It might still feel like summer here in Boston, but pumpkin spice latte season is upon us.
As a former professional pastry chef and all-around sweets fan, I have a confession: I've never had a pumpkin spice latte. I’m a woman of habit, and I rotate between two coffee orders year round: a hot black coffee or a chai latte. But this year I decided to see what I’ve been missing (also because my editor made me), so I stopped at three major chains to try their versions of the pumpkin spice latte. Starbucks, Dunkin', and 7-Eleven made the cut.
Big picture—each latte contains a fall spice blend with flavors like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, and anise, but none of them taste particularly pumpkin-like. As someone who loves pumpkin-flavored food (pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin waffles), I hoped for more actual pumpkin flavor.
Now let’s talk about each latte fared individually:
