Every fall — wait, make that summer — Starbucks releases the juggernaut of its Pumpkin Spice Latte, aka the PSL. The ubiquitous brand introduced the uber popular beverage 20 years ago and claims it as its most popular seasonal drink of all time. That’s a lot of lattes coming from the megachain. Love it, hate it or confess to it as a guilty pleasure, the pumpkin spice latte is a cultural icon. And in typical Starbuck’s style, the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte comes super sweet.
Fortunately, there are plenty of local — and, yes, better — fall alternatives being brewed up by the local coffee shops of Colorado Springs. These seasonal drinks are generally less sweet and more balanced than the grande sugar-bombs, while still capturing the cozy, comforting flavors of fall.
Here are five of our favorite coffee shops and their standout seasonals. Enjoy them iced for those sunny days in the pumpkin patch or hot to warm you on those chilly day reminders that winter is on its way. All of these fall favorites are available now, but times vary for how long they’ll stay on the rotating menus.
Loyal Coffee
The Go-To: Oatmeal Cookie Latte
Loyal’s all-star Oatmeal Cookie Latte is a fan favorite that people dream of year-round. “We have people asking in the summertime when it’s coming back,” says Supervisor Cayla Woodworth. “It’s basically like eating an oatmeal cookie without the dough.” Make that a homemade cookie, still warm right out of the oven.
Loyal makes the syrup in-house, boiling down real oats and adding brown sugar, vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon. The latte comes standard with oat milk and its foam is topped with a house-blended sprinkle of brown sugar, powdered sugar and sea salt.
That sweet kiss comes through at first sip, but it’s perfectly balanced with a bold espresso backing. Our recommendation is to drink this one hot and dream of the holidays. You’ll be able to get the Oatmeal Cookie Latte into mid-December.
Don’t Miss This Too: Cardamom Latte
Loyal offers its housemade cardamom and allspice syrups year-round. The cardamom latte drinks a bit mellower than the Oatmeal Cookie Latte while offering a smooth, savory sweetness.
Find these drinks at Loyal Coffee’s downtown and Northgate locations.
Building Three Coffee
The Go-To: Sweet Potato Matcha Latte
Building Three’s approach to the harvest season is to offer four seasonal syrups, all made in house from organic ingredients. Our favorite is sweet potato. “We cook actual sweet potatoes and blend them up with all the spices and everything that goes into a pumpkin spice latte,” says Manager Lindsey Lujan. “But it’s a lot more subtle and a little bit more flavorful.”
You can’t go wrong with this sweet potato syrup. As a latte, it adds a light, subtle sweetness and stays coffee forward. But our favorite brew is an iced Sweet Potato Matcha that brings the syrup’s sweetness forward against the earthy tea. It’s a refreshingly bright sipper on a sunny autumn day.
Don’t Miss This Too: Ginger Spice Latte
If you’re a gingersnap cookie lover, this is your drink. “We use real ginger and cinnamon, and we have mangoes in that one,” Lujan says. “It kind of has a smoke flavor in it too.” Our recommendation is drink this one hot for all those cozy sweater weather feels.
Building Three’s sweet potato and ginger spice syrups — along with vanilla bourbon and salted caramel — will be available all the way until spring. And come December they will roll out the signature alpine syrup, made with real Douglas fir needles harvested in Black Forest — it’s Christmas in a cup.
Find them in the Old North End at Lincoln Center.
Dynamo Coffee Roasting Company
The Go-To: Beetlejuice
The east-side Dynamo Coffee remixes its specials each month, and October is creatively embracing the blend of Halloween and harvest time. The Beetlejuice is a fun and unique standout inspired by the movie character himself. “I wanted something earthy, dirty, colorful. I think the berries and jams and some of the elderflower bring that out,” says Barista Andrew Linder. “I like how it came out between the elderflower and the bitter blood orange too.”
It’s a mission accomplished in this dirty matcha that offers an earthy bittersweet edge. “If you like lavender matcha, you’re definitely going to enjoy the Beetlejuice. It’s in the same wheelhouse, but just zuzzed up way more.”
Don’t Miss This Too: The October Specials
“I just love everything spooky,” says Linder, who crafted the October specialty lineup. It’s a fun mix that also includes Rosemary’s Baby (with rosemary, rose and red lotus) and I Yam What I Squash, a sweet potato and marshmallow latte with a pumpkin spice soft top.
Find Dynamo Coffee Roasters on Tutt Boulevard near Powers and North Carefree.
Hold Fast Coffee Company
The Go-To: Pumpkin Pie Latte
Looking for that local PSL alternative? This is it. Sweet, smooth, creamy and balanced. It reminds me of Thanksgiving yams, the good kind. We recommend it hot.
“We do a really good balance of the sweetness of the pumpkin and the taste of the coffee,” says Barista Kenzie Underwood of Hold Fast’s most popular seasonal beverage. We concur.
You can savor this seasonal into early December when it will be replaced with winter specials.
Don’t Miss This Too: Salted Caramel Rosemary Latte
For another fall comfort beverage, try this intriguing latte sweetened with housemade syrup.
“It has the sweet taste of the condensed milk with a more savory taste of the rosemary, and the caramel just brings the two together really well,” Underwood says.
Find Hold Fast Coffee at Academy and Montebello.
Story Coffee Company
The Go-To: Warming Spices Latte
This nicely balanced latte channels all the season’s goodness with hints of allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. We like it hot and cold.
Don’t Miss This: Vanilla Bourbon Latte
Story’s bourbon latte features 291 Colorado Bourbon infused with brown sugar and vanilla. Cheers to sipping this one with the scent of woodsmoke in the air.
Find these at Story Coffee’s downtown and Old Colorado City locations.
Don’t forget to nominate your favorite Colorado Springs coffee shops in our People’s Choice Awards.
