All us basic girls spend 6 months of the year getting excited for our PSL coffee shop trips, but sometimes the budget just doesn't allow us to enjoy it quite as much as we would like. So we beckon you to join us in using Autumn 2024 as the season we will *perfect* our own at home recipe - and, like we always try to do, on a budget! Because the cheaper we can do this, the more we have to spend on Autumn fun or save for a rainy day 🎃🥰

This recipe will probably come to around £10 to begin with if you're buying all ingredients from scratch - so this estimate includes your coffee and milk. But most of these ingredients will last you many servings. It excludes other equipment (frothers, kettles, your stove) and heating costs though.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup
From our research, we've come to understand the secret sauce is literally that - it's all in the syrup. So let's begin with that before we get onto the main recipe.

You will need:
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup water
4-6 Cinnamon sticks (£1 Tesco for a jar, but may be worth buying elsewhere in bulk once you've got your perfect recipe down!)
1 tsp Cloves (£1 Tesco for a full jar)
1 tsp Ground Ginger (£1 Tesco for a full jar)
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg (£1 Tesco for a full jar)
1 tsp Pumpkin puree (£2 Sainsbury's for 425g tin)
A clean bottle with a lid/cap to store your finished mixture
A muslin or cheese cloth - something to strain your mixture through
Saucepan

1. Heat the water and sugar until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is simmering. 
2. Add in your cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin puree. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and strain through a muslin or cheese cloth before the mixture cools.
4. Pour into your clean bottle. This mixture should be enough for around 6-8 servings depending on how much you like to use.

Of course the genius in making up to your own recipe is you can tailor it exactly to your taste. Don't like cloves? Leave them out. Want more pumpkin? Add in more. So if your first try isn't quite right, don't stop there. Try again and find your perfect 👌

Now onto the main recipe. You will need:
- Coffee or espresso of your choice. Choose espresso if you are going for a classic PSL dupe, but regular coffee will work too. 
- Milk of your choice
Optional:
- Spice of your choice to garnish - perhaps add some more ground cinnamon, ground mixed spice, all spice, or ground pumpkin spice if you can find it!
- Whipped cream

1. Make your hot coffee or espresso to your liking. 
2. Liberally pour your homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup into a mug. Coat the sides of the mug as well.
3. Pour in your hot coffee/espresso and stir.
4. Top up with milk to your liking. For best results, froth and heat the milk beforehand.

Lazy Girl / I prefer tea edition
If like me (Vicky) you're a bit of a lazy girl, you aren't a coffee drinker, or don't find a lot of joy in having to make recipes from scratch but you still want that same Pumpkin spice magic, I've got you!
You need the Spiced Pumpkin Pie tea blend by Bird & Blend. Available in tea bags but I recommend the loose tea if you want to make a proper PSL dupe. You can find their latte recipe here. This isn't sponsored or affliated, this is just a tea I've had time and time again and rate better than anything else I've tried!
This is now my third year in a row going back to this tea and I always stock up on it before it goes out of season, so you know it's a good one! It's the perfect spicy treat for black tea lovers.

And that's it! We encourage you to go forth and to tailor your perfect Pumpkin Spice recipe this Autumn! And you should let us know on Instagram if you do.