By Tahnayee Clendinen, Staff Writer
It is not the crisping of the air that lets us know that fall is here. It’s not even the color of the leaves or the change in wardrobe. We know that it is officially the fall season when all the cafés around us start offering pumpkin spice lattes as a part of the menu. I reviewed McDonald’s, Bigfoot Java’s and the Old Main Market’s lattes.
McDonald’s latte is by far the creamiest. It goes down very smoothly. There is not too much foam, giving the customer plenty of substance and not too much air. The taste of the coffee is very weak, but if you aren’t an avid coffee drinker, this wouldn’t take away from the taste. The pumpkin flavor is lacking a lasting taste. It disappears almost immediately, but otherwise it is very good. If you don’t drink coffee, there’s no Chai to put in place of the coffee, so you’d end up with pumpkin spiced milk unfortunately.
Bigfoot Java uses either a liquid or a powdered pumpkin spice mix. Do yourself a favor and go for the liquid. The powdered version can sometimes become gritty and clump at the bottom of the cup. The liquid mix, however, is simply amazing. The taste of the coffee is quite strong. It almost competes with the pumpkin to be the number one flavor. This latte doesn’t go down as smoothly as McDonald’s does, but it does come with a lot more coffee intensity that is good for those who can’t do without their morning cup of Joe. For non-coffee drinkers Bigfoot does offer a  pumpkin spice Chai option, but it’s all powder, milk, and ultimately, not worth the cash.
At the Old Main Market, the latte taste like the middle bear between McDonald’s and Bigfoot Java’s. Here the latte doesn’t taste like it’s all coffee, but it is not all pumpkin and milk either. It has the right amount of foamy goodness; just enough to make the drink taste light, but not so much that you’re paying for sixteen ounces and only getting ten. The taste of the pumpkin lasts throughout the drink and then for a little bit after. The creamy consistency of the latte completely covers any grit that could be swirling at the bottom of the drink. For you non-coffee drinkers, the Old Main Market also offers a pumpkin spice Chai which tastes just as good as the latte does.
All of these places are good for different things. McDonald’s offers us good cheap fast food. Bigfoot Java has large drinks at small prices. Lastly, the Old Main Market is a one stop carrying all that a student could want to grab in a hurry. When it comes to pumpkin spiced drinks however, the Old Main Market takes the cake-or in this instance-takes the pie.
