Who makes the best pumpkin spice latte in Atlanta?
Ahh, the pumpkin spice latte. The PSL, as it’s affectionately known, may have started as a seasonal novelty, but more than two decades after Starbucks introduced its version in 2003, it has become as much a sign of fall as changing leaves and cringey, barely there Halloween costumes.
And these days, nearly every coffee shop seems to have its own take.
Some are espresso-forward. Some are cloyingly sweet pumpkin pie in a cup. And some manage the difficult trick of tasting like fall without giving off loads of scented-candle energy.
As mornings and evenings cool and sweater weather teases us, we thought it was the perfect time to search for the best pumpkin spice latte at Atlanta coffee shops.
We started with a list of contenders from around the city, then asked AJC readers on Instagram to help narrow the field. Five made it to our blind tasting: E+ROSE, Prevail Coffee, Schāf Shop, Spiller Park Coffee and Storyteller Goods.
We also slipped Starbucks, the chain that helped turn the PSL into a cultural phenomenon, into the tasting strictly as a benchmark. (That did not go well. But I’m getting ahead of myself.)
Then we took away the labels and let over a dozen thirsty AJC journalists try them.
How did we choose Atlanta’s best pumpkin spice latte?
Our original list included both national, regional, and local spots: Dancing Goats Coffee, E+ROSE, Foxtail Coffee, Haraz Coffee House, Krispy Kreme, Madre Café + Cocina, Prevail Coffee, Rosie’s Coffee Cafe, San Francisco Coffee Roasting Co., Schāf Shop, Spiller Park Coffee, Spread Bagelry, Starbucks, Storyteller Goods, Summit Coffee, Tim Hortons and Urban Grind.
To qualify, contenders had to have an Atlanta location inside the Perimeter, and their pumpkin spice latte had to be available for pickup or delivery to the AJC’s Midtown office around noon on a weekday.
Then we asked our Instagram audience which coffee shops deserved a spot in the blind tasting.
They chose E+ROSE, Prevail Coffee, Schāf Shop, Spiller Park Coffee and Storyteller Goods.
We also bought a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, not as a competitor, as a benchmark. After all, Starbucks introduced its PSL in 2003 and helped turn the drink into a fall phenomenon. We were surprised by the reaction of our tasters to the OG PSL.
What is pumpkin spice?
Despite the name, pumpkin spice doesn’t contain pumpkin. The term comes from the blend of warming spices traditionally used in pumpkin pie, usually cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves or allspice. Those flavors have appeared in American pumpkin recipes since the late 1700s, and by the 1930s, spice companies were selling premixed “pumpkin pie spice” to home cooks.
What makes a great pumpkin spice latte?
A great pumpkin spice latte still needs to taste like coffee. The espresso should have enough backbone to stand up to the milk, sugar and spices without disappearing. The spices should suggest pumpkin pie without any one taking over, and the sweetness should soften the espresso’s bitterness rather than bury it.
Too much pumpkin spice can quickly dominate the drink, burying the flavor of the espresso. Too much sugar and the whole thing starts tasting more like dessert than coffee.
When it came to crowning our favorite, we came back to a simple question: After the first few analytical sips, did we actually want to keep drinking?
How did we blind-taste Atlanta’s pumpkin spice lattes?
For this taste test, judges looked for a clear espresso flavor, a creamy texture and warm, earthy spices balanced with just enough sweetness. The drinks were served blind, and their identities weren’t revealed until everyone had tasted them and voted for a favorite.
Fourteen votes were cast, and the top three were separated by just two votes.
Which Atlanta coffee shop makes the best pumpkin spice latte?
It was a close competition.
Spiller Park Coffee won with five votes.
Schāf Shop finished just one vote behind with four nods of approval, while Prevail Coffee received three votes. E+ROSE and Storyteller Goods each received one. Here are the details.
1. Spiller Park Coffee — 5 votes
999 Peachtree St. NE #180, Atlanta
Spiller Park had a thick, creamy consistency with balanced spice and a sweetness that walked the border of pumpkin pie territory.
Its five votes were enough to make it the winner of the AJC Taste Test for Atlanta’s best pumpkin spice latte.
2. Schāf Shop — 4 votes
905 Juniper St. NE, Atlanta
Schāf Shop came within a single vote of tying Spiller Park, making this the closest race of the tasting. It was the favored PSL of those people that preferred to have deeper espresso notes and less sweetness.
3. Prevail Coffee — 3 votes
1050 Howell Mill Rd. NW Ste. 100, Atlanta
Prevail wasn’t far behind, earning three of the 14 votes cast.
Prevail coffee had creaminess and earthiness, though notes of pumpkin spice were subtle.
4. (tie) E+ROSE — 1 vote
1200 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta
Most taste testers (excluding our food critic Henri Hollis) found the flavor of this PSL too faint to call itself a Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Storyteller Goods — 1 vote
Storyteller Goods, 968 Memorial Dr. SE, Atlanta
Though this is a favorite shop of many of our taste testers, their version of a PSL did not cut it, with just a hint of espresso notes and an overwhelmingly cloying sweetness.
What did our tasters say about the iconic Starbucks PSL?
Starbucks wasn’t eligible to win our search for the best PSL at Atlanta coffee shops, but judges tasted it right after our five local contenders. It didn’t get much love. Several tasters described the flavor as artificial or chemical-like.
Starbucks helped make the pumpkin spice latte a fall ritual. But for our panel, Spiller Park Coffee makes that ritual one worth looking forward to.