As the days start to cool and October’s winds begin to bring the leaves down to street level, nothing feels cozier than snuggling up with a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate. Wait, hot chocolate? Shouldn’t I be saying pumpkin spice latte, which has become the quintessential fall beverage? It seems over the past decade or so that food purveyors have gone crazy about everything pumpkin, and maybe we have Starbucks to credit for that. If you’ve noticed an extra-long line in your local Starbucks lately, it’s probably thanks to its seasonal pumpkiny treat.
I don’t even like pumpkin, but for some reason, I find is near sacrilegious not to stop by some coffee shop and order a PSL.
Celebrate the season at home by making your own. It’s really quite simple, taking just a few ingredients to bring the flavors made by your favorite barista into your kitchen.
Start with a bold coffee — lattes in coffee shops usually have espresso added to them. If you want an iced latte, save your leftover morning coffee to make an iced latte when you get home. It should be good and strong by then.
Sweeten your latte with whatever sugar you like — white sugar, brown sugar, simple syrup, maple syrup, honey, stevia. It’s up to you. I like maple syrup myself. There’s something about maple and pumpkin that go together like sugar and spice, a natural marriage of fall flavors.