou, the McDonalds, and the like - of course have set the stage, but the variety flavor craze has certainly expanded out to many local shops.
Often, and not surprisingly, these small-scale creations show more creativity and spice than their heavy hitting big siblings. It might not be our cup of tea, but the Champurrado de Calabaza from La Finca in St. Francis ain’t your grandmother’s PSL. Saúl tried it recently, and it is Grade A fire according to his coffee metrics.
In fact, in the greater Milwaukee area, there are plenty of interesting local twists. Colectivo has tried to up things a bit with their Pumpkin Spice Fluff Latte, whereas Stone Creek Coffee has created a new recipe for their PSL drink, adding condensed oat milk to the mix. Maybe not the level of Coke/Pepsi rivalry from the 1990s, but the cold (or hot if that’s your thing) rivalry is brewing. Then of course there is Discourse, looking down on its competition with a KSL featuring spiced Kabocha syrup. Yes, we had to look that up and apparently, via Wikipedia it is a Japanese pumpkin. Well done Discourse, well done.
Pilcrow is going a different fall direction by leaning into the Halloween vibes. They’re offering a Trick or Treat flight with Butterfinger, Cookies & Cream, Bucks in Twix, and Heath Bar, which let’s be honest is all a treat. They also have a pretty wild Beetlejuice option as well.
We’ll be honest - this little foray in searching for all the fall flavors has left us impressed with the local creativity and flare to what nationally has become a bit of a cliched and well-worn fad. We might not be willing to give up our classic latte (Gabe) or cortado (Saúl) for a purple, bright green cold brew creation, but we have more appreciation now that it’s out there.
As always, we want to hear your thoughts. So, while we have a feeling this topic touches a nerve with both lovers and haters of the fall flavor trend, we invite you to leave your own thoughts below!
I had to do it! Today I ordered a Pumpkin Latte with Whipped cream- It was delicious!
Marion