3 cafes making their own fall coffee syrups

Atlanta’s coffee scene is constantly growing with new cafes, trends and techniques, but coffee shops have always meant more to their communities than the beverages they serve. Cafes are third spaces, art incubators, pop-up venues and more, and they deserve their own recognition. This column explores a new topic in the cafe world each month and keeps track of the latest cafe openings and events.

Where to find creative fall lattes in Atlanta

Since Starbucks debuted its pumpkin spice latte in 2004, the drink has become the harbinger of fall across the U.S., even if it arrives when temperatures in Atlanta still sit in the 90s.

The PSL’s popularity means it has been replicated in cafes far beyond Starbucks, and now most coffee shops offer some take on the pumpkin spice beverage.

But beyond this most recognizable flavor, fall is a season ripe with nostalgic and beloved flavors, and for local cafes around metro Atlanta, fall menus offer a chance to hone in on combinations that evoke banana bread, s’mores, apple cider and more.

Pumpkin spice lattes may have been the “gateway drug” into specialty coffee for many people, Justin Brostek said, the owner of Storyteller Goods.

“With today’s coffee culture, I think people are more creative than ever,” he said. “People want to experiment and explore and play around with things.”

And for many cafes around Atlanta, housemade syrups offer a way to stand apart from the line of commercial flavorings available in stores. It allows them more control over what ingredients go into their beverages, and it can make for a more balanced drink.

Here’s where to find some delightful fall beverages that draw on craft syrups around metro Atlanta.

Storyteller Goods is a cafe tucked away inside the Home Grown restaurant in the Reynoldstown neighborhood. Owner Justin Brostek prioritizes housemade syrups. (Olivia Wakim/AJC)

Storyteller Goods

Tucked in the back of retro diner Home Grown, Storyteller Goods feels like a not-so-secret treasure in the Reynoldstown neighborhood. Brostek’s cafe has a few tables in the back, plus a film developing drop box. The little corgi mascot based on Brostek’s dog, Mac, graces each cup.

Beyond Brostek’s business model of paying his employees a livable wage, and therefore not accepting tips from customers, Storyteller Goods is a hotbed of interesting housemade syrups.

“Fall is one of those seasons where I think that, for coffee culture, there are these sort of expectations of flavors that have been paired with coffee for a really long time,” Brostek said.

The Great Pumpkin (left) and the Funderberker (right) are seasonal fall drinks available at Storyteller Goods in Reynoldstown. (Olivia Wakim/AJC)

This fall, Storyteller’s two seasonal drinks are the Great Pumpkin, a latte with pumpkin, ginger, clove, nutmeg and mace, and the Funderberker, a matcha with banana bread syrup spiked with white miso for a touch of umami.

From the beginning of Storyteller Goods, Brostek was intentional about including the best possible ingredients in his beverages.

“Making a really excellent syrup means that you can craft it in a way that store-bought will never give you the freedom to, and it can pair perfectly,” he said.

Brostek said he wanted the Great Pumpkin to stand out from other pumpkin spice drinks. Searching for a spice blend with deeper flavor led him to incorporate mace, a spice often used in Indian cooking. The mace provides a slight touch of peppery sharpness to the latte that adds a little more depth than the average PSL.

For the second fall flavor, he wanted to experiment with banana, an ingredient cafes around Atlanta have been highlighting of late. In Brostek’s opinion, the best banana bread incorporates an unexpected element, whether that’s walnuts or browned butter. So he decided to incorporate miso into his banana bread syrup to add a layer of umami. He said he typically suggests adding the syrup to matcha.

“I just kind of thought the banana, like the brightness and the clarity of the banana, really comes through in a way with matcha that it doesn’t with coffee,” he said.

That being said, the banana bread syrup can be added to espresso and chai drinks as well.

968 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. instagram.com/storytellergoods

Coffee Man

Coffee Man was first founded by Devin Hunter and Nick Lopez as a company that focused on cold brew infused with natural flavorings. When they decided to open cafes — one in Hapeville and another in Blandtown — Lopez said the plan was always to make their own syrups.

“I think it is that one little step that improves the quality tenfold,” he said. “When we were experimenting with the simple syrups, it was kind of like just making sure that if we’re marketing it to be a certain flavor, it really needs to pack a punch.”

Coffee Man develops its seasonal flavors from a variety of sources, including the baristas who interact with customers daily and notice what combinations people ask about or request. When it comes to pumpkin spice, Lopez said there was a period of time when customers seemed burnt out on it. Now, pumpkin spice is cool again.

On Coffee Man’s fall menu, they offer a pumpkin spice cold brew mixed with pumpkin syrup, and an Earl Grey matcha that brings in flavors of bergamot and lemon.

“We just found those bright, acidic, lemony notes of the Earl Grey just pair so nicely with the earthiness of the matcha,” he said.

Also on the menu is a campfire latte, made with a toasted marshmallow syrup, a sugar cookie syrup and a mocha sauce.

“You know how wild and creative some of these drinks cafes are coming out with,” Lopez said. “It’s really fun to see it kind of mimic almost like a bar culture.”

Two locations: Blandtown, 1192 Huff Road NW, Atlanta. 404-500-5935;

Hapeville, 601 N. Central Ave., Atlanta. 470-698-2632, drinkcoffeeman.com

The Tokyo Drift drink has returned to Valor Coffee's fall menu, featuring an orange cortado in a smoked glass. (Courtesy of Sydney Hendrix)

Valor Coffee

In honor of Valor Coffee’s 10-year anniversary this August, the cafe let its customers choose the fall seasonal menu. Followers were able to vote on a bracket featuring 16 fall drinks from previous years.

