The Foamy Starbucks Upgrade That Adds Luscious Fall Flavor To Hot Drinks

It's officially pumpkin spice season (not to be confused with fall, which starts on September 23 in 2023), and Starbucks stands ready to give the people what they want. The chain's fall menu features delectable treats like the iced pumpkin cream chai tea latte, iced apple crisp oat milk shaken espresso, and the signature pumpkin spiced latte — but if you're a fall drink enthusiast, you may find the tastiest (and more creative) options off the main menu.

For a fun mashup of autumn flavors, try ordering a hot chai tea with pumpkin cold foam. This drink is perfect for the dog days of summer or early days of fall, when the weather is in between hot and cold — because although the pumpkin foam is cold, it's not enough to cool down the entire beverage. Plus, as we know from steamy apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or baked oats with milk, the hot-cold juxtaposition can make for a delicious concoction. You could simply add pumpkin sauce to a hot chai but you won't get the same cloud-like texture that you would with a cold foam. The topping will drip into your tea while you drink your beverage, so the chai will slowly infuse with pumpkin flavors.

To order a hot chai with pumpkin cold foam, you have two options you can start with: the chai tea or the chai tea latte. When opting for the former, you'll have to venture in-store, since the app and website don't allow you to add cold foams to a simple tea. For the latter, all you'd need to do is select "Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam" under the drop-down in the toppings section. However, you may still want to order your upgraded chai tea latte in-store, since the cold foam may significantly melt into your drink during the extra minutes it takes to drive to Starbucks. But don't be surprised if your barista is a little taken aback at your order combination; it's likely just because you're making an unusual request that they're not sure you'll like.

If you do enjoy your hot chai drinks with pumpkin cold foam, there are a few other adjustments you can make to enhance the fall flavors. Feel free to add pumpkin sauce, dark caramel sauce, caramel syrup, brown sugar syrup, cinnamon dolce syrup, or vanilla syrup, and you can even request a pumpkin spice topping, cinnamon dolce sprinkles, cinnamon powder, or a caramel drizzle. Though it's not technically fall yet, this hot-cold combo drink will definitely get you in the spirit of the season.