Every 2021 Starbucks Fall Item, Ranked Worst To Best

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice season has returned! While Starbucks coffee is popular year-round, the beginning of fall rings in the incredibly popular autumn and holiday seasons for the mega coffee company. Returning this year are the classic pumpkin spice drinks that have captivated us for nearly two decades, as well as a few newcomers.

When it comes to autumn flavors and scents, there are typically two kinds of people. It's the pumpkin pie and spice team on one side of the aisle, and the apple cider and apple pie team on the other side. And this year, Starbucks is very shrewdly catering to both sides. No longer will apple lovers have to settle for a pumpkin spice latte. The new Apple Crisp Macchiato has arrived and is absolutely bursting with apple orchard and dewy morning vibes.

So we decided to try all the fall offerings from Starbucks this year, from pumpkin to apple, hot to frozen, drink to food. It's all here, and you might be surprised which fall items came out on top and which ones fell flat. Of course, fall is just getting started, so you've got a lot of time to try all of our suggestions. Before we get started, we'd also like to note that "pumpkin spice" actually refers to the blend of spices used in pumpkin pies: cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg. Now, It's time to break out your big slouchy sweaters and head to your closest Starbucks to celebrate the beginning of fall!

It's hard not to get excited looking at this pumpkin scone in the case at your local Starbucks. It's got a thick white frosting topping obscuring much of the scone itself, which if the iced lemon loaf from Starbucks has taught us anything, means it should be delicious. Unfortunately, whatever you thought this scone was going to taste like, it probably doesn't. Scones aren't known for being the most impressive breakfast item, they're basically sweet biscuits that are often dry, crumbly, and best dipped in your coffee or tea. This scone is no exception to that stereotype.

Even though pumpkin is clearly listed on the scone's ingredients list, it doesn't have much of an overwhelming pumpkin flavor. As a matter of fact, it's got more of a gingerbread vibe to it. Which makes sense given that it's also made with a little bit of molasses, along with the classic baking spices. Strangely enough, we think if you were eating this scone and drinking an iced PSL, both items would be enhanced by the addition of the other. But we can't really recommend going that route given how disappointing they are on their own. Instead, we'd suggest ordering one of the other fall treats. Or if you really want a scone specifically, both the blueberry and petite vanilla bean scones are nice, if not seasonal.

A step up from the iced apple crisp macchiato is the new apple crisp Frappuccino. If you're a Frappuccino fan, there's a good chance you're into icy cold, sugary drinks that aren't especially coffee forward. While the ingredient list includes both coffee and coffee syrup, it's hard to pinpoint the coffee flavor in the sea of sugar and apple coming your way. If you like candied apples in the fall, this is really going to appeal to you. And we think it's a step up from the iced apple crisp macchiato because all of the ingredients are smoothly blended together for you.

The spices and apple flavors are a little more subtle in this drink, likely because they're blended with so much ice and milk. The more subtle coffee flavor is also fine, because we weren't entirely sold on the coffee and cider-style mashup yet. The Frappuccino comes with whipped cream, but it's not an entirely necessary addition if you're looking to cut some superfluous calories. But we enjoyed the whip as well as the spiced apple drizzle on top. This isn't a drink for coffee lovers, but that was never really the Frappuccino's target audience anyway. And since Starbucks went ahead and launched the line of fall drinks at the end of August when it's still plenty hot in a lot of places, it's nice to have a frozen drink option for those of us looking forward to fall, but still living in summertime.

The Casi Cielo beans from Guatemala aren't new on the Starbucks fall menu — in fact, this is the 17th year it's been available, strictly in the fall. But there are a few things that make it a special roast. According to Starbucks, it's only harvested once a year, which makes its yearly appearance such a celebration. It's also grown in Antigua, a high-altitude volcanic region in Guatemala, known for its Italian Rennaisance-style architecture and urban design (via UNESCO).

The coffee itself is a comfortable medium roast that will satisfy most people. It's not overwhelmingly bitter, but strong enough to perk you up first thing in the morning. The official description describes "notes of bright Meyer lemon and cocoa nibs", so we thought that it might have a slightly acidic taste to it. But the bright notes are well balanced with the rounded cocoa notes, for an all-around enjoyable cup of coffee. It's also nice with milk and sugar if that's how you like your coffee.

It's also worth noting that will this is one of Starbucks' seasonal offerings, it isn't fall-themed and doesn't include any pumpkin, apple, or spices. Although if you'd like to use this coffee as a base for an at-home copycat Starbucks recipe, we think you'll be happy with your choice.

To be honest, the pumpkin spice latte gets so much attention that we didn't even register there was a Frappuccino version of it until we read the menu. But of course there is! And just like the original, there's an army of fans out there claiming that the PSL Frappuccino is the best version of the flavored drink, and making copycat recipes at home.

Like the other Frappuccino drinks Starbucks offers, we can't really classify this as a coffee drink. Several Frappuccinos aren't even made with coffee. They're more like creative coffee shop-inspired milkshakes and the PSL version is no exception. While it does contain coffee, it's much closer to a sweet pumpkin pie flavor than any of the other PSL offerings. The baking spices are apparent, but not overwhelming, and perfectly accent the creamy sweet pumpkin drink.

Like most of the Frappuccinos Starbucks whips-up, this drink goes down alarmingly quickly, especially if you're drinking it at the tail end of summer before the temperatures have begun to drop. It's sweet, but not cloyingly so, and we love the hint of spice. As far as we're concerned, this is the best way to enjoy the pumpkin spice latte out of all the options. Consider it a little Halloween treat for adults. If you want to skip the coffee entirely and just embrace it as a pumpkin spice milkshake, there's also a pumpkin spice crème Frappuccino that's made without the coffee and coffee syrup.

The pumpkin cream cheese muffin isn't exceptionally cute like the fox cake pop is, but wow... it's good! You might just casually grab one for breakfast with your coffee on the way to work, but once you start eating it you might forget about your coffee entirely and fixate on how amazing this muffin is. We weren't even going to pick one up originally, but luckily for all of us, we did. It's incredibly mois, which is perfect because a dry muffin is such a disappointment. It's got a lovely sweet pumpkin flavor, and is generously spiced in all the warm and comforting ways. It's basically pumpkin cake in a muffin cup, and we are here for it.

As far as the cream cheese center goes, it's about what you'd expect from a cheese danish. It's creamy when you bite into it, but not liquidy. It's not too sweet, but slightly cheesy, and there isn't much of it. The cream cheese doesn't extend down into the muffin and will probably be gone in the first two bites unless you ration it. If you're not into the cream cheese, it's easy to pull out and toss.

If you're the kind of person who likes spiced carrot cake and pumpkiny things, but mushy pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving doesn't really do it for you, this muffin is going to rock your world. Forget the PSL, we hope this muffin stays on the menu all year.