Don’t Let Starbucks Rip You Off

Every year, millions of Americans patiently await the arrival of the dearly beloved pumpkin spice coffees from Starbucks. Starbucks, of course, is the go to destination for the festive October beverages. But is it worth your time?

I made it a personal mission to go to the front runner Starbucks against a local favorite-June’s Place. The closest Starbucks is around 30 minutes away, so I had high expectations on my way. I ordered a pumpkin spice frappe and pounded the whole thing in record time. The results? Just meh. It’s not bad, but at the same time it seems a bit overhyped. Kind of tastes like pumpkin pie so I have to give that to them, but I’d give the pumpkin spice frappe from Starbucks a 6/10.

Next up was June’s place. I had to get a second opinion for this one, so I had another student taste it unbiasedly. The drink in question is the frozen pumpkin spice white mocha from June’s Place.

“I thought it was pretty good, it was very sweet though and you couldn’t really taste the coffee which is kinda nice because i’m not the biggest coffee fan,” Junior Emma Sutherland said.

I’d have to agree with her on the sweetness. It really balances out the bitter coffee flavor and if you don’t necessarily like the flavor of coffee I would recommend it.

“There was definitely enough pumpkin flavor in it,” Sutherland said.

Another true statement, and along with all the sugar in this drink it makes for a really good transcendent experience.

“I’d probably give it a 7 or an 8; I thought it was pretty good,” Sutherland said.

I (a person that doesn’t drink much coffee) rate the frozen pumpkin spice white mocha from June’s Place an 8/10. Along with Sutherland’s “7-8/10”, we know that pumpkin spice coffee from June’s Place is a clear winner over pumpkin spice coffee from Starbucks. So even if you don’t like coffee that much or don’t want to go to Starbucks, I’d recommend getting a pumpkin spice drink from June’s Place.

“I think it’s good for people who maybe don’t like coffee that much because it’s a really subtle flavor,” Sutherland said.