By Rachel Hergett EBS COLUMNIST
I love fall. I love the crisp air. I love the return of the rain after the long hot summer. I love watching leaves change color. I love people who let me jump in their leaf piles (hint, hint).
I do not love pumpkin spice lattes.
Starbucks introduced the pumpkin spice latte in 2003, and in the last 20 years, the drink has been elevated to icon status (as much as a latte can be an icon). The PSL is the coffee giant’s most popular seasonal drink. Aside from an IPA, what other drink is readily known by its acronym?
According to Starbucks, the pumpkin spice latte “combines Starbucks Signature Espresso and steamed milk with the celebrated flavor combination of real pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.” It is available hot, iced or blended and topped with whipped cream and more warming pumpkin pie spices.
I have had more PSLs in researching this column than I have probably consumed in the rest of my life. Still, when the king of the PSL puts out the call to queue for fall drinks, I get in line.
Why? Well, because even though I think adding pumpkin and spice to a latte doesn’t make it better, I have recently been introduced to cold foam. And adding pumpkin cream cold foam to cold brew coffee does make it better—a hell of a lot better.
Cold foam, for the uninitiated, is simply a frothed blend of milk (or some combination of milk and cream) with sweetener. It sits on top of the drink like hot foam on a latte, or can be blended in to the drink. If you are a do-it-yourself-er, Starbucks’ website has a recipe for the Sweet Pumpkin Spice Syrup that is the base of its cold foam.
Throughout September I settled into somewhat of a routine, treating myself to a giant Starbucks cold brew every week. Then a friend raved about the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte, the new starting player in Starbucks’ fall lineup. The concoction was based on a popular secret fall menu customization. I had to try it. I loved the way the pie flavors blended with chai flavors. I loved the sweet spice on spice goopy madness. I didn’t look at the calories—this is spooky season, but that information seemed a bit too scary.
I was happy, settling into a basic fall existence with oversized sweaters and pumpkin spice everything but lattes, when an Explore Big Sky editor questioned my coffee choices. There has to be something better than Starbucks for fancy fall beverages, he said.
I asked around. I was writing this piece in Studio Coffee Roasters in Bozeman, which makes its own pumpkin spice blend. I even ordered a PSL. I wasn’t satisfied.
Caliber Coffee Roasters in Big Sky busts out the flavorings when the weather shifts, among them, pumpkin spice, brown sugar cinnamon and caramel apple pie. Most coffee houses and huts have similar fall options. It wasn’t enough. I needed cold foam.
Finally, I remembered Mazevo Coffee. The Montana-based roasting company was started out of a Billings garage in 2016. There are now four Billings locations, one in Four Corners and two more slated for Laurel and Missoula. And Mazevo’s menu is filled with specialty drinks, from smoothies to signature seasonal flavors.
Would it be able to sway me from Starbucks? A side-by-side comparison was in order. I ordered the pumpkin spice cold brew from each place and added the Starbucks Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte and the Apple Pie Oat Milk Latte from Mazevo, on the recommendation of the barista.
I do not recommend such a comparison. The chai was candy next to the subtle apple pie flavor of the Mazevo latte. The Mazevo cold foam was creamier, the coffee richer. To say I’m swayed is an understatement. There was really no competition.
Maybe I’ll see if Mazevo can change my opinion on the PSL next. ‘Tis the season.
