Pumpkin, spice and everything nice
The return of pumpkin spice flavored foods and drinks is anxiously awaited every year. The flavor seems to have become an autumn staple, like the leaves changing color or the weather getting cooler and crisper. It didn’t take long for businesses to catch on to the trend, dropping pumpkin-flavored products left and right. Now, it seems as if you could find anything in a pumpkin flavor.
If you’re a pumpkin spice fan, then you’re in luck. Read on for a list of pumpkin-flavored foods and where to get them – and we even tried a few for you.
Duck Donuts – Pumpkin Pie Donut
It was really good, although I felt that the pumpkin flavor could at times be very subtle. Granted, I am biased, since I’m a huge Duck Donuts fan, but I was a bit skeptical about how pumpkin-y the flavor would be. My worries were put at ease when I tried it – the frosting tasted like real pumpkin, which I really loved. It can be hard to find the authentic flavor sometimes. Topped with a vanilla drizzle and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, it did remind a good deal of actual pumpkin pie. Overall, I do recommend it, but it’s definitely on the mild end of pumpkin-flavored foods.
Starbucks – Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Loaf
The pumpkin loaf was great, like good old-fashioned pumpkin bread. The pumpkin spice latte was, of course, very good – no surprise there. I mean, honestly – when people think of pumpkin spice, what do they think of? Generally, it’s Starbucks. There’s a reason it’s on the list.
Dunkin’ Donuts – Pumpkin Macchiato (hot/iced), Pumpkin Spice Latte (hot/iced), Pumpkin Munchkins
All three items were disappointingly lacking in pumpkin flavor. It’s entirely possible that the flavor was there, but if that was the case, then it was so mild that I didn’t actually taste it at all, which just defeats the purpose of making something pumpkin-flavored. The iced pumpkin macchiato just tasted like a regular iced macchiato. The pumpkin munchkins, although they were orange and smelled like pumpkin spice, also lacked a pumpkin flavor. At this point, I began to see a theme, so I didn’t have very high hopes for the pumpkin spice latte. Unfortunately, I was right to lower my expectations. Once again, with the hot pumpkin spice latte, all I could taste was regular coffee, albeit with a bit of spice. Dunkin’ seems to have struck out this season.
Sweet Frog – Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt, Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Frozen Yogurt
Both flavors were very good. The pumpkin cheesecake, which is a swirl of the pumpkin and cheesecake flavors, lived up to my expectations and was my favorite of the two, although cheesecake was the dominant flavor. The pumpkin had a strong cinnamon spice flavor, but it didn’t taste like too much. Sometimes, while writing this, I felt a bit like Goldilocks – there’s not enough pumpkin in this, there’s too much pumpkin in that. To me, the pumpkin flavor was just right.
BGR (The Burger Joint) – Pumpkin Shake
Guess who’s back…back again! pic.twitter.com/Jb5KMfJYjc
— BGR Burger Joint (@BGRBurgerJoint) September 18, 2016
Okay, this shake knocked my socks off. It was really sweet, and it tasted fantastic, like pumpkin and a cinnamon spice blend. Honestly, I’ll probably go back for another one sometime soon (but maybe that’s just me).
Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to try everything on the list. We’re leaving these up to you – try one, all of them, or any number in between. Who knows – maybe you’ll find your new autumn favorite.
Subway – Pumpkin Spice Cookie
Krispy Kreme – Pumpkin Spice Cake Donut
ibou Coffee – Pumpkin Pie Latte, Pumpkin White Moc
McDonald’s – Pumpkin Spice Latte
Corner Bakery Cafe – Pumpkin Pound Cake
Einstein Bros Bagels – Pumpkin Latte (iced/hot/frozen), Pumpkin Muffin, Pumpkin Walnut Crunch Bagel, Pumpkin Bagel Shmear
Dairy Queen – Pumpkin Pie Blizzard
Happy pumpkin spice season!
Michelle Williams • Dec 20, 2016 at 4:22 PM
Wow! What a selection! You must be pumpkin-spiced out!