Tips From an Expert: Finding the Best Pumpkin Spice Latte

If you don’t find a commercially produced pumpkin spice latte that’s to your liking, try making one yourself. It’s surprisingly easy. Photo by Cynthia Hochswender
The arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte to the Starbucks menu has become a harbinger of autumn since 2004, when it was first released.
Now, more than 15 years later, almost every establishment that sells coffee in America has its own pumpkin spice latte recipe that it sells from late September through October.
The pumpkin spice latte, or “PSL” as it’s sometimes called, is a coffee drink that combines all the tastes you associate with pumpkin pie: pumpkin flavoring, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves.
Over the years I have become a connoisseur of all things pumpkin spice. I’ve taste-tested nearly every PSL product on the market — so you don’t have to.
The most famous, of course, is the one offered by Starbucks. Their version is classic and quite good — especially the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino (a cold, blended drink) and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew (cold-brew coffee topped with sweet, pumpkin-flavored cream). These are menu items unique to Starbucks.
However, if you just want a classic hot, pumpkin spice latte, and if you don’t feel like driving for 45 minutes or more to get to a Starbucks, I would recommend getting one from McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. Brand snobs might argue otherwise, but the hot pumpkin spice latte from these three chains offer essentially the same experience. If you want a hit of caffeinated PSL this Pumpkin Spice Season, I don’t think you’d miss out by going to McD or Dunkin’ instead of Starbucks.
Cumberland Farms (which has filling station/convenience stores in Amenia, N.Y., Millerton, N.Y., Great Barrington, Mass., and Torrington, Conn.) has a make-your-own pumpkin spice latte syrup with their other coffee condiments, next to the milk, sugar and creamers. You can add as many shots of syrup as you’d like to your coffee for either a more subtle or a maximized version. Cumbies also offers a pumpkin cappuccino from its cappuccino machine that will be well-received by anyone with a sweet tooth.
There’s also a variety of pumpkin spice coffees and creamers you can buy at your grocery store, including non-dairy options. My favorites are the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Brew Coffee with Almond Milk by Califia, which has nice notes of cinnamon and nutmeg and is mild enough that you don’t feel like you’re drinking a dessert. I also like the Chameleon brand pumpkin spice oat milk latte, which is more spicy than sweet, differentiating it from many of the PSLs on the market.
If you’re not a coffee drinker, Harney & Sons tea company, based in Millerton, has a Pumpkin Spice Tea.
If you are staying homebound due to quarantine, we’ve found a recipe for a pumpkin spice latte that you can make yourself at home.
This is from the website www.sweetsteep.com; the recipe was developed by a woman whose daughter was a barista at Starbucks. We found it was easy to make and tasted just like the Starbucks PSL — or actually, a little bit better.
We happened to have a couple cans of Libby’s canned pumpkin in the pantry; when we went to the grocery store to pick up a few more cans we were surprised to find that none of the area grocery stores that we visited had any in stock.
The internet isn’t indicating that there is a canned pumpkin shortage this year, as there was in 2015. We were shopping in late September, so it’s possible that it was just a bit too early for the stores to be stocking it.
Some stores have the One-Pie brand of canned pumpkin, which gets high marks from users on the internet.
However, if you are unable to find canned pumpkin (and be sure you do not buy canned pumpkin pie mix, which already has spices added) there is still time to buy a baking or pie pumpkin at your local farm stand. Roast and puree the flesh, scoop it out of the shell and remove the seeds. Then be sure to puree the roasted flesh and then run it through a food mill. To give it more body, you can add roasted butternut squash or sweet potato; fresh pumpkin is always a little more stringy and watery than the canned version.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup
Adapted from www.sweetsteep.com
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
One 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
You can buy premade pumpkin pie spice, but you probably have all the ingredients for it in your pantry already. Save yourself some money, and use up your spices before they start to lose their flavor.
Most of the spice recipes we found are variations on a few basic ingredients. The Martha Stewart recipe worked fine, but almost any other recipe will be just as good. Combine 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, a teaspoon of ground allspice and a half teaspoon of ground cloves. If you don’t have any allspice, don’t go out and buy some just for this.
To make the pumpkin spice latte syrup, first make a simple sugar by combining a half cup of water and a half cup of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. The sugar will dissolve into the water and then begin to boil; when it does, turn the heat to low and add the pumpkin puree, the condensed milk, the pie spice and the salt. Stir them together for a couple minutes over low heat and then set the mix aside and let it cool.
Be sure that you use condensed milk, which is thick and sweet, and not evaporated milk or any other canned milk product. The two most common brands around here are Magnolia from Borden’s, which was made here in the Tri-state region for many years by the Borden family; and Eagle Brand (and actually, Eagle makes the Magnolia milk too).
When you’re ready to make a latte, you don’t have to use espresso, you can just make coffee (as strong or weak as you like). I use about two tablespoons of syrup for each normal-sized cup of coffee; experiment until you find the amount that you like.
You don’t need to add milk —but if you have a milk frother you can of course scoop some on top of your latte, and sprinkle a little dusting of pie spice over the top.
Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.
SHARON — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.
The call went out shortly after 3 p.m. with an update at 3:20 p.m. reporting one dead on arrival, two conscious. Emergency helicopter transport was requested.
Update Oct. 13, 9:25 a.m.:
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle crossed the southbound lane and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Back seat passenger Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on scene. Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.
Cassidy and Teti are co-owners of 9 Academy, LLC in Lakeville.
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.