Pumpkin Coffee Time.

It’s fall and that means one thing… PUMPKIN time. Which means PUMPKIN COFFEEEEEEEEE. My favorite kind of coffee.

Literally. It’s a problem. I seriously have to watch myself in the fall, because pumpkin drinks are everywhere and they are usually around 300-600 calories each. Truth.

 

My all time favorite place is Dunkin Donuts. The pumpkin coffee there only has about 200 calories, but that’s still a lot considering a black coffee is only 5-10 calories. I’ll get into this a little bit more, but first, I must tell you about my recent trip to the newly opened California Dunkin.

 

 

This Dunkin is one of the first on the West Coast and it opened this past month. Of course, I decided it would be a great idea to get up at 3:45am to go to the Dunkin store opening. I wrongly assumed I would be one of the first 100 people in the store, possibly even the first 15, given that I was arriving an hour before they opened.

I was so so wrong.

 

 

 

 

There were about 300 people in front of me at 4:15 in the MORNING. The first guy started camping out by the door on Sunday night, and this store opened on Tuesday morning. Now that’s dedication.

 

 

While waiting, I befriended some fellow East Coasters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 hours later, we finally got in. Not exaggerating. I  bought three coffees for myself. True as well.

Sorry I’m not sorry.

I drank all three pumpkin varieties: a latte, a hot, and an iced, and then I felt incredibly sick. Probably because of the caffeine, although more likely from all the extra sugary and artificial pumpkin syrup. Have you read the ingredients in coffee shop pumpkin coffee? It’s gross. Take my word for it.

As much as I love those syrups, they are mainly sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial flavors. All things that are terrible for our bodies.

Of course I can’t just give up drinking pumpkin coffee, so I made up my own, one that much healthier for you. Actually, there are three versions, you can one or  you can be a crazy pumpkin fool and make all three for yourself in one sitting. I advise against that.

 What you need:

1 1/2 cups of iced black coffee cubes.  (You can make these ahead of time and store in bags in your freezer. SUPER EASY: all you do is made black coffee, pour in an ice cube tray, and freeze).

2 tbsp pumpkin (pure pumpkin puree in a can or box- not the one that says it’s for pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup your choice of milk (I used hemp, and almond or coconut milk is delicious too)

1/3 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tbsp coconut sugar  (you could use honey or maple syrup if you don’t have coconut sugar)

What to do:

1. Place all ingredients in a NutriBullet, blender, or food processor and blend well.

  

2. Pour into a cup, top with whipped cream if you are feeling extra awesome.

And enjoy!

Iced Pumpkin Americano Version: This one’s for my friend Miguel, the king of double shot iced americanos:

Follow the recipe above, except replace the frozen coffee cubes with you can use regular ice cubes and add two shots of espresso (regular espresso that isn’t frozen).

 

Hot Version:

What you need:

3/4 cup milk (almond, coconut, regular, your choice)

1 tbs pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie one)

2 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1 regular cup of black coffee

**You can add pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon here if you want. Just make note that the spices can tend to make a slimy goo at the bottom of the mug in hot drinks. It grosses me out so I left it out.**

What to do:

1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.

2. Warm it up on the stove.

3.  Pour into a cup or black coffee, mix well, and top with whipped cream.