It’s October, and I am officially being bombarded by pumpkin spice everything. The most popular pumpkin treat of fall seems to be, as always, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. As a total coffee addict, I know it’s fall when my daily dash for coffee in-between classes is a little bit colder, and the smell of cinnamon a little bit stronger.
I set out around Waterloo this past week to try every PSL I could get my hands on. After sipping on pumpkin spice while I studied all week, I ranked Waterloo’s pumpkin spice drinks from best to worst. Post total-PSL-overdose, here is my definitive ranking of the best Pumpkin Spice Lattes you can get from Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, and Second Cup.
1. Balzac’s Coffee Roasters: Café Harvest
Balzac’s Café Harvest is their variation of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, made with “local pumpkin purée, spices, & Canadian maple syrup.” You can distinctly taste the real pumpkin flavour, without the excessive sweetness most flavoured syrups bring. By far the best Pumpkin Spice Latte style drink you can get: perfectly creamy, not too sweet, and with real pumpkin flavour.
2. Second Cup: Pumpkin Spice Latte
Second best is Second Cup. Their pumpkin Spice Latte was perfectly creamy, and again a little less sweet. Bonus- the whipped cream is delicious. Always have some fun and say yes when they ask if you want to top off your PSL with some whipped cream and cinnamon.
3. Starbucks: the OG PSL
Since Starbuck’s release of the first Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, the drink has become a seasonal favourite. The original drink was pretty standard, with a perfect sweet pumpkin spice flavour. However, it was much less creamy than Balzac’s and Second Cup so lost some points.
4. Tim Hortons: Pumpkin Spice Latte
Timmies, why did you let me down with this one? Sad to say, trying the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Tim Hortons was not a pleasant experience. Excessively watery, this drink tasted like it was confused if it was supposed to be a tea or a latte. One positive? The pumpkin spice muffin (more like a cupcake) that I tried was 10/10, absolutely delicious.
Check out these PSL’s and see what you think. All either on campus, or just a 2 minute walk away, it isn’t too hard to get your pumpkin spice fix while October is still here.