We're now well into pumpkin spice season. It's been over a month since Starbucks began selling the iconic seasonal hot drink, an unofficial indicator that lets us know autumn is here and it's time to ditch your iced coffee for something a little more warming. The annual announcement of the PSL's return has become a much anticipated time of year by fans of the drink. But Starbucks has some competition.
Nary a leaf had fallen to the ground this year when Greggs announced, on August 25, that their pumpkin spice latte was available to buy in stores. Other coffee chains across the country that sell the autumnal drink waited until it was less socially acceptable to leave the house in flip flops before introducing their own versions.
Starbucks first launched the drink in America and Canada way back in 2003 and, 20 years later, people can't seem to get enough of the stuff - according to CNBC worldwide sales amount to around 424 million servings. And it doesn't stop there - shop shelves are filled with pumpkin spice candles, lotions, shampoos. The list goes on.
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With such big sales opportunities, its no wonder that rival coffee places have started releasing their own versions of the drink. But with varying prices and tastes, could any of these beat out the original to be crowned the best pumpkin spice latte? As most of the coffee chains have released their own PSLs, we put them to the test.
Starbucks
Let's start with the original. A 'tall' Pumpkin Spice Latte to takeaway set me back £4 - pretty pricey for a coffee in my opinion. Like most of the Pumpkin Spiced Lattes for sale, you can have the option to get it topped with whipped cream but, since I never normally top anything that isn't a hot chocolate with whipped cream, I opted out. The drink had a good amount of foam - not so thick that the spice mix that's added to the top of the drink gets stuck and gives you a particularly bitter first sip, as happened with some of the other drinks I tried.
Out of all the drinks I tried on the list, this is the one that tastes the most like pumpkin, giving you just enough flavour to live up to its name without tasting too much like the fruit itself. The drink was only slightly sweet, which is perfect for those who don't have a particularly sweet tooth. But you do get a sort of lingering bitterness from the 'spice' that hangs around in your mouth afterwards. In terms of taste, it was a pleasant, autumnal drink, but not my favourite on the list.
Then there's the actual value for money. I understand that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is only here for a short while, but £4 for a coffee is pretty steep in my opinion, no matter how much autumnal spice flavours you pump into it. There are better PSLs for much less out there.
Score: 3/5
Coffee #1
The Cardiff-originating chain has also released its own version of the drink and, when I stepped up to the counter to place my order, they even asked what kind of coffee I wanted with it - 'smooth' or 'strong'. I went with the latter. Coffee #1 also lets you turn most of your favourite hot beverages into a Pumpkin Spice version of themselves, including cappuccinos, hot chocolates, or frappes.
This was probably the best smelling latte out of the lot. It smelt a lot like how I'd hoped the Starbucks PSL would taste. The drink came with a decent dusting of spice mix on the top (which is probably where most of the delicious smell came from) and a decent amount of foam.
While the pumpkin spice flavouring can sometimes leave you with an unpleasant aftertaste, Coffee #1's latte manages to avoid this, allowing you to get the gentle warmth of the spices afterwards. The drink is pleasantly sweet - slightly sweeter than Starbucks' option - and manages to get the autumnal flavour spot on. It's also cheaper than Starbucks - I paid £3.50 for a regular - and was nicer. While I still wouldn't go up to £4 for a coffee normally, Coffee #1's slightly cheaper option was nice enough that I was happy to pay the price.
Score: 4/5
Pret
When I took the first sip of my Pumpkin Spice Latte from Pret a Manger, the first thing that hit me was a strong and bitter spice taste - not exactly what you'd want from your first sip of coffee. Like the other pumpkin spice drinks, the latte was served with a sprinkling of spice mixture on top, so that first bitter taste could well have been down to that.
The taste of the latte did get better as the drink went along with the sweetness coming through more than it did initially. While it didn't taste as much like pumpkin as Starbucks' option, it still had a pleasant taste. Once you got down to the bottom of the coffee, however, the was quite a bit of sediment at the bottom, which didn't make for the most pleasant end to the drink.
I'd put this one on the same level at Starbucks. For the price (£3.20), the taste isn't amazing and, while it is the second cheapest on the list, the spice mixture on top and the sediment left at the end was just a bit too bitter for my liking.
Score: 3/5
Greggs
Greggs got in there first with their Pumpkin Spice Latte this year and, if I'm honest, I was pleasantly surprised. At £2.30 it's the cheapest on the list and I'd go as fair to say it's the best out of the four. While my latte didn't come topped with spice mix like the others, this didn't really take away anything from it at all - I still got the lovely, autumnal smell when I opened the lid.
Similarly to Coffee #1's PSL option, Greggs has managed to get the warmth of the spice flavour without any of the bitterness that Pret and Starbucks had in theirs. It has a gentle sweetness that isn't too sickly and, at £2.30, I think it's a bargain. My one criticism would be that it was slightly weaker tasting than the other options, but only by a little bit. If you want a nice, warming autumnal drink without having to fork out too much, Greggs' Pumpkin Spice Latte is definitely one of the best options out of the chains at the moment.
Score: 4/5
Verdict
I've scored Greggs and Coffee #1 the same but for different reasons - while Greggs' option was great value for money, it was a little bit weaker than the other options on the list, but, as nice as Coffee #1's PSL was, £3.50 for a regular coffee was still a little on the pricier side for me.
Both, however, beat out Starbucks, which didn't quite live up to the £4 I paid for it, and they also both tasted better than Pret's PSL. For sheer value for money, I'd say that Greggs is the best out of the four chains - it was tasty, a good size, and nearly half the price of what the original Starbucks PSL cost.
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