Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks. When will you learn?

There are thousands of women out there (including Taylor Swift) who love pumpkin spice. And I don’t mean just love, I mean LOVE.

Quite a few of these women are vegan.

Yet, EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR Starbucks comes out with their pumpkin spice lattes, which have MILK in the flavored syrup.

EVERY. SINGLE. EFFING. YEAR.

They have been clueless for TWENTY TWO YEARS.

Instead, Starbucks keeps coming out with weird vegan or could-be-modified-to-be-vegan flavors like apple-flavored (?!) coffees and pecan coffees.

Not the same, Starbucks. Not nearly the same.

WORKAROUNDS FOR YEARS

Other big coffee chains, like Caribou and Dunkin, ALSO use milk in their pumpkin spice syrups. This means vegans have had to seek out the small chains or make our own.

TBF, there’s a lot of non-dairy pumpkin spice creamers out there – from Silk to Califia to Nutpods.

But to really get a coffee-shop taste, you have to brew the coffee. K-cups don’t cut it (at least not for me). And don’t even mention instant coffee – ugh!

THIS YEAR, IT WAS DIFFERENT

Starbucks came out with instant coffee.

And it is awesome! Seriously, this is not your mother’s instant coffee. It has a fine, micro-ground texture that dissolves, well, instantly. As well as Starbucks’ trademark strong, slightly bitter taste. You can get a small can of blonde, medium, or dark roast for about $8-$9. Since a little goes a long way, you can get between 30-40 cups, depending on how large your cup is and how strong you like your coffee. (Starbucks says 40 cups.) This makes it considerably cheaper than K-cups.

And Califia keeps churning out excellent flavors, copying the big coffee chains.

This year’s Autumn creamer flavors included:

Pumpkin Spice and Organic Pumpkin Spice – My favorites, of course! They taste nearly identical, the organic is more costly.

Caramel Apple – I’m not really into apple flavored coffee, but this one is not bad, due to the rich caramel notes subduing the apple flavor.

Organic Maple – My least fave; maybe I’m just all mapled out. Have you noticed how many cookbook authors/bloggers/local chefs are using “pure maple syrup” as sweetener these days? Pure maple syrup just makes everything taste like – maple syrup. If you love maple syrup (and many people must) give it a try.

Now, the problem with Califia creamers is that, often, they’re too sweet for me. They really need strong, rich coffee for balance.

But pair Califia with Starbucks Instant in Medium or Dark Roast (not Blonde) and you’ve got a great coffee shop tasting coffee.

ACT QUICKLY

Act quickly, because retail seems to believe Christmas starts in November, and soon it will be chocolate mocha and eggnog everything.

This really grinds my gears (as my blogger/poet friend Pooja of Life’s Fine Whine would say). Because Autumn is just now getting started in Charlotte. Leaves only start to turn and fall the week of Halloween, with the kaleidoscope displays of color in November. It’s only in November that it’s cold enough in Charlotte to turn the furnace on for a few hours at night. It’s only in November we pull on a light jacket for the first time.

It’s Autumn – and should be Pumpkin Spice Season – until everything culminates on Thanksgiving with PUMPKIN PIE!

So what to do?

Califia Autumn creamer prices are already being slashed, and the creamers are likely to disappear by mid-November. Go shopping NOW, take advantage of these prices, and stock up on several bottles to get you through to Thanksgiving. Unopened, these creamers keep in the fridge quite awhile. Please buy only what you need and leave some for others.

THOUGHTFUL IDEA

It’s a tough time for many people right now. If you know someone who’s struggling, consider giving them a special gift of a can of Starbucks instant coffee and some Califia creamer(s). (In addition to foody food.) When people have a tight budget, they’re focused on essentials. They’re not likely to buy treats for themselves. Why not share the pumpkin spice love?