Appropriate Tagline: “Not just for coffee anymore!”
Back Story: I’ve actually been passing this stuff on the shelves for the last two months, but always passed it by because except for a few rare exceptions, I really don’t drink coffee.  Nonetheless, I do enjoy a nice hot chocolate on the occasional chilly winter day here in Florida and have had my eye out unsuccessfully for some type of pumpkin hot chocolate mix all season.  It actually wasn’t until seeing some of the Christmas holiday varieties (candy cane, gingerbread, etc…) that I thought maybe it might be worth a try as a way to spruce up my hot chocolate after all…
Mission: Accomplished!: Seriously, I should’ve picked up a bottle of this stuff two months ago – wow!  A seemingly perfect blend of pumpkin and the associated spices, and I think it worked even better simply because I wasn’t having to taste around the coffee flavor that I’m not particularly fond of.  If this stuff didn’t have an expiration date on it, I’d pick up an extra bottle to hide away for a rainy day.
Final Recommendation: Hurry to your local grocer’s dairy section and try to pick up a bottle while you still can!  Granted, the gingerbread flavor sounds interesting, too, but then again, this website isn’t exactly called Love Me Some Gingerbread, now is it???

Mental Note: website idea for when I finally run out of pumpkin options…

Thoughts: “I’ll show those cocky punks at Starbucks! I’ll make my own pumpkin spice latte – how tough can it be?!”
Afterthoughts: “…maybe this is something better left to trained, over-charging professionals…”
Construction Note: Instead of simply using hot water, I followed the alternate instructions on the side of the can and used hot milk in its place. For what it’s worth, this is normally how I make hot chocolate, too.
Flavor: Sort of pumpkin-y, but it pains me to admit that the $4 Starbucks creation was probably better … which surprised me because I thought with the whipped cream and cinnamon I really brought something worthy to the table! It was ok, but nothing spectacular.
Side Note: Shortly after spotting this product, I also found a Limited Edition Pumpkin-Flavored Coffee Mate coffee mix-in, too, but seeing as I’m not a coffee drinker, I figured I’d be better off going with this one instead.
Verdict: You win this battle, Starbucks, but thankfully since I don’t really drink coffee all that much anyways, it doesn’t really matter!

Epilogue: While I really couldn’t care less about coffee, per se, I have been known to be a bit of a sucker for hot chocolate. That said, I disappointingly have yet to find any pumpkin-flavored hot chocolate mix to try, so if you happen to come across some, please do e-mail me with where you found it and I’ll see if I can hunt down a sample of my own here in sunny Florida!

Yes, we do occasionally drink hot chocolate here in Florida – it’s not blazingly hot all year long…

Foreward: I know I previously said that I’m not really much of a coffee drinker, but due to peer pressure and an overwhelming urge to spend $4 on a cup of coffee, I decided that there was simply no sense in leaving this stone, err, pumpkin unturned…
Flavor Value: surprisingly accurate – as if somebody had stashed a slice of pumpkin pie in the coffee maker and deliciousness ensued!
Coffee vs. Hot Chocolate: caffeine was definitely present, although not overbearing
Returnability: If I were a coffee drinker, or if said peer pressurers didn’t live on the other side of the country and thus requested my presence at such coffee-serving establishments on a more regular basis, then yes – I do say that I would likely fancy another cup.

Starbucks Jerky Barista Note: I must profess, however, that this visit to America’s premiere coffee destination was not all sugar and spice. When it came time to determine the size of my Pumpkin Spice Latte, I saw fit to make a passing joke about how the naming conventions for their sizes was confusing as all get out (a la “Why can’t you guys just use small, medium, large?” etc, etc…). It quickly became painfully clear that said barista didn’t find my joke in the least bit amusing because apparently they hear that kind of so-called witty banter at Starbucks all the time.

And to that I can only respond, “Well, good!” I know that the guy behind the counter surely doesn’t get a say in what sizes the company puts up there on the menu, but the least you can do is acknowledge that they’re utterly ridiculous! If I opened up a sandwich shop and said, “Nah – we’re not going to do small, medium, and large sandwiches. We need to be unique, so instead we’re going with golf cart, kangaroo, and 14-month-old baby. Which one is the biggest one? I dunno…” – that would make me a jerk and it would serve me right to have customers dish out a bit of mockery in exchange for the mass confusion every now and then!

Final Thoughts: tasty, pumpkin-rich coffee, no matter what size you end up ordering

Special Note: Didn’t actually try any myself, but this caught my eye at the mall earlier today and I happened to have my camera on me. I’m not really much of a coffee drinker anyways, but for those who are, now boarding the Caffeine Express, with non-stop service to Pumpkin Town!