October is very over, the clocks have fallen back, and I’m here sitting on my ass clinging to what I fear is one of my last pumpkin spice lattes of the season.
It is November 6th and I have made my fiancé bike into the city center with me, both ostensibly so that he can try a pumpkin spice latte and actually so that he can take a cute photo of me holding said PSL.
One of the many perks of spending years together at this point is being able to share the ostensible and the actual with him. It’s oddly liberating and bonding, like the first time you fart in front of someone and their reaction makes you realize you could have been doing so for some time now – regardless of whether it’s an odorless quack or a silent-but-deadly one. But I digress.
I never had a pumpkin spice latte before coming to France, but that’s one of the funny things about living abroad; you develop a strange nostalgia for things that feel familiar because they are endemic to where you are from, and not where you are.
When this nostalgia hits, there are two types of reactions typical of the American expat: resistance or breathless acclaim
Having entered my fourth year living in France and realizing that I could well live here for the foreseeable future, I have developed a genuine affection for the stereotypically American purveyors of fall, both IRL and on social media.
My final fall scoreboard currently reads one day of apple picking, one tarte aux pommes, and one pending photoshoot at Place de la République, and my PSL intake is holding steady at one a week. I have followed Starbucks and Starbucks France on Instagram and unironically engage with their posts for pure want of letting the algorithm know that I’m into this.
And yet, I know that I won’t cover all the PSL ground there is to cover before the beverage is phased out for another grouping of flavors, one that evokes the fleeting beauty in endings that are planned for and therefore celebrated appropriately.
So, dear reader, below I have grouped the locations where one might find a pumpkin spice latte in Strasbourg. Hold tight, sip slowly, and savor intentionally, as the leaves on the trees complement the shortened day by revving up the sensory tempo by which we experience it.
Also, thanks for letting me wax poetic about what is effectively flavored syrup dumped into a cup of coffee. Without further ado!
Pumpkin Spice Lattes in Strasbourg
PSLs are steadily gaining traction in Strasbourg as a fall necessity, but of course, the Americans here already knew that.
Café Potager
In addition to perfect pumpkin spice lattes, Le Café Potager also offers a range of specialty, fall-themed coffee beverages. Ideally situated in the city center of Strasbourg, it will be just as hard to miss this place as it will be to leave. As a bonus, they even offer free WiFi, but for the love of God, don’t be that person, please. You know the one – the person who buries themselves at their laptop and takes up half a table during the lunch rush.
Coffee Stub
Coffee Stub is very popular with students and locals. Perhaps for this reason, while there is also WiFi here, there is also a sign prohibiting laptop use on certain days of the week.
Nomad Cafe and Boutique
Here’s a place you certainly won’t stumble across by accident. Located in my second Strasbourg neighborhood, Neudorf, this is a highly local spot. Ironically, it’s not very far from the bus station and would make an excellent stopover spot in between bus transfers.
If you’re curious but not sure you want to commit to hiking out of the center, the owner recently opened a smaller second location in the city center called Le Petit Nomad.
Starbucks – multiple locations
It’s kind of incredible to think about all the locations Starbucks has here given the size of the city. Two locations are in the city center (Place Kléber and next to Dubliners by Place Corbeau), and the third is on the Esplanade/Neudorf border.
Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments!
Just looking for a coffee shop in Strasbourg? Check out my ultimate guide to Strasbourg coffee shops. Got a hankering for brunch? Skip straight to the good stuff with this article.
