As soon as October hits, Starbucks rolls out its much anticipated pumpkin spice lattes. Outside of Starbucks, smaller coffee shops are rarely mentioned when it comes to these kinds of drinks. Not surprisingly, they have a great deal to bring to the table.
“We love the fall and make lots of festive fall drinks to compliment the changing of the season,” Beth Furton, owner of Daily Rise Expresso in Ogden, said. “Some of our most popular drinks are our signature eggnog lattes, eggnog mochas and caramel apple cider.”
These drinks provide a way for local coffee shops to show their spirit of the season.
“We have been making pumpkin everything from muffins to cookies,” Nick Morris, owner of Kaffe Mercantile in Ogden, said. “We’ve also been venturing into vegan baking, which has been really fun to combine with pumpkin.”
Other shops think outside the box by deciding to add a twist to a traditional seasonal drink.
“We are serving our signature pumpkin pie fritalia and a maple vanilla latte,” Carrie Mongold, head of marketing at Beans & Brews, said.
Cold drinks can easily be overlooked during the holiday season, but a few shops are doing what they can to not leave these cold beverages out of the mix.
“We are doing a pumpkin spice flavored cold brew,” Benjamin Martinez, worker at City Grounds SLC, said.
Coffee shops recognize that people are looking for seasonal drinks by the time October rolls around. That’s why most shops have seasonal drinks on their menu. They know that this time of year stirs certain cravings in the coffee drinking public.
“Last week, we developed our own pumpkin latte using real pumpkin instead of flavored syrups, and it is amazing,” Morris said.
Coffee shops are not only serving seasonal drinks, but they’re giving back too.
“We also participate in the Festive Follies Boutique at the beginning of November, in which we donate 100% of our sales to the St. James preschool,” Furton said.
