
If you don’t find a commercially produced pumpkin spice latte that’s to your liking, try making one yourself. It’s surprisingly easy. Photo by Cynthia Hochswender
The arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte to the Starbucks menu has become a harbinger of autumn since 2004, when it was first released.
Now, more than 15 years later, almost every establishment that sells coffee in America has its own pumpkin spice latte recipe that it sells from late September through October.
The pumpkin spice latte, or “PSL” as it’s sometimes called, is a coffee drink that combines all the tastes you associate with pumpkin pie: pumpkin flavoring, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves.
Over the years I have become a connoisseur of all things pumpkin spice. I’ve taste-tested nearly every PSL product on the market — so you don’t have to.
The most famous, of course, is the one offered by Starbucks. Their version is classic and quite good — especially the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino (a cold, blended drink) and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew (cold-brew coffee topped with sweet, pumpkin-flavored cream). These are menu items unique to Starbucks.
However, if you just want a classic hot, pumpkin spice latte, and if you don’t feel like driving for 45 minutes or more to get to a Starbucks, I would recommend getting one from McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. Brand snobs might argue otherwise, but the hot pumpkin spice latte from these three chains offer essentially the same experience. If you want a hit of caffeinated PSL this Pumpkin Spice Season, I don’t think you’d miss out by going to McD or Dunkin’ instead of Starbucks.
Cumberland Farms (which has filling station/convenience stores in Amenia, N.Y., Millerton, N.Y., Great Barrington, Mass., and Torrington, Conn.) has a make-your-own pumpkin spice latte syrup with their other coffee condiments, next to the milk, sugar and creamers. You can add as many shots of syrup as you’d like to your coffee for either a more subtle or a maximized version. Cumbies also offers a pumpkin cappuccino from its cappuccino machine that will be well-received by anyone with a sweet tooth.
There’s also a variety of pumpkin spice coffees and creamers you can buy at your grocery store, including non-dairy options. My favorites are the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Brew Coffee with Almond Milk by Califia, which has nice notes of cinnamon and nutmeg and is mild enough that you don’t feel like you’re drinking a dessert. I also like the Chameleon brand pumpkin spice oat milk latte, which is more spicy than sweet, differentiating it from many of the PSLs on the market.
If you’re not a coffee drinker, Harney & Sons tea company, based in Millerton, has a Pumpkin Spice Tea.
If you are staying homebound due to quarantine, we’ve found a recipe for a pumpkin spice latte that you can make yourself at home.
This is from the website www.sweetsteep.com; the recipe was developed by a woman whose daughter was a barista at Starbucks. We found it was easy to make and tasted just like the Starbucks PSL — or actually, a little bit better.
We happened to have a couple cans of Libby’s canned pumpkin in the pantry; when we went to the grocery store to pick up a few more cans we were surprised to find that none of the area grocery stores that we visited had any in stock.
The internet isn’t indicating that there is a canned pumpkin shortage this year, as there was in 2015. We were shopping in late September, so it’s possible that it was just a bit too early for the stores to be stocking it.
Some stores have the One-Pie brand of canned pumpkin, which gets high marks from users on the internet.
However, if you are unable to find canned pumpkin (and be sure you do not buy canned pumpkin pie mix, which already has spices added) there is still time to buy a baking or pie pumpkin at your local farm stand. Roast and puree the flesh, scoop it out of the shell and remove the seeds. Then be sure to puree the roasted flesh and then run it through a food mill. To give it more body, you can add roasted butternut squash or sweet potato; fresh pumpkin is always a little more stringy and watery than the canned version.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup
Adapted from www.sweetsteep.com
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
One 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
You can buy premade pumpkin pie spice, but you probably have all the ingredients for it in your pantry already. Save yourself some money, and use up your spices before they start to lose their flavor.
Most of the spice recipes we found are variations on a few basic ingredients. The Martha Stewart recipe worked fine, but almost any other recipe will be just as good. Combine 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, a teaspoon of ground allspice and a half teaspoon of ground cloves. If you don’t have any allspice, don’t go out and buy some just for this.
