Fall’s peaking around the corner and so these are some of the last few weeks to savour on a few summer drinks. In terms of what this drink is, it is totally one fit for summer: something you’d want to chug on an afternoon after work. But it terms of flavour, its an intersection of summer and fall: it’s packed with pumpkin and spice with teasing hints of coffee, playing on the experience you’d want to expect from a pumpkin pie on a Thanksgiving supper table.

Ingredients to use, and not use.

Before I actually conclude this introduction, I do have a few preferences of what type of ingredients you should be using to get the closest results to the actual drink. I highly recommend using pumpkin puree from the can rather than steaming pumpkin at home. This drastically saves your time spent in chopping, steaming, cooling, blending and straining the pumpkin. Plus, it’ll also give you a more smoother result, combined with a stronger pumpkin taste as opposed to bland, unstrained fibers of pumpkin. And lastly, do not skip out on the spices! They are a pivotal part contributing to the taste of fall and bring out some festivity in the drink, kind of like a preparation for the days to come. In the mean time…here’s my recreation of the spiced pumpkin latte from Starbucks!

Fall's calling.

Spiced Pumpkin Latte:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• A pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg and dried ginger powder*
• 4 tbsp. cold brew of your choice
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup

*You may substitute the spices for about 1 tsp. store bought pumpkin spice.

In a small pot, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar and spices and cook on a low flame until the sugar has dissolved. Once cool, add the pumpkin mixture along with all other ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth. Top off with whipped cream and more spices or chug straight away!