How to Make the Perfect Pumpkin Spice Latte
Do you love pumpkin as much as I do?
If so, then you’ll love this PSL recipe!
It’s creamy and pumpkin-y just like the original from Starbucks, but if you have the ingredients on hand, you can make it all year round. It’s a perfect, cozy recipe to enjoy with a book in hand, or curled up in front of the fire — or hey, maybe you can make it iced and enjoy it in the summer. I won’t judge!
Watch the video below to see all of the steps, or keep reading to follow along with all of my steps.
PS: some of the links included in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase a product from their site I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
1. Choose Your Coffee.
The coffee beans you choose are the base of your PSL… so you’ll want to choose wisely! I’ve been using 28 Barbary Lane beans from Gold Door Coffee because I find they make a nice, medium cup that gives a good coffee flavour without overwhelming the pumpkin spice flavour.
I also prefer to grind it before each cup, rather than buying pre-ground beans, so that my coffee is nice and fresh every time I drink it!
I use the Niche Zero, which I love because it has such a variety of grind sizes (and let’s be honest, because it’s just so beautiful!).
2. Brew Your Coffee.
Your coffee beans are ready… now it’s time to make them into a delicious drink! Anytime I make a latte-style drink at home, I use my Aeropress because I find it makes the closest thing to an espresso shot out of the brewers I have at home.
If you’re using the Aeropress, it’s also easy to measure out the amount of coffee you’re making: all you have to do is use the scoop that comes with it so you know how much coffee to grind, and fill it up to the top line with water.
If you don’t have one, I’d recommend using a French Press — that way you can still control how strong it is more easily. The Aeropress holds around half a cup of water, so make that much coffee in the French Press as well.
3. Choose Your Milk.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge oat milk fan… so that’s what I used for this latte! I find it makes a creamier, more satisfying latte than any other milk, so that’s what I would recommend you use too… but regardless of which type you choose, measure out 1/2 cup of it into your mug of choice.
Just make sure the mug you’re using is large enough to fit both the milk and the coffee, since you’ll be adding the coffee to it as well once it’s brewed (spoiler alert!).
4. Add Your Spices.
Here comes the fun part! To make this PSL, I added everything in the list below to the mug of milk:
2 tbsp of pumpkin puree
½ tsp of pumpkin pie spice (allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon if you don’t have it)
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp vanilla
1 tsp brown sugar (or sweetener of choice) — note that it isn’t particularly sweet, so if you prefer sweeter flavoured lattes, you can add more sugar
Stir a little, but don’t worry if it’s not all combined. That will come in the next step!
PS: If you love lattes with a lot of spices, I recommend also checking out this turmeric latte recipe!
5. Heat and Froth It Up.
Once all of the spices have been added to your milk, it’s time to warm it up! I just heated it up in the microwave for a minute or so, then pulled out my milk frother and mix it all together.
This should combine all of the spices as well as making the milk nice and frothy, like a real latte! I would highly recommend getting a milk frother for that very reason — no matter what kind of latte you’re making, it’ll help you feel fancy.
6. Add Your Coffee
While you mixed up the spices and milk, the coffee should have gotten nice and strong! (Whether you’re using the Aeropress or a French Press, it should have brewed for at least 4 minutes — just in case you were a lot faster at mixing the other spices than I was.) Once it’s ready, add it to the mug with your milk.
7. Mix it Up
You’re in the home stretch! Now that you’ve added your coffee, it’s time to mix it all up to get that perfect pumpkin flavour.
And there you have it: the perfect PSL, right in the comfort of your own home. Let me know in the comments if you’re planning on trying it, or just pin this recipe for later:
