A pumpkin spice latte is one of the best ways to embrace fall. I have noticed most people, including myself, get their pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. Although Starbucks makes a great latte, there are so many better, cost-friendly pumpkin spice lattes that you can opt to buy from small businesses in town. I visited three local coffee shops in Westport and placed an order for a hot pumpkin spice latte with oat milk. Here is what I thought of each of their lattes in comparison to Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte…
Terrain 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Terrain’s latte has a nice balance of sweetness. Their coffee has a light roasted flavor, and a great nutty, vanilla essence. In terms of pumpkin spice flavoring, the most prominent spice was ginger, which actually worked really well in this drink. The barista, Jaiquan, said that he suggests their white chocolate pumpkin spice latte. It tasted expensive even though it was only $5.50, which is less than Starbucks’ price. This was the best pumpkin spice latte I have ever had. — Alexis Jacobs '26
Overall, it tasted much better than Starbucks.
Aux Deluxe 🎃🎃🎃🎃
There is a subtlety to the Aux Deluxe pumpkin spice latte. The earthy fall flavors are present, but the pumpkin spice takes a backseat to the overall taste profile. The pumpkin spices are mostly present in the after taste. That being said, I enjoyed this latte’s earthy flavor. “It is a perfect fall afternoon drink,” the Au Deluxe barista said. He then added that he prefers to drink their hot chai drink for fall. Lastly, this latte tasted expensive and well crafted, which is shown in their price of $6.68, which is pricier than Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte. Nonetheless, I prefer this latte over Starbucks.
The Porch 🎃
The Porch’s pumpkin spice latte was underwhelming. It was watered down, leaving a weak coffee flavor. In addition, the proportion of coffee to oat milk was off. There was barely any oatmilk at all. They had a nice attempt of a strong pumpkin spice flavor, but they put so much spice on top that it was never properly mixed , and it stayed as powdery clumps throughout the drink. The strongest flavor in this drink was clover. The clover flavoring was truly overpowering. The barista seemed lost when making this latte. While making it, she even had to ask me if lattes have espresso in them. I love The Porch for their food, but I would skip the pumpkin spice latte. This latte cost $5.65 and yet it did not taste fitting for this price point. All in all, I would not choose this latte over a Starbucks latte.
![Violinists Isabel Jo ’26 [left] and Kendra Cheng ’25 [right] performing a duet while being accompanied by the orchestra.](https://www.inklingsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-9.06.25 AM.png)
