3 Fall Coffee Recipes to Make at Home
There are people who wait patiently for fall. And then there are those of us who start thinking about pumpkin spice while it’s still entirely too hot outside.
Either way, PSL season has arrived—and we’re giving it the Wild Rituäl treatment.
Because a great pumpkin spice latte shouldn’t taste like a candle. It should still taste like coffee: rich, freshly brewed coffee balanced with warm spice, subtle sweetness and just enough milk to make it beautifully smooth.
For our at-home fall coffee recipes, we’re pairing Wild Rituäl coffee with Proper Syrup, a line of natural syrups created specifically to complement specialty coffee. Their Pumpkin Spice syrup is made with real spices, cane sugar and organic agave, rather than relying on an overly artificial flavor. Proper’s syrups are also vegan and gluten-free. Learn more about Proper Syrup.
In other words, they understand something we care deeply about: when you begin with delicious coffee, everything you add should make it better—not cover it up.
Here are three ways to welcome PSL season into your daily ritual.
1. The Proper Pumpkin Spice Latte
We’ll begin with the classic. Warm, creamy and gently spiced, this is the latte for the first morning that feels even remotely like fall—or the first morning you decide to turn the air-conditioning down and pretend.
You’ll need
- 2 shots freshly brewed espresso
- 1–2 tablespoons Proper Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- 6 ounces of your preferred milk
- Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for finishing
Make your ritual
Add the Pumpkin Spice syrup to your cup, followed by the freshly brewed espresso. Stir until combined.
Steam or froth your milk, then slowly pour it over the espresso. Finish with a light dusting of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
Taste before adding anything else. You can always add a little more syrup, but the goal is balance: warm pumpkin spice with plenty of rich coffee flavor still coming through.
Wild tip: Brio’s dark, smoky character and caramel notes would make this a deeper, more grown-up PSL. Our medium roast would create a slightly brighter and smoother version.
2. Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cafecito
Pumpkin spice and salted caramel are very good separately. Together, they become something dangerously easy to drink.
This recipe is smaller and more coffee-forward than a traditional latte. Think of it as a fall-inspired cortadito: bold espresso, a little steamed milk and just enough sweetness to soften the edges.
You’ll need
- 2 shots freshly brewed espresso
- ½ tablespoon Proper Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- ½ tablespoon Proper Salted Caramel Syrup
- 2–3 ounces steamed milk
- A pinch of cinnamon
Make your ritual
Combine both syrups in a small cup. Brew the espresso directly over them and stir well.
Add two to three ounces of lightly steamed milk, keeping the coffee flavor at the center of the drink. Finish with cinnamon—or the tiniest pinch of flaky sea salt if you want the salted caramel flavor to stand out.
Serve it in your favorite little cup and enjoy it slowly. Preferably with someone who knows not to interrupt the first sip.
Make it iced: Pour the espresso and syrups over ice, add a splash of milk and shake or stir until chilled.
3. Iced Pumpkin Hazelnut Latte
Fall in South Florida doesn’t always arrive with sweaters and crisp mornings. Sometimes it arrives in an iced glass with the air-conditioning running.
Hazelnut gives pumpkin spice a warm, toasted quality that feels seasonal without becoming overly sweet. This combination is especially lovely with coffee that has chocolate, caramel or brown-sugar notes.
You’ll need
- 2 shots freshly brewed espresso
- 1 tablespoon Proper Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- ½ tablespoon Proper Hazelnut Syrup
- 5–6 ounces milk
- Ice
- Cinnamon for finishing
Make your ritual
Fill a glass with ice and add the milk.
In a separate cup, stir the Pumpkin Spice and Hazelnut syrups into the hot espresso. Pour the sweetened espresso over the milk and ice, then stir everything together.
Top with cinnamon. If you’re feeling extra, add a layer of cold foam and another very light sprinkle of spice.
Wild tip: Shake the espresso, syrups and milk with ice in a sealed cocktail shaker or jar for a colder, frothier drink.
How Much Syrup Should You Use?
Your cafecito, your rules.
One tablespoon is a good starting point for a standard latte, particularly when using a syrup designed to complement rather than overpower specialty coffee. If you prefer a sweeter coffee-shop-style drink, try one and a half to two tablespoons.
For a smaller cortado or cafecito, begin with half a tablespoon. You want to taste the fall flavors, but you should never have to search for the coffee beneath them.
The roast matters, too. A dark roast can usually stand up to a little more sweetness and spice. With a lighter or more delicate coffee, use a softer hand.
Hot, Iced or Somewhere in Between
The beauty of making seasonal coffee at home is that you don’t have to choose your drink based on what the weather thinks fall should look like.
The classic Pumpkin Spice Latte is ideal served hot and foamy. The Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cafecito works beautifully hot or shaken over ice. The Pumpkin Hazelnut Latte was made for those warm fall afternoons when an iced coffee is the only reasonable answer.
You can also experiment with different milks. Whole milk creates the richest texture, while oat milk works especially well with pumpkin, caramel and toasted flavors. Almond milk will produce a lighter drink with a subtly nutty finish.
Better Ingredients Make a Better PSL
Flavored coffee gets a bad reputation when sweetness overwhelms everything else. But thoughtfully made syrups can add warmth and dimension while allowing the coffee to remain the heart of the drink.
Proper says its recipes were developed to support the flavor profiles found in specialty coffee. Its Pumpkin Spice syrup is made with real spices, cane sugar and organic agave, while the brand’s larger collection includes complementary fall flavors such as Salted Caramel and Hazelnut.
Paired with freshly roasted coffee, these flavors make it easy to create something special without turning your kitchen into a full-service coffee bar.
Make It Your Ritual
Maybe your fall ritual is a warm pumpkin spice latte before the rest of the house wakes up. Maybe it’s an iced version on the afternoon school run. Or maybe it’s a tiny salted caramel cafecito shared across the kitchen counter.
The season doesn’t begin on a particular date. It begins the first time your coffee smells like cinnamon, the cup feels especially good in your hands and an ordinary morning becomes something worth lingering over.
That’s the thing about a ritual: the ingredients matter, but the moment is yours.
Brew it wild. Sip it slowly. Enjoy your cafecito.