We Tried Every Fall Drink At Starbucks: Here’s Our Official Ranking

On the precipice of National Coffee Day, we began to realize that the king of coffee, Starbucks, had added a lot of new menu items to their fall coffee lineup. But the new additions extended beyond coffee as well. Ultimately, we knew we were going to have to try all the new fall drinks on the Starbucks menu, but in doing so we thought it was also time that we sized them up to the beloved classic flavors of Starbucks in autumn. 

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So, for this National Coffee Day we ranked the entire Starbucks fall drink menu so that you folk know what’s the best drink to pick up for your own little celebration. Here’s our official Sporked ranking.

Pecan Crunch Latte

To us, this latte is simply too weak in espresso flavor to be balanced with the super strong, super sweet flavor of the pecan syrup. Because lattes are mostly milk, it really diluted the flavor of the espresso to the point where I would be hard pressed to even say I could taste the coffee flavor in this latte with all of the syrup added. Plus, the pecan flavor is highly artificial. It’s not necessarily bad, but we won’t be ordering it again.

Rating:

4/10

Sporks

Iced Banana Bread Latte

The banana bread flavor is a brand new addition to Starbucks, so we were admittedly very excited to try it out. Lots of companies have tried to execute this flavor, and we were very curious as to whether or not Starbucks would be able to pull it off. And if you like the flavor of really strong, Laffy Taffy-style banana flavor then this is gonna be your new favorite drink… probably. But unfortunately for us, we found it too artificial and overpowering for the espresso. We still finished the drink, but we won’t be ordering it again. 

Rating:

5/10

Sporks

Pecan Cortado

The Pecan Cortado is a very balanced version of the pecan flavor that Starbucks offers in fall. Because it is a higher concentration of espresso and less steamed milk, it actually balances the aggressive sweetness and strength of the pecan flavor. Not only is the pecan complementary to the espresso flavor, but it feels distinctly autumnal without being pumpkin spice.

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Iced Banana Bread Chai

In the event that you were interested in trying the new banana bread flavor from Starbucks, we would highly recommend that you do it by means of their Iced Banana Bread Chai. The spiciness of the chai not only mitigates some of that artificial banana note, but the combination of the creamy, spicy gourmand flavors and the banana comes together in a way that actually doesn’t just taste like banana, but tastes like banana bread as it is intended to. For anyone as disappointed as we were in the latte version of this flavor, we were distinctly impressed by this one and recommend that you give it a shot.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha

Honestly, for this drink there’s nothing really to write home about. If you like the Starbucks’ matcha and want one only a subtle hint of pumpkin flavor, then this would be a great option for you. But overall, it’s not an overwhelmingly autumnal drink. 

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

The Pumpkin Cream Cold Crew was the first rendition of the pumpkin spice cold foam that we ever got, so it holds a special place in our hearts for that. But, due to the nature of Starbucks’ cold brew being so hit or miss, it’s hard to say that this drink is at the top of our list with so many other contenders this year. It’s good, but it’s not great. And if you don’t love cold brew, then you’re going to want to skip this one.

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Iced Chaider

We’ll be the first to admit that we weren’t really expecting this drink to be very good. The combination of strawberry açai and chai concentrate didn’t really sound like anything to write home about. But luckily for us, we were proven wrong. The drink actually comes together in a way that almost imitates an iced apple cider, because of the combination of the fruity flavors and the spiciness of the chai. And while it’s not exactly the same, it’s equally delicious. This is a drink that we would definitely recommend someone to try out if they’re not looking to get coffee during the fall season at Starbucks.

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Pumpkin Cream Chai

This is one of the better drinks in the fall collection to us because the inherent flavors of the chai blend themselves very nicely to complement the pumpkin spice. Plus, it actually wasn’t too sweet since there wasn’t a ton of added syrup to the chai base and most of the pumpkin flavor came through with the cream.

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

The PSL

At a certain point, you just have to give credit where credit is due. The inventors of Pumpkin Spice Lattes have to know what’s up, and all these 20 years later it’s still one of the best versions of a PSL out there. You can actually taste the coffee in each sip, and the pumpkin spice has a very natural flavor. There is still something to say about how the pumpkin spice flavor makes the coffee feel a bit greasy though.

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso

Without a doubt, this is our new favorite drink from the Starbucks fall menu. The bold espresso flavor comes through in a way that is unmatched by the PSL and is far more balanced than the cold brew. Plus, you get those deep, complex caramel-y flavors from the brown sugar syrup in the espresso base itself with the not at all overwhelming addition of pumpkin spice via the cold foam topping. It’s wonderfully balanced.

Rating:

10/10

Sporks