Get your cardigans ready, your messy buns revving and your coffees hot.
Summer is still going strong and Starbucks has already released a new pumpkin-spiced drink. Most would say the earlier the better — that it’s so exciting to be back into the fall season and comfy with a warm cup of joe. Others, including me, would say it’s too early to start off fall and also too early for pumpkin spice time. But we all know when pumpkin spice comes out, everything else follows suit.
Autumn doesn’t start in August, so why should we be commencing it so early?
Pumpkin cream cold brew released Aug. 27. This is one of the first pumpkin-spiced additions to be released after 2003, when Starbucks started to introduce pumpkin spice as a limited time flavor.
It’s easy to think Starbucks would have released more pumpkin-spiced drinks earlier, especially when it comes down to marketing. Yet, we have waited 16 years to be blessed with another one of Starbucks’ godsends.
Now, autumn begins Sept. 23. The pumpkin-spiced flavor set was released a month before fall even began. Saying the drink released too early is an understatement.
To inspect the new drink at Starbucks, I hustled through Moscow traffic to get the inside scoop on this pumpkin cream cold brew.
The drink is made with regular iced cold brew, two pumps of vanilla and a pumpkin cream topping with cinnamon on top, according to Starbucks’ website. I thought the drink was going to be a lot sweeter because of the pumpkin cream on top. Once you mix it, the flavors balance out. The drink was delicious and I would rate it four stars in taste. I do wish it had more of a pumpkin taste though.
The presentation was aesthetically pleasing — the cinnamon on top, the the cream slowly mixed with the coffee, a solid five stars. The cup also did not have a straw and had a nitro lid. It enhanced the drink’s experience because the cream mixed with the coffee as you tipped the cup.
I would give this drink four stars overall because of the price. I believe Starbucks drinks are overpriced, especially limited-edition items. All in all, a very delicious drink I would recommend giving a try.
Fall is coming and there is little we can do about it. Starbucks has declared the pumpkin-spiced season gets an early start, which can be taken either positively or negatively. The only question people ask about Starbucks’ new drink addition is why it took them so long in the first place to come out with another pumpkin spiced drink.
If you are willing to get through Moscow’s traffic, getting the new Starbucks drink is worth every penny. Just try not to become addicted, since it’s just that good.
Keep drinking your cup of joe and stay comfy, because it’s already that time of the year.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce