The leaves are turning, the wind is whispering and Halloween draws near. As a first-year from South Carolina, a state whose climate is affectionately called “the armpit of the South,” I’ve never lived through a true fall. Because of this, I have an incredibly romantic view of the season. So, in preparation for baby’s first fall, I took a tour of local pumpkin-flavored foods. Fall-elujah!
Every establishment I visited offered a different pumpkin experience, so for brevity I’ve averaged each restaurant’s items together for an overall ranking of taste and “Fallness.” Fallness was determined by how much an item made me feel like it’s time for big sweaters, “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and diving into leaf piles — which, I’ve since learned, are full of bugs.
Some final baseline rules: Every drink I purchased was a small, or a “Tall” if you’re at Starbucks. Most places are local bakeries, so availability of baked goods changes daily. Every place is within walking distance of the Green, and I had every pumpkin-related item I could while there.
There’s a chance that I’ve missed some pumpkin things; I leave those to you to taste on your own pumpkin journey.
Dirt Cowboy: Pumpkin Latte ($5.00)
Taste: 7/10; Fall: 4/10
I swung by Dirt Cowboy multiple times but never saw a pumpkin pastry, so I only had the pumpkin latte. I was underwhelmed. Even though it was a strictly pumpkin latte, not a PSL, the pumpkin taste wasn’t very strong. It certainly didn’t taste bad, but I didn’t hear Simon and Garfunkel off in the distance when I took a sip.
Still North Books and Bar: Pumpkin Latte ($4.75) and Pumpkin Bread ($3.75)
Taste: 6.5/10; Fall: 6/10
Still North’s pumpkin latte was disappointing. There was just enough pumpkin to cut through the bitterness of the espresso. As I got further into the cup, the pumpkin got stronger, and I discovered the problem: There was a massive glob of unmixed pumpkin syrup at the bottom. However, the pumpkin bread was good. It was soft and warm from the microwave, if a bit crumbly. It had a nice pumpkin taste and a swirl in the middle that I think was cinnamon sugar.
My Brigadiero: Pumpkin Muffin ($4.75) and Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Latte ($4.90)
Taste: 7/10; Fall: 5.5/10
My Brigadiero’s pumpkin muffin was moist and fresh with a layer of sugar on top. Although it was closer in texture to a pumpkin loaf than a traditional muffin, it had a wonderful pumpkin taste that avoided being too sweet while evoking images of beautiful falling leaves in my mind. The latte, however, was more of a cinnamon roll latte than a pumpkin one. There were strong hints of cinnamon, vanilla and sweet cream, but it was lacking in pumpkin flavor.
The Works: Pumpkin Spice Latte ($4.29), Pumpkin Muffin ($3.99), Pumpkin Spice Chai (3.99), Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino ($4.29), and Pumpkin Cream Cheese ($2.00 extra on a $1.99 bagel)
Taste: 6.8/10; Fall: 6.2/10
I took two trips to The Works. The first time around I had a pumpkin muffin and a pumpkin spice latte, or PSL. The PSL tasted more like general spice than pumpkin, and it still didn’t have much spice — there was just enough flavor to cut through the espresso. My trip was saved by the pumpkin muffin, which was soft and aesthetically pleasing. My only gripe was that the pumpkin flavor could have been stronger.
On my second trip, I tried the pumpkin spice chai, pumpkin spice cappuccino and the pumpkin cream cheese. The pumpkin spice cappuccino was good, but like the PSL, it was more of a spice latte than a pumpkin spice latte. The chai had a distinct pumpkin flavor, but was almost sickly sweet.
The pumpkin cream cheese had a strong, shockingly delicious taste — very fruity and a little cloying. I had it on two different bagels, plain and cinnamon, as suggested by the cashier. On the plain bagel, the cream cheese was good. On the cinnamon bagel, it was fantastic.
Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery: Gluten Free Pumpkin and Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins ($4.20 each)
Taste: 6.5/10; Fall: 7/10
I visited Lou’s four times, and the only pumpkin items I saw in their bakery case were two kinds of gluten-free muffins. Since they were gluten-free, the muffins were denser and crumblier than the other muffins I tried. The pumpkin muffin was certainly pumpkin-y, but it wasn’t that strong. The pumpkin chocolate muffin was a wonderful combination of flavors. Despite it being a bit dry and once again lacking a pronounced pumpkin flavor, I liked it.
Starbucks: Pumpkin Spice Latte ($5.95), Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew ($4.95), Pumpkin Loaf ($4.25)
Taste: 7/10; Fall: 7/10
The classic. The PSL. Starbucks invented the pumpkin spice latte and released it in the fall of 2003, changing autumn coffee forever. Starbucks’ pumpkin items are fairly familiar classics that aren’t limited to Hanover or the surrounding region, but I couldn’t leave out the uber-kaffee. The PSL was sweet and spicy with a solid pumpkin hit. The pumpkin cream cold brew had delicious pumpkin cream, but the cold brew itself was quite bitter. The pumpkin loaf was flavorful, but crumbly and not that fresh.
Hanover Scoops: Pumpkin Creemee and Pumpkin/Maple Swirl Creemee ($5.95 for a small)
Taste: 8/10; Fall:10/10
It’s not a bakery, I know, but holy cow. Some of the very best pumpkin flavor in Hanover lives in Hanover Scoops. The pumpkin creemee by itself tasted like wandering around a pumpkin patch. When swirled with the classic maple creemee flavor, though, the ice cream achieved a whole new level of fall feeling. What’s not to feel romantic about? The only reason Scoops didn’t get a perfect flavor rating is because both options border on too sweet.
Umpleby’s Bakery and Cafe: Pumpkin Spice Latte ($4.10)
Taste: 9/10; Fall: 10/10
Oh baby. It’s fall at Umpleby’s. I couldn’t see anything pumpkin on the menu or in the bakery case, so I asked the barista if there was anything pumpkin available. Lo and behold, they have pumpkin syrup! She asked if I wanted a pumpkin latte, and when I said yes, she started planning it out in front of me — would I like cinnamon, should the syrup be steamed with the milk, etc. I’m not a barista, so I just happily nodded.
My latte smelled and tasted like fall. There was a strong pumpkin taste in every sip instead of a concentrated flavor at the bottom, and the cinnamon brought in a warm, wonderful spiciness. I could almost see the Great Pumpkin.
Final Thoughts
My favorite drink was Umpleby’s pumpkin cinnamon latte. My favorite food item was the Scoops pumpkin/maple swirl, which came as a bit of a shock since it’s not a classic, cozy treat. Overall, everything I had was quite good — I cannot say that anything was bad. I rated some establishments more highly than others, but I was also operating on a very narrow scope, limiting myself to only pumpkin items. Overall, I had a completely delightful experience at every place I tried.
I’ve been warned that fall, especially as we get further into the season, can be really hard as midterms, papers and clubs pile up and the days grow shorter and colder. However, my pumpkin journey has helped prepare me for the difficult moments of the season, teaching me how joyful romanticizing fall can be. So maybe, if I’m having a hard time with the weather and school stress, I’ll head on over to Umpleby’s while listening to Hozier to spark some seasonal joy. I think the pumpkin worked: Baby’s ready for fall!
