The Pumpkin Spiced Invasion

Right now, as I write this piece, pumpkins lay silent, resting their vines, preparing for the coming of the fall patch season. Soon, children will arrive in buses and station wagons to eagerly pick the perfect pumpkin for carving and displaying on their front porches. Autumn brings rich colors to our green and brown landscape, cooler weather for outside activity, and of course, the “pumpkin” latte.

Thanks to the corporate coffee spiritual guides at Starbucks, local coffee shops (and just about everyone else) are preparing to crank out the most popular seasonal coffee beverage of all time. Whether or not we like it, the pumpkin latte is going to consume café menus for the next two months or so. These drinks are so popular that there are cafes that keep them on the menu all year long.

So what do you need to know about pumpkin lattes? Well, there is a lot to consider. There are a variety of ways to make one. Commonly, pumpkin spice lattes, also known as a PSL at The Bucks, are loaded with a cinnamon spiced syrup, sweetened to taste like the innards of a pumpkin pie. After all, pumpkin has virtually no flavor; it needs some love.

Several coffee shops in Wichita have stepped up their pumpkin lattes and are worth trying. If you have to play the game and give customers what they want, you might as well make it awesome. Sunflower Espresso, the cute little red school bus/mobile espresso bar, makes a delicious “Pumpkin Pie Latte”. And our disco and unicorn loving friends at Espresso to Go Go create their own sauce for their crafty seasonal pumpkin latte, but only offer it in short bursts throughout the season (watch their Facebook page for details).

At Reverie Coffee Roasters, we call it the “Real Pumpkin Latte”. It’s our take on the sweetened seasonal beverage but made with a little less sugar and a lot more love. Our crew makes a blend of your typical pumpkin pie spices, (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ground ginger & allspice), marry it to real pumpkin puree, sweetened with 100% real maple syrup. It’s a beverage worthy of both cultured specialty coffee shop purveyors and your seasonal drink lovers.

So get ready for the pumpkin spiced everything wave to hit Wichita soon. Reverie rolls out its seasonal drink on Friday, September 21^st, and you can enjoy it through the weekend of Thanksgiving. That’s 66 days of sweetness.