A content creator has crowned Greggs the winner of her pumpkin spice latte taste test across UK high street chains, with the bakery's iced version scoring a perfect 5/5.
Beth, known online as @bethsaltbeauty, began filming her "battle of the pumpkin spice lattes" in September to find out which chain serves the best autumn drink. She tasted lattes from Starbucks, Greggs, Tesco, Coffee #1 - which is owned by Caffe Nero - and Black Sheep, ranking them on taste, price and toppings.
Surprise Last Place
The first shock was which drink came last. Beth said: "I was surprised Starbucks was last as they were the original place to sell the pumpkin spiced lattes. I saw that multiple places were selling 'PSLs' this year and thought it would be a fun thing to share with my friends which one was the best. It's been pretty fun so it might become a yearly thing."
Starbucks' £5.50 version scored a lacklustre 2.5/5. Beth said that despite the drink having a strong taste of pumpkin, she wasn't a fan of the coffee flavour.
The Winner and Runners-Up
Greggs' iced pumpkin spice latte took the top spot. Beth said: "I thought I would give the iced pumpkin spice latte [from Greggs] a go. That one is perfect for me. It's got whipped cream, the taste, everything. I prefer iced lattes over warm ones. The taste was 5/5, price 4.5/5, toppings 4.5/5. That's our highest one so far."
Black Sheep ranked second, praised for its cream and caramel flavour. Coffee #1 received a 4/5 for taste after Beth ordered their caramel pumpkin spice latte. Beth said: "I got a caramel pumpkin spice latte [from Coffee #1]. It doesn't have any cream or extras on top. [Black Sheep] That is good. It has whipped cream and caramel, which is lush. Definitely one of my favourites. I do recommend trying Black Sheep. Greggs is a winner, it's a pretty decent price."
Bottom of the Rankings
Tesco Cafe's drink scored 2/5, coming close to a tie with Starbucks. However, due to the coffee being cheaper and having better toppings, Tesco's pumpkin spice latte outranked Starbucks. Beth said: "I actually don't taste much pumpkin with this one. 2/5 taste. I like the toppings, great cream, so 5/5 for toppings."
Beth's full ranking was: Greggs - £4.05 - 5/5; Black Sheep - £5.49 - 5/5; Coffee Number One - £4.40 - 4/5; Starbucks - £5.50 - 2.5/5; and Tesco Caffe - £4.40 - 2/5.
