As the Fall breeze becomes crisp, an early sign of the Winter approaching, we have to say goodbye to the special seasoned drinks that Starbucks provides. The Pumpkin Spice Latte, a Fall favorite of many, was greeted with a new competitor this year, the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato. Enjoying the Fall season before it is gone, I have decided to indulge myself in the flavors of these two coffees. But it led me to wonder, which flavor is better?

Full disclosure, I enjoy my coffee iced. I prefer a chill rather than a burn.

Starting off with the Pumpkin Spice Latte, I was pleasantly surprised. I had never tried the flavor before, and it was not what I had expected. I had expected there to be a strong flavor of spice to punch my tongue; instead, there was a subtle taste of spice. The drink tasted – well, like a pumpkin pie. While I enjoyed the taste of this drink iced, a friend of mine who had finished off my drink said, “I like pumpkin pie. I like pumpkin pie cold. I don’t like pumpkin pie in a watered down, liquid form”. Even though I had enjoyed this drink, I could not have more than a few sips since the pumpkin spice sauce contains dairy. For this reason, I could not rank the Pumpkin Spice Latte as the best.

On the other hand, the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato, can be made dairy free. Finding a Fall season coffee that could be made dairy free has been a struggle for a while, since so many sauces contain dairy. The addition of this drink filled my coffee loving self with joy. Compared to the Pumpkin Spice Latte, the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato has a stronger flavor, especially if you chose not to stir the drink. Once stirred, the flavors become harmonized, going from a bitter punch of flavor to the taste of an apple cinnamon pie. Due to my preference for stronger flavors rather than subtle flavors, and the need for dairy-free ingredients, the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato is the better Fall season flavor.

I encourage you to go and try out these flavors and determine which flavor you find to be better.