Branch Out From That Basic PSL Order, Try These 5 Fall Drinks

The beginning of October brings out cooler temperatures and the coffee lover in all of us. Whether you’re a tried-and-true coffee fiend or you simply dabble in the drink this time of year, there’s a special flavor for all of us. Perhaps the most standard flavor of fall is the Pumpkin Spice Latte. A flavor that seems to have it’s own personality, “PSL” has become a pop culture phenomenon.

Certainly the biggest coffee retailer on the planet, Starbucks, starts to advertise their PSL in mid-August, well before the first leaf falls. The flavor isn’t just for coffee apparently, as other brands and products have jumped in on the trend after the massive success seen by Starbucks. Look around at your local store and you’ll find pumpkin spice bagels, cereals, even Twinkies and beer.

PSL began in 2003 and quickly became a fan favorite. Rich and creamy, served hot or cold, the PSL is a classic and even the least caffeinated fans are jittery for more. Made with real pumpkin, clove and cinnamon, the drink is obviously satisfying and popular for a reason, but if you’ve had your share of PSL, here’s a list of 5 other flavors that are hot this fall.

Cinnamon Coffee

Cinnamon offers a bit of a kick to your senses if combined into your drink. Go to Dunkin’ Donuts to customize your drink order online.

Caramel Coffee

Caramel is creamy and satisfying and is a rich flavor to any coffee. Peet’s Coffee offers an education on the drink and its accessories.

Apple Oatmilk Espresso

Apple Oatmilk Espresso with a topping of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel is essentially a dessert with over 400 calories. Also, consider ordering the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai, created by Starbucks customers’ customized drink orders.

Spiced Chai

Spiced Chai really engages all different kinds of flavors including cardamom, black peppercorn, clove, ginger and cinnamon.

Brown Sugar Oatmilk Espresso

Brown Sugar Oatmilk Espresso is another fan favorite driving home the brown sugar and cinnamon flavors. Light and refreshing, you won’t feel as if you just had dessert.

The small coffee bean goes through a long process before reaching your mug as it starts as a planted seed, turned to a coffee tree, which will bear fruit to harvest and process. The beans are milled and harvested before the final steps of roasting, grinding then brewing. Coffee is tested multiple times by a taste-tester aptly known as a “cupper.” The cupper checks the beans for the visual quality and taste.

There’s also many variations of the drink that helps to caffeinate you. Two different beans, the Robusta and Arabica both produce the dark drink. Arabica is the most popular due to its taste, but Robusta is stronger and cheaper. There are many types of coffee, the most common being black, cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. Brazil is the main exporter of coffee providing 1.87 million hectares of harvested area in 2022. Americans drink an average of three cups a day, with the country drinking about 400 million cups a day overall.

The name now synonymous with coffee is Starbucks, and the coffee king has been ruling since its inception in Seattle in 1971. It was initially a coffee bean wholesaler but became a coffee shop in the mid-80s. It eventually ballooned throughout the world as the go-to location for the drink. Today, there are over 38,000 locations spread across 86 countries. The net income is over $4.1 billion dollars as of 2023. Since its inception, the PSL has generated $424 million dollars for Starbucks. Not too bad for a drink that will cost you just over $6 dollars for 16 ounces.