by Katie Nalle
Although Starbucks does release new specialty drinks and food items throughout the year, there is no other menu that causes quite as much anticipation as the brand’s fall menu. Their Pumpkin Spice Latte is infamous for its limited availability; on the other hand, it brings in business from those who await the moment that this seasonal fall flavor arrives every year.
It is no surprise that the ever-popular Pumpkin Spice Latte has been brought back this year, along with all of the usual seasonal snack and pastry offerings. These options include the pumpkin cream cheese muffin, pumpkin scone, and the pumpkin and pepita loaf. Although we’re glad to see these items return to the menu, they are nothing new to Starbucks customers. The owl cake pop, however, is the one new edition to the fall food menu this year. This new cake pop features vanilla cake and buttercream and is adorned with a super cute purple owl design. The new owl cake pop joins the unicorn, cookies and cream, birthday cake, and chocolate cake pop on the menu.
Along with this new item on the menu, Starbucks has introduced a new syrup that can be added to any drink as a customization. The Apple Brown Sugar syrup is featured in the new Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato and the Frappuccino version of the drink. The coffee company seems to have learned from its past successes in featuring alternative milk options as the default in its seasonal drinks. We saw this last winter with the Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte and earlier this year with the Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso. This apple-y drink was available last fall but has since been reformulated. If you weren’t too pleased with it last year, it’s definitely worth giving it another try. If you have dietary restrictions, the good news is that the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato is also completely vegan so you won’t be missing out.
First introduced as a part of the fall menu in 2019, the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is a fan favorite and has been brought back as a part of the seasonal menu every year since. This drink features the classic Starbucks Cold Brew topped with pumpkin cold foam. Like the Apple Brown Sugar syrup, the pumpkin cold foam can also be added to any drink as a customization.
On grocery store shelves, Starbucks has also released a new Pumpkin Cream Nitro Cold Brew and Salted Caramel flavored coffee beans. These two new items will join the Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Concentrate, Pumpkin Spice Creamer, and the Starbucks Fall Blend K-Cups we have seen in previous years for purchase in stores.
Which drink are you looking forward to trying the most? We recommend adding the pumpkin cream cold foam to Starbucks’ Chai Latte for a creamy fall drink that’s just the right combination of sweet and spicy.