Cool Beanz Offers A Taste of Fall With Their Pumpkin Spice Latte
Pumpkin spice latte.
It’s become a harbinger of fall and a punch line for coffee aficionados, but the fact is, it never would’ve become either if not for one simple fact: Damn, it’s really good.
Anyone who knows me well knows I’m pretty much addicted to caffeine. And I have two regular haunts I hit here in my Rock Island hometown to get that fix – Theo’s in downtown and Cool Beanz in College Hill (1328 30th St., Rock Island.)
And so it was, on a sunny Thursday afternoon that I was pitched my first PSL of the season at Cool Beanz and decided to check it out.
Now, to start, let me say I’m not a big fan of the sweet and foofy coffee drinks. I usually take my coffee black, whether it’s not or iced. Every once in a while I’ll hit it with a little cream, but never sugar and definitely none of that artificial creamer crap. So going in to a PSL, I’m not your standard audience. I’m not the guy who orders a giant shake-looking thing with caramel and cookie crumbles on top.
But every once in a while, I’ll get something more along those lines, especially if it looks interesting. And, looking at the artistic foam creations being peddled at Cool Beanz, their PSL certainly looked interesting.
Getting the drink in its giant mug, seeing the bits of spice interwoven among the coffee and the smiling jack-o-lantern design among the froth, I have to admit it put me into a fall spirit. Taking a drink of it only extended that.
The Cool Beanz PSL is not your typical, syrupy sweet PSL that you might get from a chain store. It’s got more spice and more coffee bite. The thing I love about black coffee is its intermingling of tastes and those bitter notes and the Cool Beanz PSL still retains those. It’s got some sweetness to it, but it’s a great mix of that bitter and sweet. The other thing that stands out is the nutmeg and cinnamon, which taste fresh and offer an incredible aroma commingling with the coffee and steamed milk. This doesn’t taste like a drink made of coffee and syrup, it tastes like a drink made of coffee and the actual ingredients of a pumpkin pie.
If you’re looking for a mega-sweet PSL, this may not be for you. But if you’re looking for a mega-sweet PSL, you’re probably going to McDonald’s. If you’re looking for a delicious and well-balanced fall drink that features a complex and tasty blend of black coffee’s bite and pumpkin pie’s sweet earthiness, this is the drink for you.
Enjoy it . . .
Cool Beanz Coffee House
1325 30th St
Rock Island, IL 61201
(309) 558-0909
coolbeanzcoffeehouse.com
