Although it still feels like the middle of summer, with flip flops in rotation for most Villanovans and temperatures reaching the mid-80s during peak afternoon hours, fall foods and flavors are officially available on and off-campus. Given the (often extensive) wait times for coffee at nearly every coffee shop on campus during the morning and mid-afternoon pick-me-up rushes, students are ready for fall festivities. The highly contested campus Wawa is chock-full of advertisements for pumpkin spice anything, from lattes to milkshakes, as well as an all-new s’mores flavor for morning and midnight cram-session coffee. Only a half-mile off campus, Starbucks has also released its fall flavors and treats, including the beloved pumpkin spice and a new fan-favorite pumpkin chai latte.
The favorite spot for festive fall flavors? Villanova’s very own Holy Grounds, with four locations, including Falvey Library and Bartley Hall, two of the busiest student hubs on campus. Holy Grounds offers a rich, cozy pumpkin spice sauce that can be added to lattes, mochas and macchiatos, making it easy to spice up a morning coffee order with a little fall flavor before an 8 a.m. lab.
“I love the new fall drinks from Holy Grounds,” sophomore Rylee Porter said. “They’re all delicious and ordering those drinks is a great way to get into the spirit of the season. The pumpkin sauce in an iced latte is my absolute favorite. Now that it’s on the Holy Grounds’ menu, I know that fall is here and it’s going to be a great semester.”
These fall-flavored drinks range in price from $4.50 to $6.50, and can be paid for with points at most Holy Grounds locations, with Bartley Hall recently including MPEs as a form of payment.
A coffee cup isn’t the only place students can find fall festivities, with Holy Grounds’ iced pumpkin swirl loaf cake, a decadent slice of swirled vanilla and pumpkin cake flavored with real pumpkin and topped with a creamy vanilla icing, all packaged individually for an easy, on-the-go and festive breakfast for a crisp fall morning.
“The iced pumpkin loaf is such a great sweet treat after a tough day of studying,” sophomore Mia Loughlin said.
Another deliciously autumnal option for a cozy, pumpkin-themed snack or breakfast is the pumpkin muffin, also now available at Holy Grounds. Moist, dense and topped with a delicious cinnamon crumble, the pumpkin muffin is the perfect addition to any autumn day. These fall-themed breakfast options range from $3 to $3.50, but can also be purchased using points, and at Bartley Hall MPEs can be used.
Wawa’s fall flavors have also recently become a Wildcat favorite, especially the new s’mores line of flavors. A unique change from the usual pumpkin, apple and cinnamon themes that are all too familiar when it comes to fall menus, the s’mores flavoring in Wawa coffee is marshmallow-y, smokey, chocolatey and punctuated with the perfect touch of golden graham cracker flavoring.
“I wasn’t expecting to like it, but it really tastes like a s’more,” sophomore Reagan Kliber said of the new addition.
Of course, Wawa isn’t neglecting the star of fall menus, pumpkin spice, and is also offering not only a pumpkin sauce for coffee flavoring, but a pumpkin spice drizzle for an extra pop of pumpkin on any fall-flavored drink. This is a chance to mix and match beloved fall flavors with an addition of a pumpkin drizzle to a s’more flavored drink.
These new fall menu items across campus are exciting for students, and the large demand for themed drinks could entice campus coffee spots to bring in more themed drinks for other seasons throughout the year.
