Review: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

Starbucks brought back a seasonal favorite at the beginning of September... their Pumpkin Spice Latte. Like I do with most of their beverages I bought a Venti (or Large). I had never had it before, or at least I didn't remember having it before. I was in a nearby Starbucks with a friend of mine and we were having good conversation so I was able to take my time drinking it. I wanted to take some time now and give you my review of it.

Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte is a combination of their espresso, milk, whipped cream, and pumpkin pie spice. I'm not a big fan of hot coffee so usually I'll get my beverages cold, and I did the same here as well. So I was able to sit down and enjoy 20 ounces of a Starbucks beverage; good times. I'm assuming that I had it with nonfat milk... or at least I'd like to assume that. I was never asked what type of milk to include. The difference between nonfat milk and whole milk would have been 110 calories. The beverage is 400 calories with nonfat milk and whipped cream, 510 calories with whole milk. Either way I'll assume I consumed at least 400 calories that evening.

The beverage itself is okay. It's not something I need to go back and have everytime I go, even though it is a seasonal item. My favorites generally are the Caramel Macchiato and the Caramel Frappucino. I also recommend the iced chai tea... it is a wonderful iced tea. At a location near my job I usually get the iced vanilla latte because it's already sweetened. I've had it at other locations and it wasn't as sweet; perhaps that's how that location makes it? I'm not sure I want to know. Back to my review... the beverage is just okay. If I were a food critic I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. I can definitely taste the pumpkin pie spice. I guess I was expecting it to be a bit sweeter. Sure I can add sugar to it, but I prefer to use cane sugar... and in cold beverages it doesn't melt all that well. Perhaps if I had asked them to add some caramel to my drink then it would have been sweeter.

I'll also have to remember to ask for light ice the next time I order an iced beverage from there. I'm not saying all Starbucks do this, but in fast food places as a whole people tend to flood your cup with ice to limit the amount of actual beverage that's in the cup. Going forward either I'll get hot beverages more, or I'll just ask for light ice so I can enjoy the beverage more. If I'm in a situation like I was the night I tried it, my beverage would have been good and watered down from all the ice that was in there.

If I were to get a dessert with my beverage I probably would have gotten something like a rice crispy square, or a glazed donut. I wouldn't recommend anything chocolate with it as it might clash with the pumpkin pie spice. Overall, it's good to try it once if you've never tried it but in my opinion... if you miss out on it, you haven't missed too much.

For more information on the beverage, click here.