Rook Pumpkin Cold Brew

For those who have not yet had this coffee, I will warn you: it is not pumpkin spice. It is pumpkin. Many people do not quite realize that the plethora of pumpkin spice products they consume every fall do not contain any pumpkin whatsoever. Instead, we are looking at cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice—all potent in their own right. What Rook gives us here is a coffee that skips those familiar flavors and goes right for the actual pumpkin. Is it more daring or telling of what the tastes of the masses really are? In either case, it has some pros and cons. To start with a positive, the fact that this flavor is different scores big points in my book. It also actually really tastes like pumpkin. However, there is a major con here: pumpkin itself is not a strong flavor, and this shows. By the time you add your dairy product and sweetener, there is not much pumpkin left. You may be wondering if they gave you the right product. That said, I am hoping for a Rook pumpkin spice hot coffee by October.

Quick Chek Apple Crisp

While everyone is already fawning over pumpkin spice everything a little too early on the calendar, Quick Chek has quietly come in with a hot apple crisp coffee. I had a cup last week and the aroma immediately had me. I, like many others I am sure, have a gripe about flavored coffees. Usually, they smell amazing but when you drink it, the taste is generic or weak. The scent for this apple crisp appeared robust, and sure enough, my first sip was a captivating one. It actually tasted like apple crisp! I thoroughly enjoyed the coffee, and enjoyed Quick Chek’s middle finger to the pumpkin spice world (okay, maybe that is only in my own mind). While this will no doubt be phased out at the end of September and replaced with—you guessed it—pumpkin spice, I am glad they did not cave in just yet. Instead, they let us know fall is coming without jumping the gun and rushing us along.