Autumn Drink Trends 2024

October 23, 2024

Autumn Drink Trends 2024

Falling leaves and darker nights arenโ€™t the only signs of Autumn.ย  Autumn drink trends 2024 include menus bursting with pumpkin spiced-everything heralding the changing of the seasons too.

This year, though, the now-iconic flavour is being joined by complex flavours from nuts and spices, rich tastes of desserts and seasonal fruits to create Autumn drinks for UK markets. And thereโ€™s one Autumn flavour thatโ€™s really on the rise โ€“ apple.

Spiced Apple Latte

Top pick: Autumnal apple

Where pumpkin spiced lattes offer warm familiarity, apple flavoured drinks offer something fresher. The fruit is more than just another seasonal staple too, itโ€™s a nod to health and sustainability while also being perhaps the most versatile base flavour there is.

Caramel Apple Butter Matcha

For non-coffee lovers, for example, apple is being worked into Matchas and Chais for an alternative Autumn brew, and for indulgent creations or autumnal alcoholic drinks it pairs well with all spices, sweet flavours and spirits. Plus, where pumpkin spiceโ€™s warming notes are synonymous with hot drinks, appleโ€™s versatility lends itself to energy drinks, smoothies and shakes as easily as coffees.

So apple is fast becoming a contender to pumpkin spiceโ€™s popularity. Where once an Autumn drinks menu might have featured a single apple-flavoured offering, restaurants have now introduced whole ranges.

Starbucks has added a variety of Apple Crisp flavour drinks to its Fall menu, for example, including Oatmilk Macchiatos and Shaken Espressos, while Scooters Coffee has Caramel Apple Smoothies, Green Apple Infusions and more in its new collection.

Apple flavoured drinks are emulating, rather than overshadowing, the โ€˜OGโ€™ of Fall flavours, though, particularly with spiced varieties. Oldhouse Goods in the US sells its Spiced Candy Apple Latte either hot, iced or frozen, while Waterloo has made a Spiced Apple sparkling water.

Apple Pie Chai

Apple Chais do the same, adding aromatic spices to apple drinks – like the Apple Chai with cinnamon served at Commonplace Coffee in the US โ€“ while Mojoโ€™s Spiced Apple Matcha Tea uses the two to help trendy matcha stay relevant through another season.

Creative drinks makers are coming up with playful combinations here, too, like Apple โ€œChai-derโ€ blends using the warming, spicy flavours of both namesakes. Kaldis Coffee Roasting Co, in the US, uses a cinnamon-spiked cider syrup to add depth to its spiced apple latte, for example.

Flavoured syrups like these are key to many of the lower calorie or dairy-free apple-flavoured creations. Apple infusions centre the fruit in teas or energy drinks – like The Last Standโ€™s Caramel Apple Energy drink, sold in the US.

They can also be used to create all-out, decadent dessert-style drinks, available as milkshakes or coffees – like Taste 154 Cafรฉโ€™s Fall Apple Latte, made with butter apple syrup and topped with a butter apple garnish and cookie crumble.

Alternative Autumn flavours

Apple isnโ€™t the only seasonal fruit to be gracing drinks, of course. Botanicals like figs, prunes, chestnuts and berries are all being worked into otherwise-neutral sodas and dessert-style drinks too. A boutique cafรฉ in Japan, SOLEW, has been serving an indulgent-looking fig soda while KFC sells a simpler looking, but Autumn-coloured blackberry lemonade, for example.

Flavours from desserts, spices and nuts all lend themselves to cosy winter drinks too. The drinks industry trend for drinkable desserts has made affordable and accessible thanks to flavoured syrups recreating the tastes of cookies, cinnamon rolls or macaroons, for example; each suiting Autumn hot drinks like lattes and frappes, as well as milkshakes, smoothies, bubble teas or cocktails. Syrups offering the flavours from chestnut, toffee or maple suit all these drink formats too, and maple or chestnut can also be added to mulled wines or hot ciders and beers for extra warming winter drinks.

Inspiration: Latest Autumn drink launches

A range of traditional and experimental Fall flavours and combinations are being used for Autumn hot drinks across quick serve restaurants (QSRs) this year.

Caribou Coffee is using pumpkin and apple across its Fall menu, including a Honeycrisp Apple Caramel Oatmilk Steamer and Pumpkin Chais, Coolers and White Mochas. IHOP is also focussing in on apple, with its Fall menu centred solely on Caramel Apple creations, including a Hot Chocolate, Lemonade and Milkshake all using the flavour combination.

Tous Le Joursโ€™ Autumnal offerings bring in a 2024 drinks trend and a newer Fall flavour, by way of its Iced Pumpkin Spice Matcha and Butter Pecan Latte.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte and a Maple Oatmilk Latte

Paris Baguette has opted for pumpkin and maple as its Autumn mainstays, including a Pumpkin Spiced Latte and a Maple Oatmilk Latte. Maple is also back on the menu at Costa Coffee, in Maple Hazel Lattes, Frappes and Hot Chocolates.

Human Bean has gone for a nostalgic creation with its seasonal Sโ€™mores Mocha, served with chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers.

Even in the cooler weather thereโ€™s plenty of room for cold serves using Fall flavours in Autumn non-alcoholic drinks. Playa Bowls blends protein and flax into Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, while Dutch Bros has brought back its Caramel Pumpkin Brulรฉ Breve and also added a Cookie Butter Latte, and a Caramel Apple energy drink to menus. Dunkinโ€™ has a new Nutty Pumpkinโ€™ iced coffee while brands across the US have created pumpkin spice eggnogs too, with dairy or plant bases.

Inspiration for autumn drinks has also been drawn from other seasonal staples, including Halloween-themed creations.

Halloween Milkshakes Deadly Sweet Company

Deadly Sweet Co has positioned its strawberry, horchata and chocolate almond milks as Bats Blood, Ghost Tears and Spider Venom, respectively, and Jones has a similar approach, rereleasing Blood Sucker (a strawberry lime soda) Zombie Juice (a green apple soda). Faygo has also launched a green apple soda.

Autumnal colours of rich reds, warm oranges and yellows, and deep purples and browns are also inspiring drinks too, like Waterlooโ€™s purple, sweet-tart Pomegranate Acai. This is one of its two seasonal sparkling waters, alongside the classic Spiced Apple flavour.

Add to your Autumn range

At Simpsons weโ€™re experts in developing, formulating and manufacturing flavours for use across all drink formats. Get in touch to talk about your ideas for Autumn drinks or future winter flavours.

Image source: Trendhubย The Food People 2024

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