Photo from Starbucks Stories & News

Starbucks is a well known food and coffee industry that is known for their variety of delicious drinks, and selection of fun, seasonal food. They come out with their famous seasonal menus every year to get everyone excited for the holiday season. Millions of people visit Starbucks every year just to enjoy their sweet and savory fall menu. So, today we will be putting the fall menu to the test to see if it is worth the money. 

Coming in first is the most popular, the one and only Pumpkin Spice Latte. Which is said to have single handedly started the pumpkin spice trend for Starbucks. This drink is a mix of different spices, blended with coffee, and topped with whipped cream and added cinnamon. You can also get this drink in different variations like hot, cold, or blended. Just looking at the latte it is visually appealing with a strong smell of sweet spices. The taste it is a strong mix of cinnamon and pumpkin, everything you would want during the Autumn season. This drink should 100% be bought on your next Starbucks trip!

 The next drink is commonly called, ‘Fall in One Sip’, or the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. A sweetened cold brew topped with pumpkin cream cold foam, is now returning to the menu. This iced coffee is served ice cold and has a more bitter taste. However, the pumpkin cold foam really sweetens up the drink, and connects the two tastes to create a delicious blend of flavors. After trying this brew, our overall rating would be about a 6/10. This drink depends on personal preference and is an acquired taste, but if you want something new or different, give it a try! 

For the second year in a row the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai returns to the famous fall menu for another hopefully successful year. This creamy chai with a pumpkin cold foam and a hint of pumpkin spice powder on top can make anyone get into the holiday spirit. Right as you pick up the drink and go to get a sip, you have a fresh smell of different spices. The aroma is immersive enough to you 10x more excited for your first sip. The drink itself has a light and “fluffy” taste, with a very smooth consistency, and a light pumpkin aftertaste. This is great if you are looking for a more subtle and calm, sippable drink. 9/10 times we would buy this drink again to enjoy, especially during the harvest season.

 The completely new drink coming to this year’s menu is the Iced Apple Crisp Non-dairy Cream Chai. This beverage is said to capture the taste, flavor, and feeling of a fall-picked apple all in one sip. This drink has the perfect fresh apple smell, so much so that with one sniff you’re in the Autumn season. This drink is also Non-dairy, which is a great option for those of you that have dairy intolerances. The taste of this drink is a slight nutmeg with a strong finish of cinnamon, which compliments the other spices well. We can see how this drink is enjoyed by others, who prefer more upfront spiced autumn flavors, but it was not our top pick to spend our money on. The Iced Apple Crisp Non-Dairy Cream Chai was overall was not our favorite and we don’t recommend others spend their hard-earned money trying it. 

Another returning drink is the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato with its signature savory flavors of apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Topped with a sweet apple syrup, and a delicious smell of cinnamon to top it off. This drink is very demure and aesthetically pleasing. It has a strong coffee taste as well as a slight nutmeg flavor. The mixture of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, along with the balance of the coffee flavor completes this beverage. Viali Garcia, a freshman here at Saugus High School recommended this drink as it, “had a very soft touch to it and had a good aftertaste, too. The cinnamon wasn’t too overpowering or spicey in any way.” This drink is perfect for the early autumn mornings. 

The brand new Iced Apple Crisp Oat Milk Shaken Espresso is an ideal way to get that perfect seasonal sip full of flavor.  This drink includes blonde espresso with hints of apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar topped with oat milk. This treat has an enjoyable smell of fresh apples with a hint of coffee. The taste of this was personally not our favorite, but it might be yours! It has a very strong coffee taste that we think any coffee lover might like. This drink was not for us, but we think it could be for a lot of people. We think everyone should try this drink even if it turns out to be not your favorite.

After trying all these drinks we can confidently say that these are worth your money and worth a try on your next Starbucks run. Take your families and friends to this one-of-a-kind coffee shop. Not only are these fall menu items worth the money but so are their everyday stock. We hope you enjoy your next trip and take our advice!