Leaves are starting to fall, the wind is blowing, there is a crisp in the air with temperatures starting to drop, even so football recently started yet again. Even better, pumpkin spice returned, meaning fall is right around the corner. 

Many eager fans have been counting down the days since the beloved pumpkin spice left the menu until it made its yearly appearance yet again on August, 26th, 2025.

With the fall menu returning after being away for a year, many fan favorites have returned, while some have not. New menu items are also making their debut. But what has returned and what has not? 

Starbucks’ 2025 fall menu returners include the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte (available hot or iced), Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai (or hot), and the Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte (available hot or iced). New this year for the drinks, the Pecan Oatmilk Cortado has been added, as well as Italian Sausage Egg Bites, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, and the Raccoon Cake Pop in the food department.

Many regulars are upset though, since the fan-favorite Apple Crisp items have not made a return. Apple Crisp has been a staple in the fall menus since 2021, and it has been pushed out to make room for the Pecan and Pumpkin flavors this year.

Despite the mixed opinions on the returning and additional drinks, here’s what a pair from the Oracle staff thinks.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Victoria: By far my all-time favorite drink Starbucks has ever released. I love the variety of getting this drink hot or iced, it is such a fall staple. It isn’t fall without a hot or iced pumpkin spice latte. The first sip to the last sip is perfection, it is the perfect amount of milk to espresso to the flavoring. It isn’t too sweet, but isn’t lacking the pumpkin flavoring either. Overall, a 10/10 drink and I always look forward to the return of the pumpkin. 

Maddy: It’s back!! As someone who is not a fan of pumpkin pie, or really anything pumpkin-flavored, this drink is the only exception to that. There’s something just so incredibly rich about the flavor of a latte, especially with the crafted pumpkin spice flavoring that makes it something to crave all of the time. It never gets old honestly, and I believe it tastes even better when topped with cold foam. This is an easy 10/10 for me!

Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino

Victoria: If the sun is out and shining, and isn’t necessarily “pumpkin spice weather”, a good old reliable Frappuccino, especially a pumpkin spice flavored one will always hit the spot. A classic, simple drink that will never go wrong. This is topped with whipped cream and cinnamon, giving it that extra love of flavor. I rank this drink a 10/10 as it is one of my favorites when the weather is slightly warmer. 

Maddy: You can’t go wrong with a Frappuccino when wanting to try coffee for the first time. In my personal opinion, Frappuccinos just taste like milkshakes with the consistency of a slushie. Yes, it is very good, but I just prefer a regular latte or iced coffee when grabbing a drink from Starbucks. I would rank it about 6/10.

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Victoria: Cold brews aren’t exactly my go-to, but a good cold brew every once in a while is never a bad thing. Strong coffee, such as a cold brew is a little too strong for me, but a sweet cold brew, such as the pumpkin cream is pretty good in my opinion. This drink is simply just cold brew with a pumpkin cream cold foam on top, giving the drink its sweetness. As someone who isn’t a crazy fan of cold brew however, I give this drink a solid 6/10.

Maddy: As a person who usually doesn’t go for a cold brew, this drink actually surprised me in a good way! The significant difference between cold brew and your regular iced coffee is that cold brew steeps in cold water for about 12-24 hours, and iced coffee is just poured over ice. The cold foam blends in perfectly with this drink, and I would give it an 7/10.

Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai

Victoria: In my personal opinion, I am not a big tea fan, so this drink isn’t for me. It is one of the most popular drink items at Starbucks with fans raving about a pumpkin chai, but I am not a fan. I would give this drink a 1/10 on the ranking scale, but take that in as a non tea drinker. I prefer coffee. 

Maddy: I’ve never tried chai tea before, and this was a good surprise for me! I’m not a huge tea drinker either, but something about the taste of cinnamon inside of a pumpkin drink is so incredibly tasteful. Though it probably will not be my go-to drink, the flavors are so, so good together, and I would rate it around a 7.5/10.

Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte

Victoria: I was very shocked at how much I would enjoy this drink with it being new. I am not a big pecan fan, but there is a perfect amount of pecan in this drink not making it very powerful. I would say this is a fun little drink to have every once in a while, not an everyday thing. I would rank it a 8.5/10.

Maddy: Unfortunately, pecan is just a flavor that I don’t enjoy. Oatmilk lattes, espressos, and plain old iced coffees have always tasted fine to me, but something about this flavor just made me put it down immediately. I’m a very picky person, so it still is probably very good for other taste buds. However, in my opinion this drink is a 3/10.

Pecan Oatmilk Cortado

Victoria: Similar to the pecan crunch oatmilk latte, the taste is similar, although this one is much stronger. Like I said earlier, I prefer sweeter coffee than stronger coffee, so this cortado isn’t really my favorite thing ever. I would rank it a 5/10, it’s good, just not my all-time favorite drink Starbucks has ever released. 

Maddy: As someone who prefers coffee on the bitter side, this is like the “dark chocolate” of coffee products. Starbucks uses oat milk and espresso to bring this together in about a 50/50 mix. I’m not a big fan of steamed milk – as it’s used in the regular cortado – but oat milk was a really nice substitution for my taste. Once again, I’m not a fan of pecan flavored items, so that would knock that down to an overall ranking of about 7/10

Based on the review, the fall menu ends up with about a 7/10 on the review scale. The Starbucks famous fall menu will stay at locations until about early November, a definite date has not been selected yet. Stay tuned for the winter menu review!