As the warm summer winds begin to cool down and leaves start to turn, the Starbucks menu offers rich flavors and an intense excitement for fall. The Starbucks menu is a classic symbol for bringing in the fall season. With the many options of these seasonal drinks on the menu, it can be quite confusing to choose which one to get, so, I tried and ranked the majority of these cozy fall drinks and it’s worth noting, that while I love a good fall drink, I am a true pumpkin skeptic.

Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte – When I first took a sip, I immediately recognized the rich pecan flavor mixed with the blonde espresso. The nutty taste of the pecans were very present throughout this drink, but didn’t overpower the other ingredients allowing me to acknowledge the other flavors. This drink is very well-balanced between the pecan flavor, the oatmilk and the blonde espresso and is perfect if you normally don’t prefer pumpkin spice. 

Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai – The moment I tasted this drink, I knew I wasn’t going to like it. The pumpkin spice was very overwhelming and it was all I could taste. After a few more sips, it began to remind me of a pumpkin candle you would smell at the store and became nauseating to the point where I was unable to drink it anymore. This drink includes chai tea as a base, milk, and pumps of chai topped with pumpkin cream cold foam and pumpkin spice. If you’re a pumpkin spice addict, this is the drink for you. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte – Upon my initial taste, I felt like this drink was more of a dessert rather than a coffee. As expected, this drink is full of spices like pumpkin, nutmeg, clove, and ginger which is why I felt like it was too strong and tasted too artificial for me. This drink contains milk, whipped cream, pumpkin spice topping, pumpkin sauce, and their signature espresso.Overall, the drink was overly sweet and had too many competing flavors, which made it unappealing to me. 

In the end, fall drinks are meant to give you a warm and soothing fall feeling. It is clear that the majority of the fall drinks that I sampled didn’t have my best interest as the pumpkin spice dominated most of the drinks. It is clear that the winner of this ranking is the Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte.  Whether it’s pumpkin spice, cinnamon, or something a little different, there’s a drink for everyone to enjoy this fall.