Pumpkin Latte Underwhelm

If you've been reading this blog, you'll know I'm something of a coffee purist.  I'm not one for all the fancy, frothy drinks with the whipped cream and sprinkles that are on offer in a lot of coffee shops these days. Don't get me wrong,  occasionally I'll get a bit wild and crazy, and I'll add a bit of vanilla syrup to a latte, but that's normally as far out as I'll stray. (I can literally feel my husband rolling his eyes at my tendencies to stay within my comfort zone!!)

For weeks I've been hearing everyone going on and on (and on!) about Pumpkin Spice Lattes with the arrival of autumn. I was beginning to feel like I was missing out on something. There is even a secret Pumpkin Spice Latte club called the "Orange Sleeve Society"! Seriously - it's a thing!

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Maybe I'm a sucker for strategic marketing, maybe I'm easily swayed by public pressure,  or maybe I was feeling feisty that morning, but while walking with my big bean, we popped in to a well-known coffee shop for a treat. He ordered a kids hot choc, and I (against my better judgement!) ordered my first Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Well,  I don't think I've been so underwhelmed in a long time.

First off, are they meant to be so sweet?! Honestly, I needed a drink of water halfway through because it was making me thirsty!

Next, I couldn't taste the coffee...Was it even in there? Between the clawing sweetness, the overabundance of cinnamon (not sure what other "spice" was meant to be in there!), and the mountain of whipped cream, I'm not sure there was coffee in there!

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Finally, I seemed to have missed any hint of pumpkin. Although, that said, pumpkin doesn't really taste of much anyway - just sort of earthy and sweet.

Not to be completely negative about the whole experience,  I have to say that this coffee connoisseur is not a fan of the much-acclaimed Pumpkin Spice Latte.

For now, I'll stick to my flat white (maybe with some vanilla syrup in it on a crazy day!).

I guess I'll just have to find another bandwagon to jump on!