To make the pumpkin spice latte syrup, first make a simple sugar by combining a half cup of water and a half cup of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. The sugar will dissolve into the water and then begin to boil; when it does, turn the heat to low and add the pumpkin puree, the condensed milk, the pie spice and the salt. Stir them together for a couple minutes over low heat and then set the mix aside and let it cool.
Be sure that you use condensed milk, which is thick and sweet, and not evaporated milk or any other canned milk product. The two most common brands around here are Magnolia from Borden’s, which was made here in the Tri-state region for many years by the Borden family; and Eagle Brand (and actually, Eagle makes the Magnolia milk too).
When you’re ready to make a latte, you don’t have to use espresso, you can just make coffee (as strong or weak as you like). I use about two tablespoons of syrup for each normal-sized cup of coffee; experiment until you find the amount that you like.
You don’t need to add milk —but if you have a milk frother you can of course scoop some on top of your latte, and sprinkle a little dusting of pie spice over the top.
Dancers from Pilobolus will perform at the NWCT Arts Council spring fundraiser on April 26 in Washington Depot, Conn.
On Saturday, April 26, the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council will host a special evening, Arts Connected, their spring fundraiser celebrating the power of creativity and community. Held at the Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington Depot from 5 to 8 p.m., this event brings together artists, performers, and neighbors for a magical night filled with inspiration, connection and joy.
Award-winning designer and arts advocate Diane von Furstenberg and her granddaughter Antonia Steinberg are honorary co-chairs of the event. Their shared love of the arts informs the spirit of the evening.
Antonia Steinberg, above, President of Bucks Rock Camp in New Milford that she first attended as a camper when she was ten years old. Antonia is co-chair, with her grandmother Diane Von Furstenberg of the NWCT Arts Council fundraiser.Provided
“As someone whose life was profoundly shaped by the arts — as a child at Buck’s Rock and now as President of its Board — I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of the arts; how creative spaces can empower young people, build community, and nurture well-rounded problem solvers. That’s why I’m so honored to co-host the Northwest CT Arts Council Gala. Their work in supporting artists and cultural organizations across Connecticut is essential,” said Steinberg.
Von Furstenberg’s influence in fashion and culture, and Steinberg’s leadership at Buck’s Rock reflect the intergenerational impact of the arts,” said NWCT Arts Council board president Sunday Fisher. “Their participation underscores the power of creative expression as a defining force in our community.” Steinberg is the president of Buck’s Rock Camp, a non-profit performing and creative arts camp in New Milford that she first attended as a 10-year-old camper.
Diane Von Furstenberg, co-chair of NWCT Arts Council fundraiser.Provided
Steph Burr, executive director at NWCT Arts Council, added, “Events like Arts Connected are at the heart of what we do — bringing people together, lifting up artists, and reminding us of the essential role creativity plays in our lives. The Council works year-round to ensure the arts not only survive but thrive across our region.”
NWCT Arts Council is a nonprofit that serves as advocates for the arts. Through regranting efforts, public art support, legislative advocacy, and their regional events calendar, they work to ensure the arts are accessible and celebrated in every corner of their 25-town service area.
Burr continued, “The arts in Northwest Connecticut are vibrant, evolving, and deeply rooted in community. There’s a quiet but powerful creative pulse running through these hills — one that reflects the resilience, diversity, and passion of the people who call this region home. Over the past few years, artists and cultural organizations have navigated challenges with heart and determination, despite ongoing funding volatility. Through our advocacy and collaborative programming, we ensure the arts remain essential and accessible in our community.”
Highlights of the April 26 fundraiser include performances by Pilobolus, Sherman Chamber Ensemble, Ysanne Marshall & the Lotus Blues, hand pan musician Jeremy Driscoll, and a curated art exhibition, NW25 Gallery, featuring local artists. Sponsors Litchfield Distillery, Kent Falls Brewing Company, and Executive Cuisine catering will provide the food and drink.
Ticket prices are $125, open to guests 21 and older, available online at givebutter.com/artsconnected.For more information or to ask about sponsorship opportunities, email Katherine Pelletier at katherine@artsnwct.org or visit givebutter.com/artsconnectedsponsorship.
