The perfect way to start off the fall season is…to get a pumpkin spice latte of course! Although some may say it is too early for fall, many coffee chains have already come out with their fall menu so, might as well embrace it. Starbucks and Dunkin’, two of the most well-known coffee chains, what do they each have to offer? 

Starting off with Starbucks, probably the most well-known, home of the PSL. This drink in a size small (tall) is priced at $6.36 with tax and comes in both a hot and iced version. Not too strong in the coffee department, and the pumpkin flavor is also surprisingly pretty faint. Although there isn’t as much pumpkin taste, it does have that ‘fall’ feeling attached to it. The spices and syrups used in this drink honestly give the pumpkin a muted flavor. This PSL isn’t too sweet, the coffee flavor isn’t overpowering, and it smells so good. Though one of the biggest cons of this drink, accompanying the faint pumpkin flavor, is the size. A small which doesn’t differ too much in price with Dunkin’s small size, is almost tiny. This drink is no bigger than my 16-year-old girl’s hand.

Now for Dunkin’, what America apparently runs on. This PSL in a size small is priced at $5.55 after tax and just how at Starbucks, comes in a hot and iced version. But this drink is way sweeter in comparison. In addition to its sweetness, it attempts to add a distinct pumpkin taste but comes off so artificial that it counters the whole pumpkin flavor. The overall taste of the drink is pretty powdery, but I think that has to do more with the milk rather than the pumpkin flavor. The whipped cream is superior at Dunkin though, and so is the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top of this drink. Another major pro for Dunkin is that the small feels almost like a medium while keeping its price not too far from Starbucks’.

Starbucks debuted its Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, almost 21 years ago, and boy has it taken off; wherever you look, there is a PSL or some sort of variation of it in almost every coffee store. Dunkin’ hopped on the PSL train with its own version not too long after. While Dunkin’ does win in the size, whipped cream, and cinnamon sugar categories, does it compare with the fact that Starbucks wins the overall taste category? It seems to almost be a battle of quantity over quality in one drink and quality over quantity in the other.

All in all, it depends on what you’re looking for in your PSL of the season.