Fall is here, and that means time to watch the leaves on the trees change while nestled up in warm blankets and a pumpkin spice latte in hand. Many different coffee chains offer the basic drink known as the “pumpkin spice latte,” but which one is the best? 

I went out and tried the pumpkin spice latte from 4 different coffeeshops: Starbucks, Scooters, the Roast, and Aromas. I went to two corporate businesses, and two locals to get a range of variety.  

My first stop was Starbucks. Starbucks is the most convenient, because of the popularity, they happen to have one at every corner in Omaha. When I first held the warm cup in my hand and smelled the latte through the cup, the latte had a fragrance of freshly baked pumpkin bread it smelled delicious. 

The froth on top of the latte was thick and creamy and was very tasty. The actual coffee was too spiced for my liking. The amount of cinnamon overpowered the other flavors in the coffee and you could barely even taste the pumpkin. The drink was too sweet for my taste buds, and I could barely taste the pumpkin spice. The pumpkin spice was a slight after taste, it felt like almost an afterthought. 

Next stop was Scooters to try their, pumpkin caramelicious latte. When I grasped the lukewarm cup with a smiley face on it to smell it, it didn’t have that key pumpkin smell like Starbucks’s did. The froth on top wasn’t as creamy and thick as Starbucks, but it was still very milky and fresh.  

The coffee tasted higher-quality than Starbucks. Scooters had created a latte with complimenting flavors including the caramel with the pumpkin, without making the drink overwhelmingly sweet and spiced like Starbucks. 

Third stop was a local coffee shop called, “Roast,” located in Askarben. The overall vibe of roast was serene. The toasty cup smelled like cinnamon and pumpkin spice swirled together and the scent was quite fulfilling.  

The texture of the froth was absolutely perfect, and the milk was like velvet. The flavors worked perfectly together. The actual pumpkin flavors were more present than in the other latte’s, which is a positive, because most lattes aren’t as strongly pumpkin flavored and tends to be more cinnamon forward.    

The last drink I tried was from a local coffee shop called “Aromas,” located in Benson, Downtown, and Highlander. This coffee shops uses the brand, Hardy’s Coffee Company for all their drinks. I continued the trend getting a pumpkin spice latte. Aromas pumpkin spice latte was beyond compare to the other coffee chains. 

Aromas used homemade pumpkin spice flavoring by creating a syrup made with real pumpkin puree. The taste of this latte was the perfect amount of pumpkin, because it was the natual flavor of the pumpkin. You can really taste the authenticity of the flavors, especially if you have tried artificial flavorings at other coffee shops.  

The latte smelled like lush warm pumpkin and cinnamon muffins. The latte had a rich pumpkin flavor. Overall, the latte was very well seasoned, because most of the lattes I tried were overpowered with cinnamon, and this latte had the perfect balance of a true coffee essence and the perfect amount of nectarous pumpkin flavor. 

I would rate Aromas the best, Roast second, Scooters third, and Starbucks last. In my opinion, it is truly worth the splurge to buy a latte from a local café, because more thought and care goes into their drinks and you can physically taste the higher quality difference.