Call it basic, or call it one of the most brilliant marketing ploys the coffee world has ever seen. Heralding fall with the same gusto as an afternoon of apple picking — which does indeed exist within driving distance of L.A. — the pumpkin spice latte is back.
The Starbucks icon reprised its reign Aug. 22, but independent L.A. coffee shops are currently turning out some of their own, more delicious takes. From Chinatown to Santa Monica City, mom-and-pop cafes are building on the PSL — some even juicing fresh pumpkins, simmering small batches of kabocha or hand-grinding spices.
To many, the drink — often featuring the warming spices of pumpkin pie — has long signaled the start of autumn. Darren La Borie of Eagle Rock and Silver Lake coffee shops Muddy Paw is in his ninth or 10th year of offering a pumpkin spice latte made from real pumpkin, not store-bought syrup. “If you ask me, my biggest problem with the whole pumpkin spice craze, it’s that people say, ‘Oh, we can put [the flavor] in a syrup,’” he said. “I’m like, ‘That’s just not the same.’ There’s so much to it.”
Others have only just recently started to explore PSL territory. Dayglow’s Tohm Ifergan doesn’t normally offer pumpkin spice at his cafes in Silver Lake, Larchmont and West Hollywood. But with new Dayglow outposts in Chicago and New York, where the seasons’ changes are felt more dramatically, he’s spent more time thinking about seasonal drinks and especially the pumpkin spice latte as we head into fall. So this year, he’s combining pumpkin with apple cider and espresso.
“I’ve always thought that pumpkin is such a versatile ingredient,” he said.
In East L.A., a black-metal-themed coffee stand is diving into the season with its first ever pumpkin spice latte, made using whole roasted pumpkins. Others are replacing the gourd with sweet potatoes.
“In the beginning I kind of turned my nose up at stuff like that,” said Clark Street founder Zack Hall, now in his third year of pumpkin spice offerings. “It took me a while to come around, but now it’s just fun. The staff making them has fun, the customers coming in have fun with it.”