Missoula’s Guide To Pumpkin Spice Lattes: Wheat Montana

Regardless of economic circumstances, the whims of corporate CEOs and influencers, or even acts of God, you can always count on three things to happen in Montana earlier every year:

• mentions of Black Friday in your email
• Christmas decorations for sale
• pumpkin spiced lattes returning to coffee menus

Get our free mobile app

As for myself, I've never been a fan of pumpkin spice, or the autumn season. It involves a mania that arrives every year, usually including "basics" culture; scarves, Ugg boots, and relentless OMG it's fall OMG lookit sooooooo pretty captions attached to pictures of dying trees on Instagram. Don't get me wrong, if it makes you happy, then go for it; I'm not here to judge.

RELATED: PSLs Return To Missoula

The Mission

In an attempt to discover what makes people go bonkers for pumpkin spice lattes, I've decided to embark on a journey through Missoula to visit EVERY coffee stand that sells this seemingly magical beverage. There's got to be something to it, right?

Going into this assignment, I'm firmly in Camp "Pumpkin Is Mother Nature's Cardboard." Not a fan of it, but I will attempt to give my honest opinion of the beverages I get as well as profile the businesses. There are several rules I will abide by when reviewing the experience:

• I will only get the 12oz PSL
• whether it contains pumpkin puree or a pumpkin simple syrup
• what the drinks costs

Wheat Montana's Pumpkin Spice Latte

In the first of this series, I headed to Wheat Montana on the corner of Reserve St and 3rd St in Missoula. I pulled in and immediately saw they serve their PSL with this Torani pumpkin syrup:

Even though this was the first PSL I've ever tried in my [redacted] years on Earth, I can't give a negative review of the taste or presentation of this $3.75 drink. It tasted exactly what I expected it to taste like: a hint of pumpkin flavor and foam. I wasn't disappointed.

I suppose it doesn't make a difference what it looks like under the lid, but I took the picture anyway. What's the point in not sharing?

Anyone would be comfy sipping their beverages in the spacious dining room, including yours truly.

I was tempted to get a bagel and enjoy it myself.

Heading into work, I sipped on it and honestly, the experience wasn't bad. It wasn't served too hot, so I could comfortably sip it without burning my tongue or gums.

All told, it was a good experience. Thank you Wheat Montana Missoula!

Stay tuned for more PSL reviews from Missoula coffee stands this month and into October, after which I may end up a pumpkin lover after all.