Fall has been my favorite season for as long as I can remember, and of course, that means I’m obsessed with Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. However, it’s easy to grow sick of it when I’m constantly chasing that pumpkin essence, and it drains my bank account quickly. Here is a list of my favorite places to get fall flavored drinks that won’t cost nearly as much.
Fat Straws is a boba tea shop on Midway Road and Park Boulevard. They have a wide variety of drinks including milk teas, fruit teas, smoothies, slushes, coffees and milkshakes. They also sell multiple flavors of mochi doughnuts.
Brown Sugar Pumpkin Milk Tea:
An Autumn twist on Fat Straws’ original Brown Sugar Milk Tea is the Brown Sugar Pumpkin Milk tea. The pumpkin flavor is most prominent, but the hints of brown sugar add a sweet spice to the drink. It tastes almost exactly like Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte and is incredibly sweet and delicious.
Pumpkin Oreo Shake:
This is a simple Oreo milkshake drizzled with pumpkin sauce. It’s an interesting mix of flavors that I never expected to go together, but they complement each other well. As a huge fan of both Oreo milkshakes and pumpkin spice lattes, both of these flavors combined was amazing. This drink will not disappoint fans of either flavors.
The Nutrition Vibe is a fitness drink shop located by Hebron Parkway and Huffines Boulevard, known for being a positive and community-oriented company. They sell energy drinks with boosters customizable to your personal health goals and many flavors of healthy protein shakes.
Apple Pie Shake: The Apple Pie Shake is an apple-flavored protein shake. They line the cup with caramel drizzle and cinnamon powder and top it with whipped cream and graham cracker crumbs. Despite how the toppings make it sound, the shake is still a healthy option since it is low calorie, low carb and high protein. The drink is sweet and has a refreshing apple flavor to it, but the toppings truly bring out the pie flavors, making it an all-around delicious drink.
Autumn Punch energy drink: This drink is a mix of fruit punch, pineapple and coconut; the boldest of flavors being fruit punch, with an aftertaste filled with hints of pineapple and coconut. The Nutrition Vibe offers different boosters to add to the energy drinks, my personal favorite being the “liftoff,” which adds extra energy and boosts mental focus. It pairs perfectly with the Autumn punch because it not only tastes amazing, but makes you feel amazing.
Tous Les Jours is a Korean bakery on Highway 121 and Hebron Parkway. They sell a variety of Korean desserts, pastries and breads. They also have a broad selection of coffees, teas and smoothies.
Hot Tiramisu Latte: The Tiramisu Latte is the first drink I ever tried from Tous Les Jours. It’s a vanilla latte topped with a cream cheese foam and sprinkled with cocoa powder. The coffee itself is sweet and smooth, and the cream cheese topping complements the sweetness and adds creamy texture. The cocoa powder adds a hint of bitterness that balances out the sweet flavor. Even though the drink is good iced, the hot version helps the flavors mix better, and is perfect to warm you up in the chilly fall weather.
Iced Pumpkin Pie Macchiato: This is Tous Les Jours’ version of the well-loved Pumpkin Spice Latte. It is a pumpkin-flavored macchiato topped with pumpkin spice powder. The coffee is incredibly sweet, refreshing and delicious. The powder topping adds a spicy flavor to the coffee, creating a harmony between the sweet and spicy flavors.
