August 22, 2024
Provided Image/Rowhome Coffee
Coffeehouses and convenience stores across Philadelphia are starting to roll out their fall drinks, including the pumpkin spice latte. Above, Rowhome Coffee will bring back its house-made pumpkin syrup, made with real pumpkin, starting Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Fall may not officially start until Sunday, Sept. 22, but coffee shops and convenience stores across the Philly region are already rolling out a telltale sign of the season: the pumpkin spice latte.
The origins of pumpkin spice can be traced back as far as the 1700s, when the spice blend — usually a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves — was used by American bakers to flavor pumpkin pie. The modern PSL was successfully introduced by Starbucks in 2003 and has been a seasonal staple in cafes (and on Instagram feeds) ever since.
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For fall enthusiasts looking to kick off the season early, here is when and where to get a pumpkin spice latte in Philadelphia. Let us know if we forgot your favorite PSL, and the list will be updated as more info becomes available.
The convenience store chain released its pumpkin products, with the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Pumpkin Spice Coffee and Pumpkin Spice Latte, on Aug. 1. 7-Eleven even debuted a Pumpkin Spice Slurpee at select stores, but (thankfully?) Philly stores were not among them.
The Philly-based coffee roasting company will be selling a Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice latte at its cafe — located in Billy Penn Studios at 1516 N. 5th St. — starting Sunday, Sept. 1. The vegan, gluten-free drink is made with real spices, cane sugar and organic agave. It comes iced or hot, and can be made with medium, dark or decaf espresso. Bean2Bean will also have a Pumpkin Spice Frozen Cafe Au Lait, which consists of their cold brew concentrate frozen and blended with milk, sugar and organic pumpkin spice syrup.
The Old City cafe at 26 N. 3rd St. said it will start offering an assortment of pumpkin-flavored drinks in the "beginning of September."
The coffee chain is a little late on its pumpkin spice rollout this year. Last year, it released its fall menu of pumpkin lattes, coffees and flavor additions on Aug. 16, but that date has come and gone with no fall drinks. On Wednesday, Dunkin' posted on Instagram that the company is being "very patient" when it comes to pumpkin this year, with a cryptic caption hinting that the fall menu could be back on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Housed in a former auto repair shop at 1313 S. 3rd St., Herman's Coffee is bringing back its pumpkin pie latte this fall. The cafe is "not exactly sure when" they will start selling the drink because they are waiting for fresh pumpkins to become available.
Philly's coffee chain is now offering its seasonal pumpkin spice syrup that can be added to lattes, mochas and matcha drinks. La Colombe is also introducing the new Pumpkin Pie Chai Draft Latte, which is tea-based and made with cinnamon, cardamom and fresh ginger. The company is also selling its pumpkin spice draft latte in cans.
La Colombe is once again offering its pumpkin spice latte, as well as its new Pumpkin Pie Chai Draft Latte.
Beginning in October, Menagerie Coffee will sell 12-ounce hot pumpkin spice lattes and 16-ounce iced pumpkin spiced lattes. But, the "real seasonal star," according to the Menagerie team, will be the Honey Spiced Cortado. The drink features golden milk made from a mixture of oatmilk and steeped Ayurvedic spices like cinnamon, cardamon, turmeric, cracked black pepper and honey. The golden milk is combined with a double shot of espresso and honey, and served with a housemade ginger snap bite. The Honey Spiced Cortado is served hot or iced. Menagerie has locations at 18 S. 3rd St. in Old City, and its recently-opened cafe at 908 N. 3rd St. in Northern Liberties.
The PSL launches on Friday, Aug. 30, at the company's five Philly cafes. It consists of a house pumpkin syrup made using real pumpkin puree, with the choice of milk, espresso and pumpkin pie spice on top.
The "wooder ice" chain is now selling Pumpkin Cold Brew, Pumpkin Frozen Coffee and Pumpkin Concrete — a frozen custard treat. Since Rita's is seasonal, the pumpkin offerings will only be available until it closes for the fall on Sunday, Sept. 29.
Rita's is selling pumpkin cold brew and pumpkin frozen coffee through Sept. 29.
Starting "sometime mid-Sept.," the Rival Bros Coffee team said it will offer hot and iced pumpkin spice lattes made with local pumpkin butter, brown sugar, vanilla and house-blended pumpkin pie. Rival Bros has three shops in Philly, including locations at 2400 Lombard St. in Fitler Square, 1100 Tasker in South Philly and its newest spot at 3145 W. Jefferson St. in Brewerytown.
With locations at 2536 Pine St. and 2152 North Front St., Rowhome Coffee will bring back its house-made pumpkin syrup, made with real pumpkin, starting Wednesday, Sept. 18.
The highly anticipated Starbucks PSL made its 2024 debut on Thursday. The coffee chain's fall menu also includes Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, topped with pumpkin cream cold foam, and the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai, which returns for its second year. If pumpkin's not really your thing, Starbucks is also introducing the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai.
The Philly coffee roaster will begin offering a Maple Pumpkin Spice Latte on Sunday, Sept. 1. It's made with real maple syrup and pumpkin syrup that's made in house. Vibrant's cafe and bakery is located at 222 W. Rittenhouse Square.
Local fan-favorite convenience store Wawa has unveiled its fall products. Customers can enjoy hot, iced and frozen pumpkin spice beverages, including pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice iced macchiatos and pumpkin spice cheesecake smoothies.
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