On August 22nd, Starbucks released their 2024 Fall menu. Shortly after, on August 28th, Dunkin’ followed up with theirs. To no surprise, these two huge drink corporations are in competition. Putting both contenders head-to-head, one of these popular coffee chains will come out on top with the best fall menu items.
These two fall menus were very similar with only slight differences. Starbucks’ fall menu features several different fall-inspired flavors such as pumpkin spice and apple crisp. These flavors are able to be added to any drink of your choice such as a latte, coffee, or chai tea- all of which are able to be ordered iced or hot They also have a few fall related food items like their pumpkin muffin, baked apple croissant, and pumpkin and pepita loaf. As far as drinks go, Dunkin ‘ menu also has lots of pumpkin spice options when it comes to drinks, but not much variety with other flavors. Although, Dunkin’ has a lot more variety with their food items compared to Starbucks, such as: pumpkin donuts, apple cider donuts, pumpkin muffins, and maple bacon.
Now, both places have pumpkin muffins but there are some clear differences. The pumpkin muffin at Dunkin has a light drizzle of cream cheese on the top. However, it’s not a noticeable taste. The muffin itself is very moist but lacking in pumpkin flavor. Meanwhile, Starbucks pumpkin muffins are much different for being the same item. Instead of a light drizzle of cream cheese it had a cream cheese core right on the top surrounded by several different oats. The first bite of the muffin was full of pumpkin flavor and the perfect amount of cream cheese. Not to mention it came warmed.
Another item they have in common is their pumpkin spice chai latte. Dunkin’s pumpkin spice chai latte is okay for the first couple of sips because all you can taste is the whipped cream on the top; the chai tea overpowers the pumpkin flavor making the mixture relatively bitter.Taste wise, Starbucks’ pumpkin chai latte is much better. Instead of whipped cream on the top it was a thick layer of pumpkin cold foam, and once you got through it you got the perfect mixture of both chai and pumpkin spice. It’s the perfect drink
Alongside an informal poll with 62% of votes claiming that they prefer Starbucks’ fall menu items compared to Dunkin’, confirming the winner of this competition being Starbucks’ fall menu.