As fall arrives, what is possibly better than having a warm fall drink to get you through your chilly mornings? These seasonal drinks now available in coffee shops are extremely popular at this time of year. As businesses advertise their fall specials through their website and in stores, they want to please and meet all of their customer’s expectations.
The two coffee shops known for their popular one of a kind fall drinks are Caribou and Starbucks. Here you can find drinks such as the pumpkin white mocha, pumpkin pie latte and everyone’s favorite, pumpkin spice latte. The pumpkin spice latte is Starbucks’ most popular seasonal beverage; over 200 million of them have been sold since the coffee behemoth introduced the drink thirteen years ago, according to Frances Largeman-Roth on The Today Show.
Once the cold weather hits, the demand for some warmth explains why coffee shop’s warm fall drinks are so desired. Senior Jackie Mitchell, finds herself purchasing drinks from Starbucks at any time of the day and year. She explains how her crave and obsession for hot drinks only increases once fall hits. “In the summer I get iced tea or coffee, but when fall comes around that changes to hot coffee. The weather is colder, and hot chai tea lattes make it better,” Senior Jackie Mitchell said.
Senior Lauren Johnson, has been working at Caribou Coffee in Long Lake for a few months now. Johnson explains how she feels pressure everyday on the job to satisfy the many customers in the fall, and they are not afraid to tell her if she didn’t make the drink they ordered to their liking. “The greater number of customers entering the store in the fall is easily noticeable. It’s very stressful considering you don’t want your customers to yell at you. I have had to remake people’s drinks multiple times because it doesn’t fit their needs,” Johnson said.
Caribou Coffee started their seasonal offers on August 25th. Caribou released a new drink that has grown immensely in popularity. This drink everyone craves, is known as the wild caramel apple, and it is available as a mocha or cooler. It is infused with a sweet and tart caramel apple syrup. These alluring drinks can add a kick to your morning. Starbucks released their selling of fall drinks on Sept. 6, and is now selling a new and unique drink, their chile mocha. The chile mocha contains cocoa, cinnamon, and vanilla, with ancho and cayenne chile spices.
These coffee shops still receive their customers that do not let the cold weather affect their iced beverage orders. Fall drinks may appeal to some, but Junior Kayla DeMartini, considers it to not affect her daily order. DeMartini finds herself to be buying her $4.00 order at Starbucks about three times a week on average. “I get a light iced grande soy latte from Starbucks, and my order does not change during this time of the year,” junior Kayla DeMartini said. Are the people who still have yet to try a pumpkin spice latte really missing out on something that may grant them a new addiction?
These fall flavors, especially pumpkin spice, may attract more people to get in the stores more often this time of year, than they would on a regular basis. While 72 percent of customers only buy one Starbucks pumpkin spice latte a year, those who come in for such seasonal products spend more on average when they do visit, according to Kelly Gonsalves on The Week. This isn’t the time of year to fight your cravings, take a trip to a coffee shop to purchase a taste of fall.