It’s that time of year again when seasonal drinks like the pumpkin spice latte are being sold around the world. Though coffee shops all have their own varieties to choose from, two customer favorites have stood out—Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee—for their deliciousness and availability.
At Starbucks, the forerunner for this seasonal trend, the pumpkin spice latte was first introduced in 2003. Now after 20 years, the pumpkin cream iced chai tea lattes and the pumpkin spice lattes have become some of the most popular items on the menu. The pumpkin cream iced tea latte is topped with a rich blended spiced chai, pumpkin cream cold foam, and dusting of pumpkin spice. The pumpkin spice latte has Starbucks’s signature espresso, steamed milk, with a flavor of real pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. And when talking to students about the Starbucks pumpkin chai tea latte, Miguel Rojas, an employer at Starbucks and a senior at Casa Grande High School, had something to say:
“I’ve been working at Starbucks for a while and the pumpkin cream chai tea latte is by far my favorite drink at the moment and really popular to buy.”
Miguel isn’t alone either. Thousands of customers have purchased the pumpkin spice latte in the years following its creation, with additional sides like oat milk and brown sugar only increasing this item’s popularity.
Starbucks isn’t the only company capitalizing on this trend though! Peet’s Coffee first released its version of the pumpkin spice latte in 2020, where it has since become a menu staple. Their pumpkin latte, which is a hot coffee, is made with a blend of espresso Forte, which is a blend of Arabica coffees from South and Central America, with pumpkin syrup, steamed oat milk, and topped with silky foam. In comparison, the iced pumpkin latte has Peet’s espresso forte and steamed milk. It’s also topped with several baking spices.
The iced pumpkin lattes at Peet’s Coffee can be stronger than Starbucks’s, but their options, including reduced espresso, allow customers to customize their drinks to their individual preferences.
With all these options, customers have plenty of variety to choose from at their local coffee shops. But these seasonal favorites don’t have long before they’re gone again, so be sure to pick them up while they’re available!
