Pumpkin drinks are a staple of the fall experience, so when two big coffee chains, Starbucks and Dutch Bros take this fall treat on, how do they compare?
Starbucks
Starbucks rolled out its fall edition as early as August 22 with a range of pumpkin drinks such as lattes, fraps, creme fraps, and cold brews. Their pumpkin spice drinks sell about 20 million a year. I tried their various pumpkin drinks and I was surprised by the unique flavors.
The first drink I tried was the most popular, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. This latte was smooth and warm and the pumpkin flavor wasn’t too overbearing which complemented the drink nicely. Their Pumpkin Spice Creme Frappuccino was very sweet and creamy, however its sweetness and thickness is very similar to a milkshake rather than a classic frappuccino. Regarding wait time, Starbuck´s wait time on average was about 5-10 minutes the times I went, which does well compared to some other big chains.
Dutch Bros
Dutch Bros released their fall edition drinks on September 1. Dutch Bro´s fall menu is unique and comes with different varieties of their pumpkin drinks.
Dutch Bro´s Caramel Pumpkin Brulee was sweet with an overall stronger taste of caramel, however it did have strong hints of
pumpkin. Unlike its rival Starbucks who sticks to simply pumpkin flavor in their drinks, this drink focused on the combination of the two flavors rather than solely on pumpkin. So if you’re an iced coffee lover looking for something unique and tasty this drink is definitely for you.
The next drink is their Pumpkin Pie Frost with Whip. This drink is an actual decaffeinated milkshake, however you can request a caffeinated version which is what I did. Something interesting is how similar this looks and tastes to Starbucks’ Creme Pumpkin Frap. It was a creamy drink that actually tasted like a pumpkin pie in a cup. Regarding wait time, both times I went I waited about 15-25 minutes for a small order, and the line is known to often wrap around the parking lot. Although their wait times are noticeably longer, maybe it’s worth the wait.
