This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Jordyn Centerwall. Find her on Instagram at @jordyncenterwall. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
We smell it before we see it hit our social media advertisements. PSLs, or pumpkin spice lattes, roll in each year like specters haunting our timelines, and they seem to get more and more gaudy in drink combination each year. Don’t fret though! If you also shun away from the craze that overtakes coffee shops and seasonal marketing each year, there are plenty of pumpkin spice alternatives you can use to kick off autumn.
My personal aversion to the beverage-flavor combo started the one fall I worked at a smoothie shop in high school. I have distinct memories of when the pumpkin spice puree rolled in. It was thick, scoop-able, and oh-so-strong smelling. I’m getting a headache just thinking about it. Pumpkin muffins though, those are my jam. Wherever you fall on the pro or anti pumpkin spice spectrum, there are plenty of other festive flavor variations that you can try to usher in the new season. Read on for some inspiration!
What are PSLs?
You’d have to be seriously disconnected from popular culture not to have heard of pumpkin spice lattes in the last twenty-plus years since Starbucks introduced the beverage that has become ubiquitous with the fall season. That’s right, PSLs turned twenty the previous fall. But what goes into this iconic flavor?
Pumpkin spice lattes incorporate the classic flavors of pumpkin pie with milk and espresso. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove all take center stage alongside the pumpkin flavor. Starbucks and other coffee companies typically top the drink with whipped cream or pumpkin-flavored cold foam—if the latte is iced—along with pumpkin pie seasoning on top.
Love it or hate it, I don’t judge…much. But as someone who doesn’t feel an affinity to a flavor I’d rather chew than drink, here are some of my favorite pumpkin spice alternatives to bring your lattes, cocktails, and other beverages into the fall season.
Cinnamon Dolce Latte
Now, I may not join in with the PSL love, but I do love the fall season and all the flavors it brings. I tend to make most of my coffee at home, but if I do get a fun beverage from Starbucks when the leaves start changing colors, it will always be a Cinnamon Dolce Latte.
The best part about this (and most of these other pumpkin spice alternatives): you can make them at home. One of my rituals for the last year has been to learn to make my own coffee syrups. Vanilla is my ole’ faithful, but I’ve also dabbled in mint, regular simple syrup, and of course the Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce syrup. And it’s stupidly easy to do.
According to Starbucks’ recipe catalog, to make the Cinnamon Dolce Syrup at home you only need five ingredients and a saucepan. Combining water, brown sugar, cane sugar, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla extract gets you your own syrup at home in about ten minutes that you can then add to coffee and your creamer (non-dairy in my case) of choice.
Chai Espresso Martini (Half Baked Harvest)
This recipe comes from Half Baked Harvest, and I will be trying it ASAP. I’m a sucker for an espresso martini, but one that includes a chai honey syrup, and is dairy-free via using coconut milk, sign me up. Other fun espresso martini fall flavors I’ve seen and want to try include chocolate orange, hazelnut, and mocha variations.
Apple Cider
In college, my roommates and I had a giant pack of apple cider packets courtesy of Costco which I’m pretty sure I consumed the majority of. Our brand of choice was Alpine, but during this season every store has its own variations of either bottled cider or cider packets. There is nothing that screams fall as much as heating the kettle and curling up with a warm cup of cider while watching When Harry Met Sally.
Hot Chocolate
In my humble opinion, hot chocolate is more of a winter beverage. But, it definitely makes the list of pumpkin spice alternatives. The only requirement: you MUST add marshmallows. I’m extremely partial to these vegan ones made out of tapioca (yay no animal hooves). Although I will admit, there is something so delicious about when the marshmallows soften and start to seep into the warm chocolate mixture that doesn’t always happen with the vegan ones.
I’m not picky when it comes to hot chocolate. I’m a firm believer that dark chocolate yields better flavor than milk chocolate, but that’s not to say I’d turn down a cup of Swiss Miss. If you stand with me and are feeling extra fancy, be sure to check out our article on how to make French hot chocolate.
Chai Latte
I must admit, I am a recent chai convert. And I wish I would have added this perfectly spiced beverage to my repertoire sooner. I largely started to drink chai as an alternative to coffee after detoxing from caffeinated beverages for about a month when I was home for the holidays. It was honestly one of the best resets ever. I had more energy and didn’t get that 4 pm crash that was typical on most days. Chai and matcha lattes became my attempt to allow myself a warm “fun” beverage without the instant caffeine rush that comes with an espresso latte. I normally use chai concentrate when I make my bevies at home, but here is a recipe from goodFood that I want to try soon to make chai from scratch.
Ginger Apple Moscow Mule
Again from Half Baked Harvest, this fall take on a Moscow Mule combines all the best fall flavors–apple cider, cinnamon, pomegranate–with the spice of ginger. Moscow Mules were one of the first cocktails I learned how to make, and there’s something about their simplicity that has made them my go-to for years. The only thing I would maybe leave out from this particular recipe would be the apple butter just for consistency’s sake, but this mule is definitely a must-make this fall.
Hot Toddy
The first time I heard what a hot toddy was I was working at a restaurant and I pretended I knew what my table had requested. Cut to me scampering over to the bar as soon as I’d taken the rest of the drink orders hoping that the lovely bartenders would understand what they’d asked for. This cocktail reminds me a lot of apple cider but with more bite to it courtesy of the rum or bourbon plus the apple cider vinegar that gives it the apple flavor. The vinegar is optional, but I’d argue it’s a must when ringing in the cooler fall weather.
Mulled Wine
I tried mulled wine with my friends during my senior year of college, and while it didn’t change anyone’s life, it definitely opened us up to the idea that wine could be more than just a chilled occasion. There are lots of kits floating around out there that make it really easy to heat your red wine of choice with the spices at home, but you can also assemble the spices on your own like with this recipe from GimmeSomeOven.
Do you have any favorites on this list? Are there any we missed? Drop a comment down below!
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