“There was definitely some heated debate,” said Paul Judy, one of the Valor store managers.

The winners included the Hunka Hunka, a salted mocha with toasted vegan marshmallow on the rim; Promised Land, an iced honey cappuccino with chai cloud cold foam; Ghost Cider, an apple cider with oat milk and coconut milk; and the Tokyo Drift, a very popular drink consisting of an orange blossom cortado in a glass that’s smoked over cedar chips.

For many of Valor’s seasonal drinks, the visual appeal generates much of the excitement, marketing manager Sydney Hendrix said, whether it’s the speared orange peel in the Tokyo Drift or cold foam topped with granola from the spring menu’s Girl Breakfast drink, which turned out to be one of their highest-performing seasonal beverages ever.

“People are just so excited because it feels like more of an experience and more of a treat,” she said.

Building these seasonal menus requires plenty of trial and error as the Valor team works out which ingredients and flavors will actually make sense in a coffee- or tea-based drink, Judy said. Making syrups in-house allows for much more modification and variety in what types of drinks they can serve, although they must also consider how to scale up each beverage for two busy cafe locations.

“(Our team) looks like they have a witch’s brew or something when they’re making our syrup sometimes,” Judy said. “There’s a lot of love put into making everything.”

Recently, Judy said they have been experimenting with Pixeldust, a company that freeze-dries real ingredients that can be turned into coffee syrups. He said they were pleasantly surprised by the pumpkin spice in particular, which replaced their traditional fall spice flavor on the menu this year.

Half the fun of Valor’s seasonal menus is the creative names they assign to each drink. It becomes a balancing act of brainstorming a name that’s funny and unique, but not so niche that no one else recognizes it, Judy said. Tokyo Drift, with its Old Fashioned-esque flavor profile, is one drink that’s left a lasting impression with its customers.

Two locations: Dunwoody, 5531 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 706-452-3329; Alpharetta, 44 Milton Ave., Alpharetta. 706-452-3329, valor.coffee

Nominate your favorite PSL for the AJC’s next taste test

The AJC’s next taste test video is all about pumpkin spice lattes! Check out @ajcdining on Instagram and suggest your favorite. To be eligible, the cafes must be inside the perimeter and available for delivery or pick-up around noon on a weekday.

Metro Atlanta cafe openings

Find a recap of some of the latest summer coffee shop openings around metro Atlanta.

Riverline Coffee, a family-friendly cafe, opened in early August in Smyrna from Nick and Erica Zinkie. According to its website, it sources its beans from local roasters and offers lattes, matcha, cold brew, pour-over, tea and a variety of fruity refresher drinks. Also expect a rotating selection of pastries.

2778 Cumberland Blvd. SE, Smyrna. riverlinecoffee.com

Refuge Coffee Co. is a nonprofit that works to employ refugees and offer job training at its four cafes around metro Atlanta. At the end of July, it debuted its latest outpost in Lulah Hills, a mixed-use redevelopment of the former North DeKalb Mall property.

3861 N. Druid Hills Road, Decatur. 404-295-5247, refugecoffeeco.com

Baladi Coffee, an Arabic coffee house, opened its third location in Marietta at the beginning of August, which joins outposts in Kennesaw and Athens. The cafe draws from Egyptian and Palestinian culture with espresso drinks, matcha, refreshers, smoothies and chai.

It also offers a “wanderlust menu” that includes beverages from around the world, like fresas con crema, Turkish coffee and blue lavender tea. Find pastries and desserts like baklava, chicken tikka masala pockets and croissants.

3460 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta. 678-403-2146, baladi.coffee

Dumont Creamery & Cafe, a cafe and ice cream shop, has opened its second Georgia location in Sandy Springs. The cafe offers lattes, slushies, boba drinks and ice cream. The brand began as an ice cream manufacturer in India, and in 2023 it expanded with a cafe location in Texas.

5920 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. instagram.com/dumontsandysprings

Condesa Coffee celebrated the grand opening of its second Atlanta location in Grant Park near the Atlanta Beltline Southside Trail on Sept. 12. Find a menu with espresso-based drinks, pour-over, chai, matcha and smoothies. The cafe sources its tea from Rishi Tea and its pastries from Alon’s Bakery, according to its website. A third location is also set to open in Decatur.

1015 Boulevard SE, Atlanta. 404-855-5532, condesacoffee.com

Cafe announcements

Milk & Maple Coffeehouse, a kosher cafe from Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman and his wife, Dena, is set to open this year on the Atlanta Beltline near Ponce City Market, according to its social media account.

730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta. instagram.com/milkandmaplecoffeehouse

Upcoming events to check out

These upcoming metro Atlanta events take place at a cafe or are focused on the world of coffee and tea.

Whimsical Wordsmithery

Ash Coffee in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood will hold a writing workshop focusing on whimsical themes. The event includes a writing prompt, discussion and in-session writing time.

7-9 p.m. Sept. 30. 1189 Virginia Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-989-1857, ashcoffeeatl.com/events-ash-coffee-atlanta/whimsical-wordsmithery-1

Products from the Chai Box tea company are laid out for a portrait at the home of founder Monica Sunny in Marietta on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

The Art of Chai: A Chai Making & Blending Class

Head to the Chai Box Cafe for a chai-making class led by Monica Sunny, the founder of the Chai Box. She will teach attendees about whole spices, the craft of chai and then everyone will have a chance to make their own chai blend. The evening includes snacks, a cup of chai and a custom blend to bring home.