A Coffee Lover’s Guide to Pumpkin Spice Lattes in Honolulu

These 15 local coffee shops put their own spin on a fall tradition.

58 minutes ago

Katrina Valcourt,

I joined the PSL craze later in life, long after the drink became less a trendy beverage and more a seasonal staple. But now, I order it the moment it turns to autumn. Our leaves don’t change, and our pumpkin patches require T-shirts and shorts rather than cozy flannels, but a hot (or iced) PSL can make us believe for a few minutes that summer is over and fall is here, despite what the thermometer says.

Many cafés put their own spin on the classic pumpkin spice latte, so these aren’t necessarily traditional flavor profiles. But we love them anyway. Here are a few favorites and where to seek out others.

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Tradition Coffee Roasters

One of the best PSLs this season is also one of the most standard, featuring a house-made syrup with pumpkin purée, vanilla, light brown sugar, cane sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. The spices come together with Tradition’s locally roasted coffee in such a warm, comforting sip.

$6, 905 Kalaniana‘ole Highway, #3201, Kailua, traditioncoffeeroasters.com, @traditioncoffeeroasters

Try nearby:

Café Kopi’s pumpkin spice latte, 45 Kīhāpai St., Kailua, @cafekopihawaii
ChadLou’s Waimānalo Pumpkin Patch with pumpkin spice and coconut, 45 Ho‘olai St., Suite B, Kailua, chadlouscoffeeroasters.com, @chadlouscoffee

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Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Knots Coffee Roasters

The Pumpkin King showcases Knots’ pumpkin purée and vanilla syrup, giving the latte a nice thick mouthfeel. It isn’t a PSL, but pumpkin fans will appreciate the strong taste of pumpkin, with vanilla lending sweetness.

$8.50, 150 Kapahulu Ave., Waikīkī, knotscoffee.com, @knotscoffeehawaii

Try nearby:

Hala Tree Café’s miso caramel pumpkin latte—the pumpkin cold foam, with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, tastes more like a PSL at first, but the 100% Kona coffee beneath has more of that delicate miso caramel flavor, 2380 Kūhiō Ave., Space RU 111, Waikīkī, halatreecoffee.com, @halatreecafe

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

The Bird’s Nest

The flavors of the house-made syrup in the pumpkin ginger latte are subtle, with the ginger only coming through at the end, but the coffee itself here is worth a trip. Don’t skip the maple sea salt cold foam ($1.50).

$7.25, 66-532 Kamehameha Highway, Hale‘iwa, thebirdsnestcoffee.com, @thebirdsnestcoffee

Try nearby:

Surfers Coffee’s pumpkin spice latte, 63 Kamehameha Highway, Wahiawā, surferscoffeehi.com, @surferscoffee
Bizia Surf + Coffee Bar combines house-made pumpkin spice syrup with cookie butter and espresso, 401 N. Cane St., A2, Wahiawā, biziasurf.com, @biziasurf

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Bluetree Café

The Pumpkin Cloud Latte is another special worth getting if you’re a fan of the taste of pumpkin more than the warming spices. The syrup features pumpkin purée with both white and brown sugars, and the drink is topped with a super creamy pumpkin cold foam. This espresso-based drink comes iced by default, which goes against my preference for a PSL, but this was perfect on a hot day.

$6.80, 600 Ala Moana Blvd., Kaka‘ako, bluetreesalt.hrpos.heartland.us/menu, @bluetreehawaii

Try nearby:

Café ‘Alalā’s pumpkin spice latte, multiple locations, Downtown, @cafealala
Common Ground’s pumpkin spice latte with Big Island Coffee Roasters’ Pueo dark espresso blend, 1111 Bishop St., Downtown, commongroundhnl.com, @commongroundhnl
Pō‘ai by Pono Potions has a Lānui ‘Ulu Spice latte with ginger and clove, 1119 Smith St., Chinatown, ponopotions.com, @ponopotions

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Third Space Coffee

Though this shop—which shares CakeM’s space at 808 Center—uses Portland Syrups’ premade brown sugar pumpkin spice syrup, it makes sense for a business inspired by the Pacific Northwest (the café also serves coffee from Portland’s Sterling Coffee Roasters). The syrup is made with pumpkin purée, cane sugar, brown sugar, ginger juice, spices and pumpkin concentrate and is ranked the No. 1 store-bought pumpkin spice syrup by The Daily Meal. The flavors overall are pretty low-key in the pumpkin pie latte, but I like how it’s earthy without being gritty.

$7, 808 Sheridan St., third floor, Ala Moana, thirdspacecoffeehawaii.com, @thirdspacecoffeehawaii

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Ali‘i Coffee

The thick, dark, house-made pumpkin pie syrup sitting on the counter at Ali‘i suggests the pumpkin latte will be packed with flavor, and this turns out to be another one of my favorites this season.

$7.25, multiple locations, aliicoffee.com, @aliicoffeeco

Try nearby: