There’s nothing quite like that first sip of your favorite Starbucks fall drink to get you excited for the season ahead. Unless, of course, the drink you ordered turns out to be a complete flop. As much as we love Starbucks, we’ve all ended up with a drink that disappoints from time to time. And when it comes to their fall menu, settling for a mediocre Starbucks order just won’t cut it. To sort out the seasonal staples from the total misses, The Everygirl team set out to try all the new Starbucks fall drinks, rank them, and share the results with you.
This year, Starbucks added several new items to the fall menu, along with returning favorites like the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte and the ever-popular Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. So, to celebrate the official start of PSL season, three of our most coffee-obsessed editors ordered the entire Starbucks fall menu (yes, 12 total drinks) and started sipping in the name of journalism. Keep scrolling for our official ranking of all the Starbucks fall drinks for 2026.
Meet our taste-testers
JESSICA FRIEDHOFF
Senior Lifestyle Editor
Go-to Starbucks order: Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew
LAUREN BLUE
Editor & Book Club Co-Host
Go-to Starbucks order: Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
ANDREA NAVARRO
Assistant Editor
Go-to Starbucks order: Iced Almond Vanilla Latte
How we ranked them
Our three official taste testers each tried 12 Starbucks fall drinks. We scored each drink on a scale of 1-5 in the categories of “overall taste” and “likelihood to get again” for a total of 10 possible points per drink. The scores you see below are the averages of our three testers’ ratings. We also ordered all the drinks without any modifications, so that we could taste them exactly as Starbucks intended.
Our official Starbucks fall drinks ranking for 2026
12. Iced Chaider
Score: 2.67/10
New for 2026, the Iced Chaider is advertised as a “refreshing cider-like beverage” made with a base of iced chai. If you were picturing a delightfully spicy-yet-sweet apple cider concoction, I regret to inform you that this is not that. It’s not actually made with any apple flavor whatsoever—the “cider” part comes from the addition of Strawberry Acai flavoring, which adds a weird, almost sour taste. Paired with the chai, it sorta kinda almost tastes like apple cider, but in a too-sour, watered-down way. All our taste-testers agreed: This is definitely a skip.
11. Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino
Score: 5/10
As per usual, the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino received a pretty “meh” rating. This one always scores decently high in the “overall taste” category because the pumpkin spice flavor is amazing—it just doesn’t taste like coffee. It’s more of a dessert in a cup. If you like a sickly sweet beverage (or you’re actually craving ice cream but wound up at Starbucks instead), you’ll probably love this one. Our team, however, isn’t exactly the target audience. Although it was fun to try, we likely wouldn’t order this over our usual go-to coffee orders.
10-9. (Tied) Pecan Crunch Latte
Score: 5.33/10
I was honestly shocked by how much I didn’t love this one. While I was hoping for something along the lines of pecan pie in coffee form, what I got was really lacking in both flavor and sweetness. It mostly just tasted like warm pecan milk. One of our taste-testers noted that you might like this one if you want fall vibes without the sweetness, but we all agreed a little more sugar would have made this one much better.
10-9. (Tied) Iced Banana Bread Latte
Score: 5.33/10
Here we have the most polarizing drink of this year’s taste test. One of our taste-testers (who happens to love banana flavors) gave this drink a 10/10, while the other two ranked this one at the very bottom of the list. I will warn you that this beverage is pretty heavy-handed with the banana, so if that’s your thing, you’ll probably love it! But if you’re not quite sold on the idea of banana-flavored coffee, this drink is probably not the best entry point.
8. Pumpkin Spice Latte
Score: 5.67/10
Ah, the classic Pumpkin Spice Latte. I feel like this is one of those things that you either love or hate, and this year, our taste-testers leaned more toward the second category. The flavor of this one really smacks you in the face, so if you’re not prepared for a full-on pumpkin spice assault, you may want to look elsewhere on the menu. It’s fine if you’re into bright orange beverages that are heavy on the sweetness and spice, but IMO, there are much better ways to get your pumpkin coffee fix.
7. Iced Banana Bread Chai
Score: 6/10
Another new fall drink for this year, the Iced Banana Bread Chai received much higher scores than the latte version, even from our non-banana-loving taste-testers. Once again, Starbucks went BIG on the banana flavor, but the chai spices help balance it out somehow. This drink really does taste like a slice of banana bread, albeit in a concentrated, very sweet form.
6. Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai
Score: 6.5/10
If you’re an OG Starbucks fan, you probably know that the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai started out as a popular secret menu item before making its way onto the official menu a couple of years ago. The power of the people, baby! Although this one is usually a team favorite, it fell in the middle of the rankings this year, mostly due to the sweetness factor. Creamy and smooth with a healthy amount of chai spice, it’s good if you’re looking for a fall drink that really feels like a treat. But if you want to avoid a sugar crash first thing in the morning, our #4 pick might be the better choice.
5. Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha
Score: 6.67/10
If you can get over the slightly unsettling orange-and-green color combo, the Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha makes a solid fall drink. Even as someone who doesn’t usually order matcha, I really enjoyed this one! The earthiness of the matcha surprisingly works well with the sweeter pumpkin cream topping. If you’re not big into coffee, this is a great option for a fall drink with a subtle pumpkin, not overly spiced flavor.
4. Pumpkin Spice Chai
Score: 8/10
Meet the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai’s spicier, slightly less sweet cousin. If you’re in the mood for something warm and cozy, this drink is it. Pumpkin spice + chai is just a winning flavor combo, and they really got it right with this one. It still does taste pretty sweet, but what did you expect with Starbucks chai?
3. Pecan Cortado
Score: 8.33/10
If you’ve never heard of a cortado before, it’s basically the same thing as a latte but made with less milk. That means it has a stronger espresso flavor, which can be a bit overpowering. Happily, that was not the case with this drink. The coffee taste was nicely balanced by the sweet pecan flavor, resulting in a rich, satisfying sip. One of our taste-testers noted that this will be her go-to Starbucks fall drink when the pumpkin fatigue sets in. It’s all the fall vibes with a less basic flavor profile.
2-1. (Tie) Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
Score: 10/10
Tied for the #1 spot, the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew received 10/10 scores across the board. It’s truly just a classic Starbucks fall drink that hits every time. The bitterness of the cold brew paired with the sweet pumpkin cold foam is a match made in autumn-lovers’ heaven. It’s safe to say we’ll be ordering this one on repeat all season long.
2-1. (Tie) Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso
Score: 10/10
And for our other top pick, we have one of the newest additions to the Starbucks fall drinks lineup: the Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso. Honestly, I’m surprised it took Starbucks this long to come up with the idea for a pumpkin shaken espresso because it was love at first sip. This creamy drink has the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out the espresso, plus plenty of spiced pumpkin flavor without being overwhelming. It’s an instant classic that’s going to pair so well with fall road trips, pumpkin patch visits, and all our other favorite fall activities.
Jessica Friedhoff, Senior Lifestyle Editor
Jessica Friedhoff is the Senior Lifestyle Editor at The Everygirl, where she oversees the Home & Living category of the site. She writes and edits stories across a broad range of topics including decorating, food, entertaining, travel, and more. With a pulse on the latest trends, she uses her eye for detail and design to create timely, inspiring content for our readers.
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