The crisp autumn air creeps up as the bright, exhausting summer heat melts away. That’s right, it’s fall y’all. As the beloved season makes its way into our hearts, a special guest joins us: the fall menu. Jam packed with pumpkin spiced everything, the fall menu only comes for the three months of September, October and November.

Of course you could go for the boring old Starbucks and Scooters, but those are a bit overrated. Why not try something new, something different? Therefore, in the name of all fall-seasoned beverages, I have devoted my amazing taste-testing skills to find the perfect seasonal drink. Our first contender was Zen Coffee, located on 2505 S 133rd Plaza. I opened the bright green door to the small coffee shop and was greeted with smiling faces. I was enticed by the pleasant smell of fresh coffee. Plants filled the walls around me as I stepped to the counter and ordered a classic pumpkin spice latte.

After excitedly chatting with the kind employees, they set out to make it their mission to make me the absolute best pumpkin spice latte they could.

I watched with anticipation as my pumpkin spice latte was carefully curated. Once I received the drink, I chose a spot in the corner where two small blue velvet arm chairs surrounded by plants shone in the sunlight. With excitement, I took my first sip. The coffee blend was light with a smooth finish. A sweet cinnamon scent and  wave of flavor washed over me and a subtle kick of pumpkin settled in.

I sipped the delightful warm drink as I took in the bustling room of people. Many were occupied by their studies but others were enjoying friendly meetups and undergoing work meetings. Loud music and chit-chat echoed through the cafe as I pounded out some homework and  continuously sipped the addicting pumpkin spice latte.

In the end, the Zen beverage was phenomenal, a solid 10/10. The drink was absolutely addicting and had me going back for more. I can’t wait to go back knowing that pumpkin spice stays on Zen coffee’s menu year long, and more fall flavors are yet to come.

While their coffee was great, I did find the atmosphere a little louder than I had hoped. For studying purposes I’d take the drink to go, since the loud music and friendly individuals surrounding you can make it hard to block out all the noise. I would rate the atmosphere a 7/10.

While the atmosphere was a little overwhelming, it’s hard to beat fantastic customer service and delicious coffee, making the final rating a 8.5/10. Zen is the perfect place to grab coffee with a friend but not the most quiet for a study session-unless you have noise canceling headphones ready to go.

My second stop was located at 14450 Meadows Blvd. Hardy Coffee was said to be the perfect place for good and convenient coffee. With this in mind I pulled up to the location and was shocked to see that there was no inside to this coffee shop, it was simply a drive through.

I could understand why it was convenient for there to be a drive through for some people but it was certainly not convenient for me. Therefore right off the bat I had to give the lack of atmosphere a 0/10.

Things only seemed to get worse as I was informed that the only remotely fall drink that would be available to me was an apple chai. Reluctantly, I moved forward and ordered the drink and thank goodness I did.

While at the drive through window a sweet individual quickly made my drink and handed it off to me in a quick exchange. Although I felt more comfortable and enjoyed talking to the Zen employees more, the customer service was adequate.

The apple chai filled my car with a strong aroma of apple and cinnamon. As I took my first sip of the flavorful drink, I was surprised at how good it was. The fall drink started with tangy apple foam that soon was met by the chai which created a sweet and milky flavor. It was sugary but also had a fun, tangy taste to it that almost felt similar to an advanced apple cider.

In full honesty, the drink was good. The apple chai rated a 8/10. Although it was an enjoyable beverage, I felt as if the apple chai tasted too similar to an apple cider which knocked off a few points in the long run. Not to mention due to the lack of study room available for customers the atmosphere was a sad 0/10, leaving Hardy’s Coffee at a final rating of 4.5/10.

Our final competitor was Stories Coffee, located at 1432 Davenport St Ste 1. As I entered Stories Coffee I was shocked to see a room packed with pencils moving fast, friends giggling and families chatting, all while the hum of good country music played over the commotion. I struggled to find a place to sit, but settled on an unoccupied smooth, leather armchair.

While I saw a variety of fall flavored beverages I ultimately settled on a pumpkin flavored latte. The menu had a variety of options, but I decided to land on just a pumpkin flavored latte. When I received my drink I thanked the quiet employees who all returned to bustling around the kitchen.

I went back to my seat and took my first sip. The coffee was very hot and had a strong roast, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. The bitter flavor of coffee waived as the vegetable flavor of pumpkin came and went.

I could only manage to gulp down about half of it.. The strong bitter taste simply wasn’t enjoyable for me. In conclusion I have to rate Stories coffee a bitter 2/10.

The saving grace of Stories was the atmosphere. The comfortable seating and relaxing soft music that played made it the perfect place to study. In all fairness the atmosphere was a good 7/10, making Stories’ overall rating a 4/10.

In the end Zen Coffee won 1st place by a landslide with a final rating of 8.5/10, crushing the competition and putting its opponents to shame. Hardy came in at 2nd place with a 4.5/10 and Stories followed close behind in 3rd place with a close 4/10.

Through rigorous exploration and hours of research and dedication to finding the perfect fall beverage it is without a doubt a pumpkin spice latte from Zen Coffee. I guess you can say that a good rule of thumb is if it’s pumpkin with no spice, then no dice.