As the fall season comes to an end, so does the era of fall-themed Starbucks drinks. The time of pumpkin spice is coming to a close, and Nov. 7 will mark the start of winter in Starbucks. Over the past few months, customers have ordered all sorts of amazing new pumpkin delicacies — from pumpkin spice lattes to cold brews with pumpkin cream cold foam, the options are endless. And, if you are a non-coffee Starbucks girly like myself, you would also know that the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai is the highlight of the menu. I have almost exclusively ordered this incredible drink throughout this fall; however, I did make an exception to my pumpkin chai streak: their new creation, the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai.
Because these two chais seemed to be the perfect fall drink, I was quite the spender in order to make my pumpkin dreams come true. Whether with friends, family, or my boyfriend, my chais hold a special place in my heart throughout the year, especially during the fall. It also is the perfect feeling to know that I can purchase what I firmly believe is the best of the fall drinks and possibly the best Starbucks drink of all time whenever I want during this cozy, crispy autumn.
The Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai is the only drink I will ever get when the pumpkin is out. It has your basic chai base with some pumpkin spice sauce mixed in and topped with a creamy layer of pumpkin cream cold foam and cinnamon topping. It is the perfect mix of spice from the chai and sweet from the cold foam. I could drink it all year round, but unfortunately, Starbucks cuts us all off from our pumpkin addiction around the time the winter menu comes out, which is, both unfortunately and amazingly, approaching quickly.
After hearing me rant about just how amazing this drink is, you might be wondering what many other broke girls, like myself, often contemplate when pulling into the Starbucks drive-through or about to click the “place order” button on the Starbucks mobile app: is this perfect drink really worth the $6.25 (although it’s 70 cents more if you hate 2% milk like me and get soy milk) for only a grande? Just a measly 16 fl oz? Of course. Whoever said money can’t buy happiness must have never tried a pumpkin chai.
Now, on to the more disappointing part of this review: I was quite upset by the outcome of the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai. Even though I am a chai lover to my very core, something about this drink really threw me for a loop. I was really excited at the idea of this chai and was ecstatic to maybe find another drink to put in my top five. At the first sip, I have to admit, it was pretty good. This drink is an iced chai topped with Apple Crisp cold foam and made with oat milk.
The first few sips were decent; it was very sweet with a hint of an apple aftertaste. The apple aftertaste wasn’t a surprise (it’s in the name), but it wasn’t really like a “fresh apple,” more like a “medicine flavor apple.” It was odd, but I didn’t hate it. However, as the foam merged with the chai, it became overwhelmingly sweet, and the apple taste became so sickly that I couldn’t even finish it. Never before had I let a lovely chai of any kind go unfinished, nor had I ever not liked any flavoring I’ve added to a chai. It was very unfortunate that this drink went against my Starbucks norm.
As a chai enthusiast, I believe I have a pretty refined palette when it comes to this specific Starbucks drink category. So, if you are going to get a fall chai, you should reach for the original pumpkin and not attempt to try an apple.
