With the leaves changing, boots becoming a staple to many students’ outfits and the brisk Syracuse wind picking up, it can only mean one thing: It is pumpkin spice latte season.

I recently became a coffee drinker because of my summer internship, so I was thrilled to find the best fall drink this campus has to offer. I went to the three best — or at least the most-talked-about — campus spots and compared their caffeinated autumn specials. I discovered that pumpkin spice lattes might not be for me, but for those of you looking to find your favorite one, read below to see which one won me over.

Café Kubal

As the newest coffee shop near Marshall Street, Kubal’s best part is its short lines. But its coffee is a close second. It had a very natural flavor, most likely because the baristas used a honey sugar syrup to sweeten the coffee. The pumpkin spice and syrup mixed together into a nearly perfect flavor. The drink was served in a large, porcelain white coffee mug, which added to the cozy atmosphere of the cafe.

Kubal also boasts great customer service. If you have any special requests, the baristas are more than willing to help. I suggest asking for minimal foam because I had a stylish foam mustache by the time I finished my drink.

Snack on a pastry while doing some homework between classes or take your drink to go and shop around in the thrift shop next door. If you tweet or post to Facebook about your experience at Kubal with the hashtag #FallforKubal, you will receive 20 percent off special fall items.

Starbucks

I have to admit my bias: Starbucks is my go-to coffee shop and I am a proud Gold Card member. My favorite drink is a skinny vanilla latte, so naturally, I thought I would enjoy the pumpkin spice latte. Boy, was I wrong.

I love the taste of coffee, but this drink had a strong and strange aftertaste. It was hard to drink the entire latte because of its bitter flavor. It is possible that the latte needed some sweetener, but it was definitely not my favorite.

Everyone knows the wait at Starbucks depends on the time of day, so getting coffee there can be a gamble — I stopped in before class and ended up being late. As for the service, the baristas were smiley, but did not make my experience any better or worse.

I am probably in the minority with this opinion, but I would not suggest going to Starbucks to get your pumpkin fix.

Dunkin’ Donuts

My least favorite pumpkin-flavored coffee drink was from Dunkin’. Usually, I enjoy cold coffee drinks more than hot ones, but the Coolatta was not enjoyable.

The pumpkin flavor was not distinguishable. The flavoring was too sugary and masked the coffee taste. Overall, the drink was noticeably artificial. When I tried it again as a hot beverage, the experience was very similar. The beverage tasted stale.

One thing worth noting was that I was able to get the drinks with my SUpercard money because it was in the Schine Student Center. The Dunkin’ ladies in Schine are sometimes a little cold, but if you approach them with a smile, your experience can be a little better. Similar to Starbucks, it depends on when you hit the Dunkin’ stand to avoid long waits.

Published on October 21, 2013 at 1:22 am

Contact Nicole: nlfisher@syr.edu