Leaves are dropping as temperatures fall. Pumpkins are growing and coffee shops are advertising autumn drinks. The crisp color of orange is emerging and companies are pushing out seasonal products. 

This year, Scooter’s Coffee unleashed a fall drink called the Pumpkin Pie Shake. Intrigued by the sudden influx of advertisement on my social media, I decided to give the beverage a shot. Having a bad history of other pumpkin flavored drinks, including the infamous pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, I came in with low expectations. 

Referring to the pumpkin spice latte, I vividly remember an unnatural orange that made itself present through a mucousy film that sat on top of the coffee. Because of this, pumpkin in any drink form holds low standards with me.

Being a consistent Scooter’s customer, I tend to steer more toward their Vertigo smoothies, where a Redbull is blended in with ice, fruit and cream. Stepping out of my comfort zone required an amount of courage that could not normally be formed. 

Considering the pumpkin pie drink has the word shake in the title, I was led to believe the beverage was going to follow the lines of a milkshake. Unfortunately, that was not met. The drink itself had the base of ice rather than cream or ice cream. This made it so there were small pieces of ice that sat in the drink. As time passed, these small pieces of ice would soon create gaps of water, contributing to future watery taste.

Upon my first sip, I was met with a soft hit of pumpkin pie. This taste would slowly dissolve away as cinnamon spice took over, making the beverage steer more toward a cinnamon flavor rather than pumpkin pie as a whole. Because of this, the drink felt almost like a scam. The original pumpkin pie flavor was robbed from my taste buds and then replaced with a grainy cinnamon water.

Along with that, the consistency clashed with the word ‘shake’. Having ice crystals hit my tongue took away from the smoothness I was expecting. These ice crystals would soon quickly melt as the drink sat, making the product taste watered down. I was utterly disappointed when the already soft flavor disappeared and all that was left was the grainy spice of cinnamon swimming in the thick liquid.

As I continued to sip on the supposed shake, the sandy consistency continued to diminish the appeal of the seasonal beverage. 

I was later upset because I felt scammed with a smoothie in disguise. I expected the product to be smoother and creamier, but it was clear that the drink had ice as the base. Because of this, the ice created gaps of water in the beverage as it sat. 

After letting the liquid refreshment sit for a couple minutes, I began to notice more water gaps that were distributed throughout the cup. I lifted the drink to examine the underside of the cup, and I noticed a solid ring of cinnamon settling on the bottom. It explained why I was consuming so many particles of cinnamon so quickly.

After noticing the appearance of thick  cake batter, my appetite and appeal toward the beverage itself faded away.

Overall, I was once again disappointed in the seasonal product. The product was watery, grainy and took the appearance of wet sand.