The cold weather is starting to set in, and Duke students are getting into the fall spirit. Of course, with fall comes seasonal, pumpkin-flavored foods and drinks, including the trendy pumpkin spice latte.
We had first-years Temi Adekunle and Yuexuan Chen taste-test pumpkin spice lattes from three on-campus vendors: CaFe in the Brodhead Center, Au Bon Pain and McDonald’s. Adekunle said she usually drinks pumpkin spice lattes when fall rolls around, but Chen said she doesn’t drink coffee often, or even like pumpkin.
Neither knew where each sample of coffee was from when they initially tested it.
Drink A (CaFe)
Rating: 7/10
Cost: $4.30
Adekunle and Chen both found the drink too bitter. Chen said it tasted like cough medicine.
“I would not pay $4.30 for Drink A,” Adekunle said. “It was not good.”
“It sounds like a scam,” Chen said.
Drink B (Au Bon Pain)
Rating: 9/10
Cost: $1.99
This was the favorite of both taste-testers. They liked that it was sweeter than CaFe's. Adekunle also enjoyed the added flavorings because she doesn’t like her coffee to taste like coffee. When we revealed the price, she said she would definitely buy this drink.
Drink C (McDonald’s)
Rating: 4/10
Cost: $2.15
Chen said the color of this drink looked like mustard, and both said it looked and tasted “sketchy.” It also did not taste much like coffee, they noted. Adekunle added that that is why she doesn’t eat or drink at McDonald’s.
Adekunle emphasized that the quality of pumpkin spice lattes varies widely across campus.
“Don’t always believe in the hype,” Adekunle said. “Just because it has the same name, doesn’t mean it’s all the same quality.”
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