Here in Sterling the temperature has dropped and people have pulled out their favorite sweatshirts; most importantly the coffee shops have added fall drinks to their menus!

  Rating these drinks has not been easy but I am going to save the best for last of course! The drink I rated lowest around town was Sophie’s Cafe Pumpkin Spice latte at a 2. This drink did have amazing espresso in it and you can get 2% milk all the way to soy, but the genuine pumpkin spice taste was just missing. I honestly could only take two sips of this because it tasted like wax melts. This is one I just would not recommend to any of you.

  The next place I visited was Dunkin Donuts in Rock Falls. They also had a pumpkin spice latte, and I am sorry but pumpkin just never gets old to me. I tried their pumpkin spice signature latte that comes with whip and cinnamon sugar on top. This drink was sweet, but not overpowering.   The espresso tasted a bit off, but it still was an amazing latte and that’s why I rated it an 8.5.

  I tried Airplay’s white pumpkin mocha latte next. Airplay is located in downtown Sterling and it is such a cute shop. This would be a great latte for strong espresso lovers. The espresso is almost sweet and the pumpkin mocha combo makes it taste so smooth. The pumpkin is not overpowering so if you were wanting to try a pumpkin drink but are not a huge fan of it I definitely would encourage you to try this one. This one was really great, I rated it a 8.5. 

  Everyone’s favorite coffee place Starbucks has a pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin chai latte and you know I had to try both. First I tried the pumpkin spice latte and this is a great choice for people who love the espresso taste. The pumpkin is there, but not overpowering and I feel like many would enjoy it, therefore I rated it a 9. I then tried the pumpkin chai latte and it was amazing! If you are a chai lover I would definitely recommend this. It is sweet and has a great pumpkin flavor and it’s really the epitome of fall to me, 10!

  The last drink I tried around town was Flipside and it is located in downtown Rock Falls. This shop is so cutely decorated and the staff really stood out to me because of how sweet they were. The staff even let me try a drink not even on the menu yet! I tried the candy corn frappe with espresso and let me tell you, it was superb! It had the right amount of espresso and you could really taste that candy corn flavor. It was topped with their homemade whipped cream and halloween sprinkles. Seriously, everyone needs to try this drink even if you aren’t a coffee fan. Just give it a try and it will not disappoint. The frappe really spoke for itself that is why I rated it an 11!

 No matter your favorite drink, fall is always the best time to try out new yummy flavors at your local cafes!