Arts Connected is made possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors; Antonia Steinberg is sponsoring all the artists for the event and Valiant Energy and Torrington Savings Bank are presenting the event.Additional sponsors include William Raveis Lifestyle Realty, Litchfield Magazine, Housatonic Heritage, Art Bank 7, Harney & Sons Teas, Aquarion Water, The Lost Fox Inn, George Home, NKYV Rituals, and Litchfield Distillery.
Lily Al-Nemri, founder and owner, and artistic director and painter Rudy Vavra at Tyte medispa and gallery in Millbrook.
The painter Rudy Vavra once created floor collages in Texas. You could, in theory, lie on them. Now, years later and much farther north, his work graces the walls of a medispa in Millbrook, New York where he also serves as the artistic director. You can still lie down, just not on the art. Instead, you might be undergoing an EmFace non-surgical facelift while surrounded by twenty-two of Vavra’s paintings.
The space, Tyte Medispa in Millbrook, is equal parts gallery and treatment center, the brainchild of Lily Al-Nemri, a medical aesthetician and now gallery owner. She also owns the nail salon, Bryte, down the street on Franklin Avenue. A few years ago, feeling she was outgrowing that space, she looked to expand and, just a few blocks away, found this rather sprawling maze of rooms with the gallery that now inhabits the grand central ballroom. “This used to be a gym,” she said. “It was way more than I was looking for, but I went for it.”
Vavra, a self-professed “painter’s painter,” has spent decades layering pigment in his barn-turned-studio in Milan, New York. “I find paintings as much as I make them,” he mused. “Some happen quickly, others are slow.” Of this latest collection, he said, “Some people call them busy. I think they’re slow.” His marks accumulate with a kind of devotional persistence, like petals left at a shrine. “A while ago, I saw a photographic image of a shrine,” Vavra said. “I don’t know if it was a Buddhist shrine or what, but there were colors on the ground all around it, and I realized they were the stains of flowers left in the worship. That’s very similar to the way I paint.”
The collection of paintings on view at Tyte — some as large as a shrine — are meditations on color, inviting the viewer to slow down. Or speed up. Whether viewers are activated or soothed by the images is neither Vavra’s intention nor within his control. Still, he said that watching people interact with the work has been a real treat. “Now that I have my paintings here, I get to see them all together,” he said. “It’s only when they’re all together that I see how they talk to each other. It’s interesting to see people come in and go to have a treatment and come out. It’s a very interesting connection.”
And what is the connection? What could be a disjointed pairing — aesthetics and aesthetic medicine — has become, improbably, a perfectly logical continuum. “They’re related in a sense,” Vavra said.
Aly Morrissey
Al-Nemri, a former radiologist who taught for over a decade at Westchester Community College, is no stranger to layering, precision, or the quiet rigor of care. Her incredible menu of services — Botox, body contouring, pelvic floor therapies — are the cutting edge of the industry. Of Vavra, Al-Nemri said, “I fell in love with his work, and we just hit it off.” It’s a kind of kismet that seems to hover over the place. Pilates mat classes take place twice a week in the main gallery space and both Al-Nemri and Vavra have loved watching clients pause, eyes caught by a stripe of cerulean or a vibrating cluster of brushstrokes. “Something will catch their eye,” said Vavra. “They’re looking for something in it.”
So, this gallery-meets-spa (or is it the other way around?) has plans. Vavra will be curating six shows a year. Laurie Adams’s photographs will be hung in June, a group show of local artists will share the space in July and August, and a Fall show will feature twenty women artists, which Vavra is eager to anchor with a piece by Judy Pfaff. “There’s nothing like this on this side of the county,” he said of the light drenched space. “It’s been a bit sleepier here. We want to wake it up.”
He means it kindly; sleep certainly has its place. But here in Millbrook, amid the low drone of machines designed to rejuvenate, something unexpected has emerged. Perhaps that’s what both Al-Nemri and Vavra are really after — not the quick fix or the final image, but the suspended moment, the long look. A face seen anew. A painting revealed slowly, in silence.
As for Vavra’s curatorial process? “I just unpack the paintings, lean them against the wall, and look,” he said. “Eighty percent of the time, they’re already where they’re supposed to be.”