PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE? BUT IT’S STILL SUMMER!

PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE? BUT IT’S STILL SUMMER

You’ve probably noticed during your morning commute or on your way home from work, Starbucks, Dutch Bros, Aut-to-Mocha, and all the other coffee places are pippin’ the pumpkin. Thaaaaat’s riiiiiight. Tis the season everyone is serving up the pumpkin spice latte. Heck, even in your grocery store, they’ve stocked the shelves with coffee bags and K-Cups with pumpkin flavored coffee. First of all, I’m not a fan of anything pumpkin. Although recently I did have a pumpkin cheesecake, and I wasn’t hating it. But besides that, I think it’s way too soon. I don’t even like going to Disneyland and seeing the Haunted Mansion already turned into the, House That Jack Skellington Built while I’m in line sweating in the heat of 100 degrees.

Why are we rushing in Autumn? It’s like all this talk about football while it’s still baseball season. If you haven’t noticed, it’s still Summer! I’m still enjoying the cool refreshing beverages on ice. One in particular is a delightfully delicious drink I created years ago that, to me, tastes like Summer. When I lived in Bend, Oregon, we created the drink at Dutch Bros, and they named it appropriately, The Mav3rick Endless Summer Tea.

The Mav3rick Endless Summer Tea is simply an iced green tea with a shot of vanilla and a shot of coconut. I know what you’re thinking. ‘Wow! That does sound like a Summer sensation I’d sip on the sandy shores of San Diego.’

Although I still drive through and order it at Dutch Bros, I decided last week that I would stop into several different local coffee places to see if they could create the concoction known as the Mav3rick Endless Summer Tea. And then find out, who had the best tasting version?

Now I was surprised by a few things as I drove around town to the different java joints. First, I didn’t realize how many smaller coffee drive-thru places there were like JB Steamers Coffee to Go, or cute lil places to sit like Java Station. And there were places who didn’t have the inventive ingredients to make the tasty tea like Starbucks. 

The other thing that surprised me was, I honestly thought they would all pretty much taste the same as Dutch Bros. DVO Espresso was a bit strong, until the ice melted a bit then it was perfect. Aut-to-Mocha’s green tea is a mint tea, which added a hint of extra flavor that I loved. Then there was a place that had a berry flavored green tea. Even Foray Coffee, although they had the basic ingredients, still tasted slightly different than what I've enjoyed over the years....and I absolutely loved it!

My favorite part about visiting all these places? And I sincerely mean this when I say the customer service was fantastically friendly. Holy cats! I met some great people, giving me more reasons to visit again besides the coffee.

So here’s the big question. Who serves up the best Mav3rick Endless Summer Tea? My helpful judges were…not so judgingly helpful. They all had a different take, each enjoying to their own liking with no overwhelming consensus of who’s the best. I know. It sounds like a copout. Personally, I enjoyed the different varieties. I still like the Dutch Bros, but I think I may have to stop into Aut-to-Mocha more often with that added minty flavor.

In the end, I guess you’ll have to discover for yourself which version of the Mav3rick Endless Summer Tea will satisfy your taste buds. I’d love to hear about your take. But you don’t have to go rush out and try it today. Because unlike the pumpkin spiked drinks, you can try my beverage all year round. Thus the name…ENDLESS Summer Tea.