Once the leaves begin to turn, and the air cools down, most of us start hunting for our favourite fall beverages. While the pumpkin spice latté has developed a cult following, our local cafés and coffee joints are offering more than only pumpkin this fall. Whether you are looking for coffee, tea, or something else entirely, these are some of our favourite finds across town.
Red Door Provisions
117 Beechwood Ave.
Suggested to us by one of our readers, Red Door gets the prize for the most original fall drinks. The sweet potato pie latté is spicy and creamy, and comes with a house-made chai spice marshmallow, which only makes it more complex and rich as the marshmallow melts. You can also try the spiced rosemary latté if you love a more herbal, evergreen flavour for fall. A fresh apple cider, and dark and white hot chocolates round out the fall offerings, which are of course, perfect with their bounty of baked treats.
Ten Toes Coffee House
1109 Cyrville Rd.
593 Bank St.
837 Somerset St W.
Ten Toes has three locations across the city, and they each offer their own special beverages. The Bank street location has a vegan pumpkin spice option, as well as a french toast latté, while Cyrville has a cardamom chai that is creamy, spicy, and very, very cozy. The Somerset location also offers laundry facilities and is very dog friendly — if either of those are your jam. The pumpkin spice and caramel lattés are creamy and rich, but never too sweet. They are also open late!
Apple cider at Art House Café
Art House Café
555 Somerset W.
Art House has become of the best venues in town for cozy live music and art events, and has the added benefit of being open late every night for your caffeine or cocktail fix. This fall, they are offering a rich and spicy apple cider, with or without tipple, in addition to their house-made chai, which is always a highlight. Their extended patio is the perfect place to enjoy your hot beverage in the crisp fall weather.
Arlington 5
5 Arlington Ave.
One of the most exciting things happening in fall drinks is the expansion of the chai flavour profile. At Arlington 5 you can get a cocoa chai that is spicy and rich, with the depth of cocoa without any of the excessive sweetness. Paired with any one of their muffins or scones, it’s cozy for fall, but also complex and nowhere near basic.
Equator Coffee Roasters
412 Churchill Ave. N.
5114 Kanata Ave.
1 Elgin St.
1523 Stittsville Main St.
451 Ottawa St., Almonte
With multiple locations around the city, there is an Equator near you serving up the best variety of fall drinks that we could find. The iced dalgona latté is a creamy, surprising toffee confection, while the Ottawa mule is a spicy, fruity ginger concoction that is refreshing and perfectly spiced for fall. The cardamom iced tea is perfectly unsweetened and the ubiquitous pumpkin spice latté packs a good pumpkin flavour.
Little Victories
801 Bank St.
44 Elgin St.
With their continued focus on the bean and brewing the perfect cup of coffee, it’s no surprise that the spiced cappucino is the showstopper fall special at Little Victories. The combination of spice, foam, and rich espresso makes for a balanced and grown-up fall treat, without any of the extra sweetness that often comes with special feature beverages.
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Morning Owl
538 Rochester St.
229 Armstrong St.
219 Laurier Ave W.
1047 Canadian Shield Ave.
5521 Manotick Main St.
1621 Woodward Dr.
Morning Owl is another local coffee shop that just seems to keep cropping up new locations in every corner of the city! For fall, they have a traditional pumpkin spice latté, as well as a spiced cardamom fog which is an autumnal take on a classic London fog. They also boast a brown sugar and cinnamon latté that is delicious hot or cold. Each location maintains their own Instagram, and offers different food and bakery items, so check out the location nearest to you to see what they have brewing.
Cloud Forest Coffee
339 Richmond Rd.
63 Eddy St., Hull
You probably know Cloud Forest from their frequent presence at holiday markets and coffee fests, and possibly from their two cute cafés in the area. Their pumpkin spice latté is rich and full of real spices, and goes really well with the pumpkin cookie (or any of their cookies honestly). Their apple cider is spiced and rich, with caramel sauce that brings it together as the perfect decadent treat.
Happy Goat
35 Rue Laurel St.
317 Wilbrod St.
326 Elgin St.
307 A Richmond Rd.
1124 Bank St.
229 Rideau St.
145 Main St.
380 Sussex Dr.
734 Bank St.
Happy Goat has gone all in this fall, with a huge selection of fall drinks, many of which feature orange as the seasonal flavour. If you’ve never had orange with your coffee, now is the time to try it. The orange cardamom latté is the perfect blend of brightness and spice to ease you into the season. The cranberry orange iced tea is a great change of pace for those warmer days and for those of us looking for a juicy coffee alternative. I can see this being a great treat around Christmas as well — the perfect antidote to over-sweetened baked goods!
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