If you’re anything like me, you love pumpkin everythang. That’s why you’re here, because you’re my people. So let me tell you, when Starbucks came out with their pumpkin cream cold brew, I HAD to try it. It’s pretty much the best thing to happen to pumpkins, since pumpkin pie and yes that’s saying a LOT. But I stand firm on my opinion here.
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Being in California means I’m an avid iced coffee/ cold brew drinker since we don’t really have a “fall” or “winter” season. That being said, I’m still majorly obsessed with all things fall. I love fall sweaters, boots, food, and obviously pumpkin spice.
PUMPKIN CREAM COLD BREW
I haven’t always been a huge PSL drinker, I honestly prefer the salted caramel mocha, but because I love caffeine, iced coffee and pumpkin I gave the pumpkin cream cold brew a try, and then another later that day, and then another later that week and then… my bank account called and was like, “woah, sister! What are you doing?!”
FINDING A RECIPE
So I set out determined to recreate this yummy goodness. What Did I do? I searched for the recipe on Pinterest of course! Nada. It was too new.
So then I looked up the ingredients on the Starbucks website and decided – ok I can do this. I found a pumpkin syrup recipe on Pinterest, bought the other ingredients and even made cold brew in my french press (which I also searched Pinterest for the how to).
If you know me, then you know how funny this is for me to attempt. Background for those that don’t know. I was raised by my grandfather on TV dinners and spaghetti. He did not cook, but he did do his very very best which I am forever grateful for.
So I didn’t learn to cook till I was in college and have spent the time since finding recipes and attempting to recreate the magical photos I see on pinterest. Sometimes I nail it and sometimes I fail it, but that’s life, right?
Me in my 20’s NEVER would have attempted such a feat, but me in my 30s is not afraid to try and fail, so that’s exactly what I did. I followed the directions in the syrup recipe, and I think I made syrup, but I also felt like I may have missed something to make it more syrupy, ya know?
The cold brew was pretty good, it’s hard to go wrong there unless you struggle with your coffee to water ratio which feels like a big guessing game to me sometimes (I know there is an exact science to it called MATH, but I prefer to guesstimate). You can also purchase cold brew if you’re not wanting to make your own at home!
The thing that makes the Starbucks version so delicious, is the pumpkin cream cold foam. I tried it a few different ways, with a few different types of milk and just could not get mine to be thick and creamy. I am sure there IS a way to make it at home, but I failed it instead of nailed it.
STORE BOUGHT ALTERNATIVES
I have the Keurig K-Cafe (highly recommend!) and use my milk frother on the cold setting to make my cold foam. I was pleasantly surprised that this brand of creamer frothed really well, because I have tried quite a few types of milk that didn’t froth well.
I’ve heard (from a reliable source) that Starbucks makes their cold foam in a blender, so I did try that, but it didn’t work well with non-dairy milks or whole milk. If I decide to try again, I’ll buy some 2% and some pumpkin syrup (the not from scratch kind) and give it a go.
Have you tried to make the pumpkin cold foam at home? Send me all the tricks, because I couldn’t find them.
So if you’re super basic like me and craving that pumpkin spice goodness, but your budget needs a break, I highly recommend trying the Silk Pumpkin Spice almond creamer. If you’re allergic to nuts, you might look for the Starbucks creamers that were released last year. I haven’t tried them yet, but my guess is they gotta be good, right?
