As fall foliage in Ithaca reaches its peak, Lifestyle and Multimedia contributors explored four of Ithaca’s and Cornell’s top coffee spots to try an iconic fall favorite: the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The other day, after seeing dead leaves on the ground and feeling a slight breeze on my shoulders, I smelled it. Notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves mixed with the comforting and creamy flavors of coffee and milk. My legs took me to the nearest coffee shop to buy my favorite fall drink: the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The official start of commercialized fall is when you spot the first sign for The Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. Fall flavors like pumpkin, ginger, clove and cinnamon are baked into warm breads, cookies and various Trader Joes special edition snacks, and sprinkled in coffee for a few months during the year. The pumpkin spice latte itself seems to be a bit overdone, but cafes are becoming more creative with their fun fall drinks.
On Cornell’s campus, the school-run cafes are offering Starbucks’s PSL, but the few independent cafes — aka Gimme and Café Jennie — have come up with different options. Although I don’t normally choose sweet drinks, I do enjoy the warmth of fall flavors and switching up my normal latte order. I spent a little too much money, but hopefully my taste tests will help others find their new fall favorite.