The Pumpkin Rea-port (Pt. 1)

Instead of a ball, this Cinderella went to a coffee shop...or two..or three!

Love it or hate it, it’s officially pumpkin spice season. As someone whose life savings tend to go into the hands of hard-working baristas, I await this season like no other.

The pumpkin spice latte (or PSL) is now old enough to drink legally - it was created by Starbucks in 2003 after the successful execution of winter drinks like peppermint mocha and eggnog latte. Although most associate the drink with Starbucks, other coffee chains have joined the bandwagon, offering fall specialties of their own.

Since some places are rolling out sooner rather than later, I haven’t visited them all yet, but will hit on as many coffee places as I can to see their fall offers. Here are my honest reviews on pumpkin-flavored things I’ve tried so far - maybe I can change the minds of people who are still fixated on summer sweets or wait till winter for a minty fresh flavor.

Dutch Bros Coffee

Being from Texas, Dutch Bros was only a concept I had heard from my friends on the West Coast until all of a sudden, they popped up EVERYWHERE. When I moved back home, there was a Dutch on every corner. Reader, know this: when it comes to a reliable go-to, I typically choose Dutch first.

So, when they announced the return of the caramel pumpkin brûlée, I did a happy dance - since I first tried it a couple of falls ago, I was HOOKED. Its return also brought a couple of new items - the cookie butter latte and the caramel apple Rebel. (Respectfully, someone else is gonna have to try that for me. Energy drinks tend to make me panicky. Yet I still drink coffee…onwards…)

Caramel Pumpkin Brûlée

I typically get this drink as an iced breve - you can get it hot as well - and there is just something perfect about this fall drink. With a mix of salted caramel and pumpkin, it comes topped with the signature Dutch soft top and raw sugar sprinkles.

Sometimes when I get this drink, I don’t always taste the pumpkin - but that’s okay; sometimes I don’t need the pumpkin flavor in my face. It’s nice to keep it subtle, and Dutch does a great job at that. There’s no wonder this drink returns to the menu every year - it’s a fan favorite for a reason! This is what I’ll be drinking all season, if you must know.

Cookie Butter Latte

As someone who didn’t know what cookie butter was until college, I had seen some artisan coffee shops create cookie butter drinks but decided to stay within my comfort zone. However, Dutch Bros brought a new latte to the table, and for (probably) the second or third time ever, I had cookie butter - but this time, in a coffee.

First off, PLEASE look at this drink. Gorgeous! Stunning! Looks too pretty to drink!

It took me several sips to realize why this was treated as a fall specialty, but it fits well. There’s a nod to spiced cookies within the taste, and frankly? I loved getting a small “glob” of cookie butter as I sipped the latte. Again, the flavor is not overpowering, which makes it easy to enjoy without going “WHOA! That’s a lot” or something along those lines. This is another one I’d get again, perhaps not as a breakfast pick-me-up but more as a Little Treat.

Dunkin’

Being back at home means that I am reunited with my neighborhood Dunkin’, a safe haven of sorts for me in high school. (My debit card, on the other hand, was not pleased with how many hazelnut iced coffees I’d buy. RIP hazelnut swirl).

Dunkin’ has brought back plenty of fall classics (nutty pumpkin iced coffee, pumpkin spice, the PUMPKIN MUNCHKINS), but has brought some new friends along with it.

As of this writing, the only menu item I’ve tried so far is the Dunkalatte - a simple drink that may remind die-hard Dunkinators (Dunkonians? What does a Dunkin fan call themselves?) of the Dunkaccino, which was whisked off the menu back in April 2022.

Basically: If you take two shots of espresso and combine them with the coffee milk your grandma would let you drink of the weekends, that’s the drink. It’s nice and creamy – but I found that the flavor disappeared after a while. I’d suggest adding a shot/swirl of another flavor to keep the party going.

I cannot wait to get my hands on a nutty pumpkin coffee and the new almond spice drink – but for now, I’ll just be excited that the loaded hash browns have returned.

Black Rock Coffee

Black Rock is a fairly new concept to me; I think we got the one near my parents’ house about a year and a half ago. Somehow, San Antonio and Austin have become hotspots for regional coffee chains from the PNW - and I’m not complaining. There is something about Black Rock that brings me right back.

I can’t remember if I tried their fall items last year, so I’ll treat this as my first time trying their fall options. Included is the Pumpkin Blondie, a new offering in the Pumpkin Mexican Mocha, and a Witch’s Brew Fuel (refer back to the energy drink comment in the Dutch Bros section. Someone let me know if it’s good!)

Once or twice a week, I find myself drinking 2 beverages a day - and one of those days, I found myself sandwiched in between two SUVs ordering a pumpkin blondie.

Y’all - this was SO good, even for a small decaf (I got it at around 2 PM). A blondie, as I’ve learned from Black Rock and competitor 7 Brew, is a nice offering of vanilla and caramel (and/or white mocha). It’s a good beginner’s drink, or if you’re in the mood to pumpkin spice things up, this creamy drink will hit on all cylinders.

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As we wrap up this Rea-port, know that these are my personal thoughts on these drinks, and I am not being paid to tell you to get them (although if any of these establishments wants me to endorse them...I will not say no…)

If you enjoyed this type of post, let me know! I’d love to do a Pumpkin Rea-port part 2, if you’ll let me anyway :)

End of post note: I have never been a professional photographer, except in my high school yearbook. Otherwise I just snap what I can on my iPhone.